[2018-02-07] Crypto market could hit $1 trillion this year, Bitcoin to $50,000

[nickbelski]

Cryptocurrency market could hit $1 trillion this year with bitcoin surging to $50,000, experts say

• Cryptocurrencies could go on a bull run greater than last year and pass the trillion-dollar value mark, Jamie Burke, CEO at Outlier Ventures said.
• Technological advancements and new investor products could push bitcoin to $50,000 in 2018, Thomas Glucksmann of Gatecoin told CNBC.
• Investors may focus on so-called "utility tokens" this year which are digital coins that can power blockchain technologies, according to one expert.

Cryptocurrencies could go on a bull run greater than last year and pass the trillion-dollar mark in terms of value, experts told CNBC, following a recent violent sell-off across digital coins.

Bitcoin has seen a huge fall in recent days, dropping below $6,000 for the first time since mid-November. On Wednesday, it was trading above the $7,000 level as the cryptocurrency market stabilized.

At its lowest point on Tuesday, the total cryptocurrency market saw over $550 billion wiped off its value. But industry insiders see another rally ahead.

"Increasing regulatory recognition of cryptocurrency exchanges, the entrance of institutional capital and major technology developments will contribute to the market's rebound and push cryptocurrency prices to all new highs this year," Thomas Glucksmann, head of APAC business development at cryptocurrency exchange Gatecoin, told CNBC by email on Tuesday.

"There is no reason why we couldn't see bitcoin pushing $50,000 by December."

The technology advancements Glucksmann referenced include bitcoin's so-called Lightning Network, which would boost the very slow transaction speeds using the cryptocurrency.

"One possible appetizer for the bulls, or the catalyst for the recovery, will be the release of another cryptocurrency backed instrument listed on a major exchange. There are several candidates in the pipeline, it's only a matter of time until we have a cryptocurrency backed ETF (exchange-traded fund)."

Last year, the CME and CBOE both released bitcoin futures products that people could trade. And Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman told CNBC in a recent interview that the exchange was "continuing to investigate" cryptocurrency futures.

There is still not a bitcoin ETF or exchange-traded fund on the market. An ETF tracks the price of an asset and would allow people to trade bitcoin without having to buy the digital currency on an exchange. Noted cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the brothers who founded the Gemini Trust digital currency exchange, had an ETF application rejected last year.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/07/bitcoin-price-could-hit-50000-this-year-experts-say.html

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[Harlot]

It is possible and I wouldn't be surprise about it as the top 25 cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap are already having at least 1 billion in their market cap each. Even with the recent dip in the market I can see that  1 Trillion $ is achievable this year. Also seeing that the market is growing in terms of participants we might see a spike in volume when the market will start to rally again.

[Kemarit]

Look at what those media are portraying bitcoin and cyprto now. When crypto was experiencing crypto winter, everyday you will see that they reported negative sentiments about how government will ban or put around heavy regulations. LOL. And since crypto is recovering now, a sudden U-turn. Really funny though and you can see clearly that they are just riding on the popularity of crypto and get clicks on their news. As far as hitting $1 Trillion, its really possible. At the height of the crypto last December, we hit $830 Million that time, bitcoin close to $20K and Ethereum, $1200. And it looks like we are bouncing back, and at the end of the first Quarter we are going to back to the December price or it could even go further. Another massive bull run has started and I think its gonna be sustainable for the next couple of months. Crypto winter is over.

[Lucius]

Even if market capitalizations reach 1 trillion $ what is really possible,the question is how long it will be at that level.We all see what is happened when BTC is reached 20 000$,and how big correction is follow after that.There is no doubt that the price will be pump again,now we start from 6000$ and it can go easy above 20 000$,but I am sure that this time many will be very careful with investing.

Is crypto winter over?I would be careful with such a conclusion for now,even if value of BTC is rise 2500$ in just 24 hours.I expect that at some point we will see some correction again.But if we look last year then even uninterrupted growth a few months in a row is not impossible.

