Bitcoin touched high above $60,000
The largest cryptocurrency reached an all-time high of $60,310 on the 13th February, according to the market information provided by Coinmarketcap. However, the price has slightly dropped to $59,746 during press time, although it still represents a six percent increase over the past 24 hours. With about 18.6 million BTC (89 percent of BTC maximum supply – 21 million), Bitcoin currently has a market capitalization of $1.117 billion.

Additionally, the increase today raises its market dominance to about 61.75 per Coinmarketcap. For the record, BTC is currently up by 1,000 percent when compared to the market value over the past 12 months. Going by the numbers, it will be easier for the cryptocurrency to reach $100,000 than dropping down to zero. In fact, many prominent industry players think BTC will only get better in market value.

Anthony Pompliano tweeted that it’s all going to be fun, as the United States government is looking to release stimulus checks this weekend. Some of these funds might end up in Bitcoin, as seen last year.

Can you recall BTC trading below $5,000 in 2020?
By this time last year (March 12 actually), BTC faced its worst dip, as the price dropped to about $5,000 following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Some people panic-sold their cryptocurrencies amid the drop, but Bitcoin wasn’t the only asset affected by COVID-19. Some people saw it as an opportunity, buying some of the cryptocurrency as an inflation hedge asset. This same reason attracted the biggest corporate Bitcoin investor, MicroStrategy, after the market recovered.

Read more: cryptopolitan

The most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC), reached another milestone today, surpassing the USD 60,000 level for the first time in its history. (Updated on March 14, 07:20 UTC, with the latest market data.)

At 07:17 UTC on Sunday, BTC trades at USD 60,935, correcting from its new all-time high of USD 61,712 (per Coingecko.com), reached on Saturday. The price is still up by 7% in a day and 24% in a week. It rallied by 27% in a month and 998% in a year.

Other major cryptoassets are also in green today, with ethereum (ETH) extending its gains by 7%, to USD 1,895, while other coins in the top 10 club advanced by up to 3%.

Per Chainalysis data, BTC reached a new all-time high as inflows to exchanges declined and trade intensity data suggests that some exchanges are starting to receive much less actual supply of the underlying asset than historically despite high demand.

A year ago, BTC and many other assets experienced a major crash, dropping even below the USD 4,000 level. And the world’s first crypto has come a long way since.

“There are many positive developments to keep pushing the coin’s price up, particularly the skyrocketing demand, and the scarcity it caused,” Greg Waisman, Co-founder and Chief Operating Offering of payment network Mercuryo, said in an emailed comment.

According to him, it took over a decade for institutional investors to develop an interest in Bitcoin, but now that they have entered the industry, they have no intention of backing down.

“Another move that has attracted institutional investors is the launch of the third Bitcoin ETF [exchange-traded fund] in Canada, which is also the third BTC ETF in entire North America. It was launched by Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, as the US itself still stubbornly refuses to launch an exchange-traded product, even though companies continue to file for ETFs. The most recent examples include WisdomTree, while Grayscale [aims to hire] ETF specialists, indicating that it might be planning to file its own proposal,” Waisman added.

Meanwhile, Luke Ellis, CEO of Man Group, the world’s biggest publicly traded hedge fund firm, told CNBC yesterday that he sees BTC “as a trading instrument, not a thing that you think of as a long term asset allocation play” and warned that companies are not supposed to speculate with their cash balances.

However, as reported, US-based business intelligence company MicroStrategy bought an additional BTC 262 for around USD 10.5m in cash at an average price of USD 57,146 per coin. Per CEO Michael Saylor, as of March 12, the company holds BTC 91,326 (USD 5.5bn) acquired for USD 2.21bn at an average price of USD 24,214 per bitcoin.

Read more: cryptonews

“Bitcoin has no fundamental value” has long been the war cry for many traditional financial participants. This week we thought we could shed some light on this short-sighted mantra.

To highlight the clear value that Bitcoin affords, we first need to define what it is we are talking about.

So, what is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is both a network and an asset. The Bitcoin network is a real-time gross settlement system comparable to Fedwire and Target. Settlement systems are the base layer of any financial system, and they leverage net settlement systems built on top to scale and provide utility to the day-to-day user.

The Bitcoin network requires participants called miners to contribute resources in order to process, execute and settle transactions. The process of performing these actions is costly, and miners are rewarded with bitcoin, the asset, for their participation.

Bitcoin, the asset, is a commodity on the Bitcoin network, it can be sent across the world, and you require it to pay the network’s fees. It is fungible, divisible, durable, portable, verifiable, scarce and has the additional properties of being censorship and seizure resistant.

Bitcoin also provides the user with high levels of certainty over its future dilution. Unlike fiat money, the issuance of bitcoin is codified and enforced by changes in the difficulty adjustment. This codified approach means bitcoins supply is impervious to changes in its demand.

