It was December, 2017. The price of one Bitcoin rose to nearly $20,000. To burst your bubbles, when the mysterious and elusive creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, released the cryptocurrency in 2008/09, its value was basically nothing. Bitcoin was being giving out for hobby purposes. Interest was very small in a very big way!
As at March 2010, one Bitcoin averaged $0.003 (0.3 Cent). Then it hit nearly $20,000 in 8 years. That's over 666 million percent appreciation. It made a couple of people who bought it for a couple of Cent overnight millionaires in Dollar terms.
Then Bitcoin fell to $6,000, resulting in potential loss to those who bought into the bull market of 2017. Well, you don't lose until you sell at a price lower than your buying price. That's why I called it
potential.
Are we expecting another bull market in the crypto market? Are we expecting the price of Bitcoin (and other cryptos) would appreciate significantly in coming months? I think so. And such expectations have a valid ground.
I believe another bull market is imminent because institutional money is coming to the crypto market around November.
Let me explain:
The
Intercontinental Exchange, the operator behind the New York Stock Exchange, the world's largest stock exchange, has announced that it is creating a new company called Bakkt that will hold and manage people’s cryptocurrency.
The platform will be powered by
Microsoft cloud tech and plans to begin with trading and converting Bitcoin to US Dollars and other fiat (government-backed) currencies as “Bitcoin is today the most liquid digital currency.”
Moreover, the 149-year-old
Goldman Sachs, one of the biggest investment banks in the US, announced plans to open a Bitcoin trading operation and Nasdaq, the second-largest stock exchange in the world recently said it would “consider becoming a crypto exchange over time.”
SIX, the operator of Swiss stock exchange also has plans to build a trading platform for transactions associated with Bitcoin and established digital coins and tokens.
The TMX Group, which runs the
Toronto Stock Exchange, has announced its own cryptocurrency brokerage service earlier this year.
JP Morgan, the largest American bank, whose CEO, Jamie Dimon, once called Bitcoin a fraud is now changing tune, and even now seems to have an actual Blockchain research centre.
If you look at the top 15 global banks, most of them seem to have dabbled in Blockchain this year.
With these big guys, Microsoft, New York Stock Exchange, top global banks and traditional exchanges embracing crypto and blockchain, chances of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission approving Bitcoin-based Exchange-Traded Fund would be significantly enhanced, leading to an even deeper adoption globally. In fact, Bill Barhydt, chief executive of Bitcoin payment start-up Abra believes SEC would approve Bitcoin ETF by 2019.
There are so many other examples of institutional adoption. So you can see cryptocurrencies are going mainstream as institutional investors and the big guys embrace them.
More readingsWhen is the next Cryptocurrency Bull market coming? (As of September 2018)Why NYSE's Parent Company Is Building a Bitcoin ExchangeA Traditional Stock Exchange Is Also Going to Trade Cryptocurrencies Like BitcoinWhy is JP Morgan suddenly changing their tune about Blockchain technology?Will SEC Approve a Bitcoin ETF in the Next Year?