[1Referee]

While an ETF would definitely be a positive addition, it won't do much. All these futures and whatever instruments where entities can buy exposure is good for those who are buying them, but not so much for this market at all. I have seen someone a day or two ago point out that we need Bitcoin tied instruments that are backed by actual coin supply, and that's indeed pretty much the only way these instruments will really start to impact the market positively. If these instruments at whatever point in time will get an approval, it will make sure the market has something to hold on to. Till that time, I'm cooled down with all these futures and ETF's. I rather see Lightning Network be in full working order with a minimum of 50% ecosystem adoption.

[coin_lover]

For that to happen a lot of institutional investors need to come in

[Yasmonsan]

It is possible and I wouldn't be surprise about it as the top 25 cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap are already having at least 1 billion in their market cap each. Even with the recent dip in the market I can see that  1 Trillion $ is achievable this year. Also seeing that the market is growing in terms of participants we might see a spike in volume when the market will start to rally again.

I thick there are too many crypto currencies now. These currencies will divest the funds from bitcoin. So the price is difficult to rise.

[richardsNY]

Once we're a few years away from now, we'll see similar articles pop up and talk about how this market could be worth $10 trillion with an x number of years. The main point of importance is that we're experiencing how a new asset class is growing, where if thing keep going in the right direction, and I have full confidence in this, it might even surpass most of the traditional assets in value over time. I however would like to see proper regulations concerning only the elite crypto currencies, where the far majority of the redundant shitcoins, which is like 95% of the coins, should be made illegal or whatever. It's something I can see become reality in the coming years.

[jhenfelipe]

"There is no reason why we couldn't see bitcoin pushing $50,000 by December."

Full of confidence with this statement. Though it's possible, better not expect too much and just go with the flow.

When crypto was experiencing crypto winter, everyday you will see that they reported negative sentiments about how government will ban or put around heavy regulations. LOL. And since crypto is recovering now, a sudden U-turn.

I wonder if we'll see more positive news now because the BTC price seems to start recovering.   The power of media ~~

[CyberKuro]

Bitcoin can reach $50K obviously, whether in this year or in the next year, it just time matter. But, the most important thing to achieve it is bitcoin nodes should be upgraded to afford mass adoption, people will dump bitcoin at a higher price due to bitcoin has lost its usability appeal and most people treat it as a speculative object. That's how bitcoin futures work, traders will sell bitcoin to manipulate the market, especially at the current price after huge correction which allows them to buy more bitcoin and dump it at the end of the contract,

[prehisto]

While an ETF would definitely be a positive addition, it won't do much. All these futures and whatever instruments where entities can buy exposure is good for those who are buying them, but not so much for this market at all. I have seen someone a day or two ago point out that we need Bitcoin tied instruments that are backed by actual coin supply, and that's indeed pretty much the only way these instruments will really start to impact the market positively. If these instruments at whatever point in time will get an approval, it will make sure the market has something to hold on to. Till that time, I'm cooled down with all these futures and ETF's. I rather see Lightning Network be in full working order with a minimum of 50% ecosystem adoption.

This is one of the questions that have been on my mind. How something can be tied to price of the coin but not actually have coins to back the training volume, for me it seems that it is extremely shady. But this seems to be the case in variety of financial instruments, they are often made from thin air. Another good example is fractional lending.

I agree on Lighting Network, this would provide market with very good ,solid starting pint for growth.





 

[tiggytomb]

I agree with this and we will get to the trillion total market cap this year, we were quite close the end of last year, we will see more money coming into Crypto this year, not just bitcoin as there are a lot of exciting projects out there that will start to pick up speed this year, we also had a lot of ICOs that should be launching this year.

[jjacob]

A lot of these people are trying to 'talk' the market because they are significantly invested in the market. I don't think they expect a real explosion in crypto markets this year, but they really cannot take any other position. You need these kind of views, to counter the Dimons and Buffets who seem hell bent on scaring naive investors with their views.

[CryptoBry]

Since I got no choice but to be  HODLER this time, I also don't have a choice but to really hope that soon Bitcoin will be making a big comeback and go beyond the $20K it achieved in December. When all the supposed-to-be bad news affecting Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general, I see no big hindrance for Bitcoin to be making an extended bull run. It would be a great time for Bitcoin and something that will validate what we already know that the first quarter of the year can be bad for cryptocurrency but soon after there will be the reversal.