What Are the Stakeholders in The Bitcoin? How Do They Affect The Bitcoin?

In the early stages of the Bitcoin, people did not trust the cryptocurrency system. They thought that the cryptocurrency system is similar to the Ponzi scheme, which will end up losing their contributions. Understandably, the generation of the cryptocurrency is somehow abstract, and people usually believe in what they see more. It took hard work and effort to convince people that cryptocurrencies are legitimate. The newspapers, blogs, the crypto community tried hard to make people believe in digital currencies. You can also check our blogs related to Bitcoin and the creation of bitcoins to get comprehensive information about the field.

People get used to the centralized systems which are governed by the central government. The brand-new model of governance of their money seemed suspicious for many. In their mind of state, they did not think that it is possible and reliable to use. People seek for a leader in the leading companies. So, the question emerges, are there any people or bodies to regulate or control the Bitcoin?

Who Are the Stakeholders?

There are some groups of people that can lead the way for Bitcoin. However, we cannot say that they manage and control Bitcoin. Those groups act in their best interest to help cryptocurrency stay on its feet. Their best intention is, helping cryptocurrency and themselves to be better off with doing activities on bitcoin. People are reasonable, and they try to benefit from what they do. Let’s examine one by one who can contribute to the bitcoin community.

The first group of people is the developers of Bitcoin core software. We all know that Bitcoin did not fall from the sky. The developers, including the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, have their massive contributions to the cryptocurrencies. Satoshi is the founder of this idea, but we do not get information about him since April 2011. Besides him, some developers continue his works. If we think that there are rules for using bitcoin, then they are executors of those rules. To improving the bitcoin environment, there are Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIP) that are suggested by the community. Those developers are the realizers of new proposals, and all people use what they code. As we said before, they do not code what they want, only what is best for the bitcoin and the community.

The second group could be miners. Miners do an essential job in the blockchain. With the help of their computers, they calculate the complicated puzzles to earn bitcoin rewards. They are somehow history writers, in the blockchain. If the majority of miners decide to do something, then others have to obey those rules. We talked about forking in the blockchain when some group of miners decides that the current set of rules are not beneficial, then they can split from the bitcoin and create their new altcoin and a new set of rules for themselves. So, it means that miners have some influence on the cryptocurrency.

The third group is the investors to the bitcoin. Without investors, bitcoin would not show so much growth in the short run. They are the people that believe in bitcoin that has some value, and as it is the case in al currencies, without belief, then there would not be a valuable currency. The faith that bitcoin is valuable makes it precious without technical features. Investors also create some part of the demand for bitcoin. So, investors have something that makes them significant for the chain.

The next group is the customers and their vendors. Customers create a fundamental demand for bitcoin. They are one of the parties that are interested in buying, investing, and storing their money in bitcoins. If the consumers do not agree with the rules or other points of the business, then they switch their coins to others. So, it means that customers have some power in directing the bitcoin.

The next group is the payment system. They are the one that helps customers and vendors to get paid. Payments systems serve to convert cryptos to dollars. If they think that it is not beneficial for them to do the transaction, then they will not do it. So, since they carry some of the risks, they possess some vote in decision making.

There is also the Bitcoin Foundation that deals with the governance of the Bitcoin. As stated in their manifesto, unlike other foundations, they do not set the standards or strategy. This organization created a diverse ecosystem of stakeholders that do not share the same vision. Their vision states:

“Bitcoin will be a globally accepted method of exchanging and storing value, which will operate without the need for third parties.”

Bitcoin Foundation pays some amount of money to core developers to keep the system running. Foundation has set the USA as a home country. In the case of some problems emerge, they will direct them to the government.

As we can see, bitcoin much more than just an algorithm. Many people engage in those activities like buying or selling of Bitcoin, and they have their best intentions towards the system. Bitcoin is the proof of the decentralized systems that can be last long than estimations of people. At the conclusion, maybe the decentralized feature of Bitcoin will make it eternal since you cannot hold it, and it is everywhere as air.