(3) with a caveat: Even though I think adoption is largely responsible for the rise in BTC value, I'm concerned that most BTC buyers are in it for speculative motivations. With the high BTC transaction fees - which does not seem likely to be solved by SegWit anytime soon - this currency is becoming less and less suitable for every-day transactions.
Although BTC's value is gonna continue its exponential rise - it will probably correct, flatten out, then rise again -I find it hard to see it as the cryptocoin of the future. It's technically flawed and inferior to several high-quality altcoins such as Cardano or Dash, and if reason eventually prevails BTC's supremacy will be overtaken by the most practical coin out there. Bitcoin does not deserve its gold standard status in my opinion. But because of the huge gap in market cap and reputation, Bitcoin will remain the predominant cryptocurrency for a long long time.
Thanks for your opinion! It is nice to hear from you guys that know this stuff well (or sound like it anyway). I keep researching daily and the more I do, the happier I get hahah. Too many people are sleeping on this stuff.
To be clear, I am a newbie. This is by no means an expert opinion but just my modest and incomplete understanding of the crypto-market.