Standard Chartered is flinging around a $120,000 Bitcoin price target. Sounds exciting, right? But hold on just a second before you imagine all that money spending your summers on a yacht. But what about the people back home, the chai-drinking, hard-working folks who would actually have to cash in on this potential rush? Or will it just end up being another crypto whales’ windfall?

Accessibility: A Luxury, Not A Right?

Let’s face it, purchasing Bitcoin isn’t as easy as picking up some groceries at the farmer’s market. The cost alone is a major barrier. When a single Bitcoin is worth more than a good used car, that makes entry difficult for the average person. The average American can’t even manage to dip a toe in the water.

To first-time users, crypto exchanges can be as intimidating as flying the Millennium Falcon. Words and terms such as “blockchain,” “wallets” and “private keys” are intimidating and daunting. Crypto mutual funds and fractional ownership alternatives are popping up as well. Are they truly convenient and affordable for all, or do they just make things harder to wring out fees?

Think about it this way: the stock market, once the domain of the elite, became more accessible through discount brokers and fractional shares. Is crypto on the same trajectory, or is it doomed to stay a libertarian playground for the rich and technologically inclined?

The Whale Effect: Drowning Out The Little Guy?

Here's a dose of reality: Bitcoin's price is heavily influenced by whales – those investors holding massive amounts of the digital currency. When they go to buy or sell, the market immediately shifts. The latest price crash was no exception, with these whales hoovering up tokens. Fantastic for them, but what about the rest of us?

Or are these big-time, cash buyers creating a bidding war among each other, pushing the prices higher and stymieing average Americans from buying one at all. It’s like trying to purchase a home in a community where your wealthy neighbors are buying up every available house as quickly as possible. You’re locked out right from the start before you had an opportunity to compete at all.

Heaven help us if we unleash market manipulation. With relatively little regulation, the whales have a much easier time moving prices around and leaving average investors to suffer the consequences. The potential of decentralized finance shouldn’t translate into centralized authority by a new digital elite.

Empowerment Or Exploitation: A Fine Line

We all know that Bitcoin can be a game-changing tool for financial empowerment. It provides access to new financial services, going around banks and possibly providing higher returns at the same time. In a country like India, where access to traditional banking isn’t guaranteed for everyone, this would be a huge step.

Here's the catch: the allure of quick riches can be a dangerous trap. With scams pervasive in the crypto space, it is often marginalized communities that are the most affected by these predatory schemes. The allure of a quick return on your investment makes it easy to overlook the equally real risks at play.

Is Bitcoin really empowering the underbanked, or just opening up new doors for them to be taken advantage of? This is a question we should all be asking ourselves, particularly while thinking in the Indian context.

  • Price Volatility: Bitcoin's price can swing wildly, wiping out investments in a matter of hours.
  • Scams: From fake exchanges to Ponzi schemes, the crypto world is rife with scams.
  • Cybersecurity: Hackers are constantly trying to steal Bitcoin from wallets and exchanges.

Remember the gold rush? Few got rich, and most lost their shirts. Are we seeing a new digital gold rush in Bitcoin?

Just because Geoff Kendrick wants to call $120k a home run doesn’t make it so. The answer is hardly about the amount of dollars gained, but instead whether gains are shared too, given to all.

Geoff Kendrick can predict $120k all he wants. The real question is whether the gains are shared, or hoarded.