For Bitcoin, 2019 Was a Bit Less Wild, But Volatility Still Haunts the World’s Biggest D…

Bitcoin entered 2020 on a high note but remains a volatile cryptocurrency, both in value and in transaction cost. That volatility can reward savvy users but continues to hinder the leading cryptocoin’s usefulness as a payment method.

The coin exited 2019 with a value exceeding $7,000, roughly double what it was as it entered the year. But that’s not the full story. Last summer, Bitcoin scaled the heights, reaching a peak of more than $12,800 in late June, according to statistics from CoinMarketCap.com It couldn’t sustain that lofty level and began a long downward drift over the ensuing months.

All told, 2019 was a better year for Bitcoin than 2018. That year, it reached a peak over $17,000 early in January, shed $10,000 in value over the ensuing month, suffered another collapse in November, and ended the year more than 70% under the value it started with.

Such volatility hurts the digital currency’s potential as a payment method, since merchants can never be sure of its value…