Bitcoin has been hovering around $30,000 for a couple of days now, and believe it or not, most investors are finding such price action boring and are hesitant to enter the market. Many who are already in crypto or planning to get in are usually driven by drama and succumb to FOMO when BTC starts showing fireworks.

While some believe that the markets are guided by fundamentals and logic, the reality is that fear and greed are the forces behind the swings and pumps that either make us rejoice or leave us in despair.

When I first entered the world of crypto, one BTC was worth just over $3,000, and to be honest, I had my doubts about buying a whole coin. I had a strong desire to own a complete coin, but once the price started skyrocketing, I gave up on that goal and focused on altcoins instead. Now, six years later, BTC is trading at a valuation that's 10 times higher than before. But what has really changed?



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Well, in my six years of "crypto life," some things have indeed changed while others have remained largely the same. First and foremost, apart from El Salvador, where BTC has become legal tender, the rest of the world still considers it primarily a speculative asset.

There are a few isolated places where Bitcoin maximalists have managed to integrate the Lightning Network into everyday transactions, but these instances are too insignificant to make a significant impact or warrant much attention. Recently, BlackRock has taken a positive stance on Bitcoin (the CEO referred to it as digital gold), but that might not necessarily be a good thing. BlackRock is a centralizing power that manages funds from across the globe like no other entity.

When the Federal Reserve wants to play with interest rates, it relies on data from BlackRock's Aladdin (their in-house AI investing bot), which speaks volumes about the influence this company could have on Bitcoin. Now, let's shift our focus to altcoins, shall we?

Personally, when it comes to altcoins, the situation is even worse, if you ask me. Except for Ether, Hive, Rune, Travala, and a handful of others, most projects have little to no real-world use case. Thousands of altcoins listed on crypto markets are nothing but bags filled with hope.

There has been a lot of buzz around AI lately, and I firmly believe that this field is far from over. While AI coins may have cooled down after a mini-rally, AI is just getting started. However, it's disheartening to see that some of these coins have been around for years and still lack practical applications.

Meanwhile, Hive serves as the blockchain for the versatile everything app @leofinance, Splinterlands, one of the most renowned crypto games, thrives on Hive, and we have safe stablecoin staking methods on Hive as well through HBD savings. We even have @liketu, a platform that allows me to share my Instagram-like posts on the blockchain, and video streaming through @3speak, among many other exciting developments.

Back in the summer of 2017, when I first entered the crypto scene, BTC was trading around $3,000 after a considerable climb from its $200 bottom in 2015. However, it didn't offer much utility back then. Now, it has increased tenfold in value, but its utility is still lacking. On the other hand, some altcoins have indeed made significant progress.

What's your Bitcoin story? How was it when you joined the crypto world, and what changes have you witnessed since then?

*Thanks for your attention,*
*Adrian*