With the recent events surrounding Mt. Gox demise and the decline in price of bitcoin. Many users have found themselves worried in the future of Bitcoin. With Gox dead will Bitcoin die as well? Are exchanges safe? Which exchange should I trust? What can I do to protect my coins? What will happen with bitcoin?
First let me start by clarifying a couple of things, while Mt. Gox was a leading trader of Bitcoin, some users have been misinformed to believe that Mt. Gox is the end all be all of bitcoin. They believe that Gox dying, means bitcoin will shortly follow. In reality Mt. Gox is a service of Bitcoin, much like Bank of America would be to USD/Fiat. Whatever inner troubles they may have had should not reflect on bitcoin itself as they are separate entities.
Now that Mt. Gox is dead, where can users go for exchanges? What exchange is safe to use? The truth is, until there is regulation, users should not use exchanges as a personal wallet service. Exchanges should be used exactly what they are designed for, a QUICK exchange. Your coins, be it bitcoin or another alt coin, are always safer in a encrypted qt wallet. Though security has been growing stronger for many exchanges, the problem, again lies in the fact that they can shut down at any moment leaving their customers afloat. Instead, if you plan on cashing your coin out for Fiat or just plan on doing trading you should transfer the needed amount only at that time. As a users of bitcoin for 3 years now, I would recommend the use of CoinBase.Com for the exchange of coin to fiat. I have used their services for years without any problems, they are based out of San Fransisco CA (US)
Though I can not give a definitive answer on the future of bitcoin, I can provide a theory into where it will go from here. I believe that within the next few months bitcoin will be back at its previous price. The reason behind my belief in this, is due to the current media surrounding Bitcoin. While many have been informed of the current negative
events, a large amount of positive news has been left in the shadows. Bitcoin has been steadily influencing a large portion of small markets. Individually owned businesses have started implementing merchant systems for Bitcoin. A business such as this can be found in nearly every major city now and Bitcoin is showing no signs of slowing
down. In the past week, The US has had their first Major Mall install a Bitcoin ATM. Adding yet another country to the ATM list, Australia being the current leader with over 100 units. With these kind of events happening in the background, I feel that Bitcoin will correct itself with due time.