Bitcoin is currently up and is hovering above the $4K mark. It is all thanks to the Bitmex Futures launch. According to Luke Martin who is a renowned cryptoanalyst, Bitcoin price moved up after the launch of the Bitmex futures in September. The XBTU19 caused a jump in the volume as well as the volatility of the cryptocurrency. Martins also pointed out that there were two instances when this happened as well wherein new futures contracts matched the increase in the Bitcoin market’s volatility and the volume.
The Bitmex June Futures contract (XBTM19) that went live on December 18, 2018, made Bitcoin’s price go up by 34% while in the same month, there were other Bitcoin futures that expired. And this caused Bitcoin to increase by 8%. But of course, there is still mixed consensus when it comes to Bitcoin futures.
There are also those who are pointing towards the fundamentals as the reason why Bitcoin is currently bullish yet again. You have the likes of Lightning Network at play, the transactions as well as the increasing number of wallet addresses. And also, you will be able to notice a shift in the sentiments about cryptocurrencies in both Twitter and different crypto subreddits.
Replacing Gold?
If you are going to ask Brendan Blumer who is the CEO of EOS, he thinks that Bitcoin is going to replace gold as a store of value in the future. Currently, gold has around $7 trillion. If this will be the same case for Bitcoin, it means that Bitcoin’s value will have to be at $333,333. Now, could it be possible? Blumer believes that once the 21 million Bitcoin has been mined, this can be a possibility. Though the transaction fees will increase for Bitcoin, there are developments such as the Lightning Network that can help make Bitcoin transactions a lot cheaper.
Regulatory Clarity
Regulatory clarity has been behind the bearish market after Bitcoin reached near $20K in mid-December of 2017. The US Securities and Exchange Commission considered Bitcoin and Ethereum not to be securities. However, the rest of the other cryptocurrencies are still in limbo. This has caused trouble for Ripple’s XRP. Also, a number of companies that raised funds via ICO were also targeted by the agency.
For the Winklevoss twins who run Gemini, they mentioned that it is the companies that are going to deal with digital currencies that are going to need “thoughtful oversight” and not cryptocurrencies. The Winklevoss twins have been known for their role in changing the Wild West atmosphere of the crypto market.
Unfortunately, the crypto market is a long way to go. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has denied Bitcoin ETF applications for a number of times. One of their concerns is the possibility of price manipulation in the market. The agency pointed out the lack of surveillance tools as the main reason for rejecting Bitcoin ETF applications.
Is Bitcoin going to continue to hover above $4,000 finally? Or is it going to slide back down? Tom Lee, who is a forever optimist when it comes to Bitcoin, thinks that the bull market is going to take in effect by August. However, take note that Tom Lee has missed a number of his predictions in the past as well.