Market Selected Forms of Money vs Fiat
No one reading this article has witnessed the rise of a market selected form of money; the money we use today is imposed on us and enforced by governments. A leader snapped his fingers and decided – “let it be done” (fiat’s direct translation) – that this paper we issue is now money and has value, backed by the promise of our government. It automatically served the role of being a medium of exchange, store of value and unit of account within that economy.

Market selected forms of money are different. They experience an evolution that challenges people’s perceptions of the money/asset. Historically, market selected forms of money have been commodities.

Gold is our best example. It initially started as a collectible, became a store of wealth, then widely adopted enough to be a medium of exchange and eventually became the very thing (or unit) we price everything in.

Bitcoin in its early days was merely a collectible that miners earnt for providing work to the Bitcoin network. The reason people wanted this collectible in its early days is different from why they demand it today. Initially, people would mine it or acquire it due to its perceived rarity and uniqueness; some, however, had incredible foresight and realised it may serve the role of money in the distant future.

The reasons people want it now are very different. Demand for Bitcoin today is driven by a market need for a non-discretionary, apolitical form of money. The price of Bitcoin is merely a lagging indicator of changing assumptions around money’s role in society. Market participants and institutions are buying bitcoin because it is superior to alternative monetary assets.

Even though market participants choose to store their wealth in Bitcoin, it doesn’t mean that Bitcoin is currently a safe or store of value asset. People are just voting (with their money) that Bitcoin will continue to succeed if demand for a non-discretionary apolitical monetary system continues to grow.

Will this demand continue?
The great financial crisis was a turning point for fiat money. This event — driven by the actions of irresponsible institutions caused an earthquake in financial markets. More importantly, the event caused interest rates all over the developed world to hit a zero bound.

When interest rates hit zero, monetary policy loses its effectiveness and even worse, the cost of money becomes zero. We have seen interest rates continue lower, and in some countries, even go negative. This transforms what is meant to be an asset for the buyer of a bond into a liability. The bond market is breaking in front of our eyes.

Total negative yielding debt is $18 trillion and growing. According to Bloomberg this means that 27% of the world’s investment grade debt is now sub-zero. Governments simply can’t afford to let rates go up.

Add quantitative easing to the mix, and the storm becomes that much harder to weather. Not only are bonds becoming liabilities, but governments are rapidly debasing the value of their currencies.

Read more: CITY A.M.

Bitcoin, which has finally broken its two weeks long slump is now on its way to $100,000 and the US government is going to play a major role in making it happen.

This is according to Anthony Pompliano, a renowned American entrepreneur, finance expert, co-founder of Morgan Creek digital assets fund, and staunch bitcoin supporter.

“The government is going to push bitcoin to $100,000 faster than any of us thought it would happen.”

The statement comes as nearly 160 million households in the US are expected to receive another stimulus check following the passing of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

Pompliano has been consistent with the opinion that the US government is actually hurting, rather than helping the US economy by injecting more debt as part of its fiscal measures against the pandemic.

“The stimulus package won’t cut poverty. It will accelerate it. There are no contrarians left on Wall Street. There are no contrarians left in finance.”

Bitcoin is the Answer to Undisciplined Monetary Policy
In a newsletter to investors, Pompliano explains that Bitcoin has outperformed gold and the S&P 500 index every year in the last 10 years.

In the last one year alone, Bitcoin’s Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) has grown by +575% compared to gold’s 0.96% and +35% for S&P 500, while in 10 years, Bitcoin’s CAGR is +200% compared to gold’s and S&P 500’s +2% and +11% respectively.

On average, Bitcoin has returned 155% each year for the past 5 years, while gold has returned 7% on average each year, over the same period.

US Fed Money Printing Policy Is Extremely Good For Bitcoin
On February 26, the US National debt reached a total of $27.9 trillion, with 2020 fiscal measures against the Coronavirus economic effects accounting for a fifth of the total debt at $3.38 trillion.

Additionally, Fed’s Chair Jay Powell is of the opinion that too much stimulus is better than too little, meaning that the US government is tolerant of higher inflation and likely to continue injecting more money into the economy.

Pompliano reflects the general sentiment of the entire bitcoin/crypto community which says that every time the US Fed’s printers “go Brrrr” it’s another endorsement for Bitcoin.

He advises traditional market investors to embrace Bitcoin as a store of value and other sound digital assets, before it is too late.

Read more: ZyCrypto

According to a Bloomberg Intelligence report released this week, the dominant cryptocurrency Bitcoin is swiftly working its way up to become the new digital gold. This is evident in a chart showing the performances of both assets in which bitcoin has patently been outperforming the metallic asset.

Bitcoin over the years has been gaining more recognition as investors have flocked to the digital asset. “Bitcoin in 2021 is transitioning from a speculative risk asset to a global digital store-of-value”, said the Bloomberg report dating March 2021.

