John McAfee, One of Bitcoin's Biggest Advocates, Tells Cryptocurrency Investors not to Give Up

Within the last week, Bitcoin has seen its biggest surge and biggest fall in a matter of days. The abrupt changes were enough to send new investors flocking to pull investments, and the rush caused massive marketplace Coinbase to shut down temporarily. However, a few cryptocurrency believers advocate that those committed to bitcoin 'stay on the path' despite losing considerable value. 

Software entrepreneur John McAfee is one such man. On Christmas day, McAfee took to Twitter to express his support for the cryptocurrency. 

"Bitcoin is still the crypto giant. It is at a low price, and will never be cheaper. It will be ten times this price in 2018. Remember — it has the lowest circulating supply of any coin."

For you who are long term investors like myself: (those who allways make the most returns), BITCOIN is still the crypto giant. It is at a low price, and will never be cheaper. It will be ten times this price in 2018. Remember - it has the lowest circulating supply of any coin.

— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) December 25, 2017

McAfee founded his namesake company McAfee Associates in 1987, and he's also responsible for developing the first commercial antivirus software. He's also been one of the most vocal and active supporters of bitcoin. He predicted a $1 million valuation by 2020, which doubled his earlier bet that bitcoin would hit $500,000 by 2020. 

In responses to his initial Twitter post, McAfee placed the issues into 'perspective' when given the overall value or gains, calling the technical mishaps "trivial."

Technical issues with Bitcoin are trivial, including transaction times and costs. I have been a technician all of my life, so if anyone knows, it is me. The world is waiting on consensus for the right solution. Bitcoin is still the only guaranteed investment in the crypto world.

— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) December 25, 2017

And there have most certainly been technical problems. Between the value swings, a bitcoin exchange in South Korea filed for bankruptcy after being hacked. The Seoul-based Youbit said thieves made off with 38 billion won (nearly $35 million) in cryptocurrency. 

In 2017, the overall value of bitcoin has grown more than 1,550 percent with many investors hoping that the bubble of growth won't pop anytime soon. 

The Rise of Other Cryptocurrencies

While bitcoin is most certainly the most ubiquitous name in cryptocurrency, it's not the only one. Shortly after bitcoin's 30 percent plummet, the currency Ripple jumped up 20 percent to become the third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Ripple now sits behind bitcoin and ethereum for value.

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Market analysts managed to trace the sharp gains back to new from Tokyo-based SBI Holdings announced a credit card that will utilize blockchain technology. 

Ripple's CEO Brad Garlinghouse spoke about the swings of cryptocurrency on CNBC earlier this week. 

"One of the things we all have to remember is the value of a token over the long term is really going to be driven by its utility," Garlinghouse said. "There's no question there's a lot of hype in this system."