50k is possible if and only if either of the following happens:
1) Retail investors see prices rise which creates a herd effect (e.g. 2017). This requires a flurry of non-stop positive news that is more than just a promise in the future (e.g. Bakkt is promising, but in future)
2) Fund managers feel comfortable investing into BTC - This requires custodian solutions, better investor protection rules, more regulations, etc
3) Some groundbreaking improvement in utility of a crypto asset - This could be lightning networking hitting an adoption target

Ironically ICE / Bakkt news is much more significant but limited price impact. I think once we eventually hit 9k (higher high than previous ones), it will hit news more and start a herd effect

The potential use cases of bitcoin and what could be built on top of it is what makes me excited, along with other crypto tech. I’ve been listening to coinfi and flippening podcasts, and both share their thoughts on the utility beyond the payment without trusted third party use case. For example, imagine unlocking all the private investment space in the form of tokenized assets. You can have fractionless ownership of art, property, companies before they go IPO etc. imagine getting an etf of downtown Manhattan

I think we are a few years away from some of these, but given that ICE (owns NYSE) is involved, and how much engagement there is, something truly amazing will come out of crypto industry. Once the exchanges adopt some of the investor protection rules (rule201, luld, etc) + custodian solutions, you can see the pension funds of the world feel more comfortable investing