PART - 2,👀👀
What’s holding Bitcoin back
Despite its promise, Bitcoin still faces serious challenges before it can become mainstream.
1. Scalability
Bitcoin can only process about 3 to 7 transactions per second. For comparison, Visa can handle over 24,000. That means Bitcoin is slow—especially when many people are trying to use it at once.
Developers have introduced the Lightning Network to fix this. It handles transactions off the main blockchain to speed things up. But it’s still not widely adopted, and it adds complexity for the average user.
2. Security
Bitcoin’s core technology—the blockchain—is incredibly secure. But the platforms people use to access it, like crypto exchanges and wallets, are often targets for hackers.
In 2014, the Mt. Gox exchange lost 850,000 Bitcoins in one of the biggest hacks in history. Since then, billions more have been lost to phishing, scams, and poor security practices.
A study from the University of Illinois found that blockchain systems are particularly vulnerable in their wallet software and networking layers. It’s not the blockchain that gets hacked—it’s how we use it.
3. Centralization of mining
Bitcoin was designed to be run by individuals, but today, a few large mining operations control most of the network.
As of October 2024, just 10 mining pools controlled more than 93% of Bitcoin’s mining power. That’s a lot of influence in the hands of a few, which undermines the original idea of decentralization.
