Segwit has been a great success, and now that major exchanges are finally implementing it, it can only go even further.
Storm a Brewing
I haven't tried Lightning yet. And I think I'll leave the current testing phase to the professionals.
But I'm still excited for it to get here. And I believe it may be the catalyst that cryptocurrency needs to go ballistic.
Why do I think this?
Well, cryptocurrencies (and Bitcoin in particular) have a singular Achilles' Heel that keeps them from fundamentally transforming society. And that weakness is factionalism.
Too often are great currencies riven apart, forked, or reinvented in an attempt to please every errant idea of what they should be. In Bitcoin, the big debate has always been whether it is to be used for payments or as a store of value. This civil war has been the only thing that even came close to destroying Bitcoin.
And with Segwit + Lightning, that argument becomes completely redundant. Bitcoin can be used both as a payment channel and as an asset that stores value. Thus we close the biggest of Bitcoin's holes.
The effect is going to be dramatic, though it will still be some time before it fully kicks in. Still, I find myself more hopeful today than I have been in weeks.
On the Cusp
Everything is settling down. The FUD that was rampant for the past several weeks is dying off. There are no huge developments at the moment, but people are starting to get comfortable with the idea of Bitcoin again.
And if you've followed Bitcoin at all, then you know that these are the moments that always precede something BIG.
When people aren't in a frenzy to buy, but also aren't pitching a fit about how scary this futuristic technology is. These are the best moments, when people just act like people, and slowly they begin to understand the normality of this new paradigm. The future's going to be great. No need to drool over it or run screaming from it.
Pay attention in the coming weeks. You may just see a miracle.