Priya is a reporter at Verdict. She can be reached at priya.kantaria@verdict.co.uk

As Bitcoin marks its tenth anniversary on 31 October one financial expert has predicted that the cryptocurrency is set to wane in significance as the overall market continues to expand.

Chief executive officer of independent financial advisory organisation deVere Group Nigel Green predicts the value of the cryptocurrency market is likely to expand by at least 5,000% in the next 10 years.

10 years since Nakamoto’s Bitcoin whitepaper

Satoshi Nakamoto developed Bitcoin and came up with the first blockchain to implement it.

He published his whitepaper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” in October 2008, and in 2009 he released the first Bitcoin software.

Competition in crypto will mean Bitcoin’s fall

Green said: “There’s an ongoing shift away from fiat money, and the momentum of this is only set to increase over the next 10 years.

“The pace of mass adoption will speed-up.

“A growing number of major institutional and retail investors, as well as financial institutions and regulators, amongst others, understand that cryptocurrencies are the future of money.”

But in spite of the growth forecast in cryptocurrency, Green also predicts that Bitcoin’s influence and dominance of the cryptocurrency sector will significantly and drastically reduce in the next 10 years.

He said: “This is because as mass adoption of cryptocurrency grows, more and more digital assets will be launched – by organisations in both the private and the public sectors. This will increase competition for Bitcoin and dent its market share.

“In addition, it is likely that Bitcoin will be hit by the superior technology, features, and problem-solutions, offered by existing and yet-to-be-released cryptocurrencies.”

He said: “As such, the market will have grown beyond recognition when Bitcoin celebrates its 20th anniversary.”

A turbulent year for Bitcoin

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and is still the largest by market capitalization, with one Bitcoin worth $6,424 at time of writing.

The State of Technology This Week Get the Verdict weekly email

The currency had a turbulent year after peaking at $19,650 in December 2017 and falling to $5,851 in June 2018.

Bitcoin is described as what kick-started the crypto revolution and it has changed, forever, the way the world handles money, makes transactions, does business and manages assets.

The deVere Group put the cryptocurrency market at a worth today of more than $400bn and its predictions mean it would reach $20tn by 2028.