Reddit Bitcoin community is still bullish about BTC but people still want to know all the valid issues about Bitcoin.
Bitcoin BTC tickers down $63,636 and has indeed grown big since the discovery but some people in the community have not viewed it the same way.
Finally, on September 14, someone turned to the Bitcoin subreddit and asked the community members what they considered to be the most significant concerns about the BTC future.
However, the response ‘I don’t have enough money to buy more’ got the most upvotes, yet, more Reddit users complained. Cointelegraph has gathered a few and reached out to some top executives to find out how real they are.
Concern 1: Quantum computing or AI could break Bitcoin one day
Among the participants of this thread, some people express fears of potential threats that may appear because of Quantum computing or Artificial intelligence to Bitcoin in terms of hacking potential.
Quantum computing is a new subfield in computer sciences that is based on principles of quantum mechanics to solve problems exceeding the powers of today’s most advanced computers. Google, for instance, invested $10 billion to produce a quantum computer and planned to release one in 2029.
Although Google may be developing its first quantum computers in approximately four years, so we still have a long way away from this becoming an issue according to Trezor’s Bitcoin analyst Lucien Bourdon.
“The Bitcoin community has displayed its capability to evolve when needed and the implementation of the new quantum-safe algorithm is possible with the decentralized structure of Bitcoin,” Bourdon informed Cointelegraph.
Once quantum computing is real, it could introduce risks that are not exclusive to Bitcoin, the analyst noticed, stating:
“To be specific, if quantum computers are programmed to crack some cryptographic systems, this will render many industries other than Bitcoin inoperable: internet, banking, military communication, etc.”
Another voice of the same denomination was Quantum Economics’ founder Mati Greenspan, who noted that the Bitcoin network is capable of ‘shifting gears fast toward better technology, particularly in cases where a threat is seen or felt.’
According to possible risks associated with this technology, Bourdon thinks that AI will positively contribute to Bitcoin by strengthening the existing fundamental and educational aspects.
Bitcoin users have one problem, while AI can make phishing attacks look more legitimate. But those who use hardware wallets as well as those who keep their recovery seed safe are immune to such attacks, he said.
Concern 2: Centralization of miners and whales poses market manipulation threat
It is self-explanatory that some Redditors are also concerned about the increasing concentration of Bitcoin miners and whales that may lead to manipulation.
Holding Greenspan’s opinion if BTC is overly concentrated in the hands of one party there is a possibility to manipulate a certain segment of the market but this would occur only for a short time.
“The invisible hand will always sort things out long term,” the Quantum Economics founder said, adding:
“One major and flexible aspect of Bitcoin for many users around the world is that the rich and the poor are free to purchase or sell the Bitcoins at any time they wish to.”
Orbit president Phillip Lord also earlier noted that concentrated bitcoins could exert some influence on the market. But he stressed that owning a significant amount of BTC “does not automatically give the direct control over protocol, and the possibility to modify its code.”
Concern 3: Bitcoin’s blockchain size could lead to dependencies on centralized proxy services
“So an ever-growing blockchain size means that there are fewer and fewer actors/devices that can partake in the network,” the Redditor stated and added that this may cause “dependency on centralized proxy services.”
Satoshi Nakamoto, the unknown mastermind behind the Bitcoin software, decided to limit the fiat BTC block size to 1 MB in 2010, perhaps to refute spam transactions. Bitcoin Core developers expanded it in 2017 as they implemented SegWit – the increasing block size up to 4 MB.
“Some blockchains with larger processing capacities process more TPS [transactions per second], but at the costs of decentralization,” Trezor’s Bourdon explained.
He also said that control of the growth of bitcoin block size is well managed currently the average bitcoin block size is 1.8 MB as much as maximum average blockchain size increase per day is about 250MB to 300. He noted:
“Bitcoin’s blockchain can only increase in size at a predictable and constant pace. This helps to keep the blockchain manageable for full-node operators, thus preserving decentralization.”
Concern 4: Stricter KYC policies
Several Redditors complained that governments from around the world are increasingly implementing measures in a bid to establish Know-Your-Customer (KYC).
Citing Bourdon, Bitcoin users take the KYC policies as a concern, but the latter does not threaten Bitcoin directly.
This way, the analyst continued, the architecture of Bitcoin guarantees that people can transfer and receive Bitcoin between users without seeking permission. He then expressed confidence that Bitcoin will “remain beyond government control” amid growing adoption, stating:
“In the long run, the decentralization of Bitcoin is expected to persevere over all such efforts of regulation leading to the freedom of the people to remain financially free.”
Concern 5: Mining rewards would become inefficient in supporting BTC security one day
As it is set up to operate, Bitcoin has been designed to reduce the fee given to miners by fifty percent every four years, an event known as the halving. The last BTC halving that occurred was on 20 April 2024 which reduced the miner’s rewards from 6.25 BTC per block to 3.125 BTC.
Bourdon pointed out that Bitcoin miners also receive their revenues from block subsidies and transaction fees: The latter is elastic.
“True, 20 years from now the block subsidy will be significantly less and the network will largely depend on transaction fees assuming that bitcoin is indeed used widely as is expected, but those fees will rise again to keep miners motivated.”
“If a miner is not profitable or unsatisfied with the returns, they will shut off their machines, reducing the overall hash rate and increasing profitability for other miners,” Quantum Economics’ Greenspan opined, adding:
“Therefore, if bitcoin is also going to be valuable, then miners will continue working toward its protection for at least the next century.”