Ending last month on a price of $45,000, the cryptocurrency has since moved past $54,000 in March as at the time of writing. For context, gold which was around US$1,859 per ounce at the start of last month has gone down to US$1,700 per ounce.

The CEO of Microstrategy also chimed in, affirming satirically that Bitcoin was indeed taking over. “The Bitcoin Dragon is devouring the Kingdom of Gold.” He tweeted.

The Bloomberg report which speculated the crypto remaining in the $40,000 to $60,000 threshold would most likely attract responsive buyers at the rate of US$40,000 and increasing demand with a mix of limited supply over time is bound to influence a surge in the value of the currency to $100,000 in 2021.

Recent developments have confirmed the likelihood of this prediction coming about as Tesla – the world’s largest automaker by Market Cap – has shown a growing interest in the digital asset reserve, MicroStrategy stating its support for the currency, Square mentioning that bitcoin sales contributed most to its revenue source the past year, and Meitu, Inc. purchasing Bitcoin worth US$17.9 million for its treasury. The interests from these business giants are capable of influencing an increase in the price of the cryptocurrency and facilitating its acceptability in the global markets, against Gold, which is fast becoming a weak rival.

The inflation concerns in the past week have influenced the fall of most assets, including stocks. Nonetheless, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have remained steady — strangely flat.

Last month, the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen backed the idea of digital dollar research in a New York Times conference, as opposed to the opinion of Steve Mnuchin – her predecessor. Citigroup alongside other investment banking giants has noted that bitcoin is potentially taking over, stating that the digital asset could be “the currency of choice”.

On the other hand, the metallic liege lord keeps getting hammered down as a result of the increasing interest rates in the United States as well as its prices struggling in Indian markets.

Noting all these, it is not out of place to predict the potential dominance of Bitcoin in global markets, overthrowing the despotism of the metallic king.

Read more: ZyCrypto

If history is any indicator, Bitcoin’s price should never again go below the $10,000 level.

An important technical indicator reveals that, if history is anything to go by, Bitcoin’s price shouldn’t go back below $10,000 ever again.

And while it seems like we’re a very long way from this mark right now, it’s important to keep things in perspective. After all, BTC was trading below this level less than 7 months ago.

Bitcoin Price Shouldn’t Go Back Below $10,000.
Bitcoin’s price has been on a face-melting bull run throughout the past couple of months. In fact, the last time it was trading below $10,000 was back at the beginning of September 2020 – about 7 months ago.

Now, one of the more popular analysts and bitcoin commentators, as well as a well-known proponent of the cryptocurrency, Carl ‘The Moon’ Runefelt, explained in one of his recent YouTub videos the reason he thinks bitcoin’s price will never go back below $10,000. At least, if history is any indicator, of course.

The Moon explains that this MA “seems to be the line of last support.”

“Tho HODLers are defending these levels and we can’t break it. We’re not able to break it. This means that […] currently the 200 WMA is at $10,000. So, logically, this means that the Bitcoin price can never again go below $10,000.”

Bitcoin’s Ascending History
Looking at the above chart from Bitstamp, we can clearly see that the price for Bitcoin has been trending upwards in the long-term, and there hasn’t been a point where the 200 WMA has been on a descending slope since it started showing data mid-2015.

There were a few attempts to breach the 200 WMA, but all of them were ultimately unsuccessful. Even in March 2020, when the price collapsed throughout the Covid-induced global pandemic and markets tanked, Bitcoin ultimately didn’t close a weekly candle below the 200 WMA.

The other two occasions when the price dropped to this level were back in August 2015 when we saw the famous “capitulation candle,” when BTC price took one last dive below $200 and subsequently fired up the bull market of 2017. The other occasion was the bottom of that bull market in December 2018.

In general, Bitcoin’s market has been cyclic. This is an entirely psychological phenomenon where the market goes through different stages, ultimately resulting in cycles. Of course, things can change, but the key here is the assumption that Bitcoin goes up overtime against the USD.

Most recently, Bitcoin is regaining its momentum following a push to $54K after a notable correction and a few days of indecisiveness. Its total market capitalization, at the time of this writing, sits above $1 trillion, which is definitely a huge milestone to consider.

Read more: CryptoPotato

As Bitcoin price makes headlines across mainstream and financial media, skeptics of cryptocurrencies have come out of the woodwork in droves.

The latest skepticism comes from Tim Bond, partner and portfolio manager at Odey Asset Management, who claims that Bitcoin has very little benefit to society, and instead is an extreme form of Libertarian anarchism. But could there actually be truth in the bold, blanket statement?

Tim Bond Bashes Bitcoin As Pointless, Vile, And Damaging To The Environment
Bitcoin is a subject that most economists, tech enthusiasts entrepreneurs, and fund managers alike are asked about these days, as the asset has ballooned from under $10,000 to more than $50,000 per coin in less than one year.

Depending on who you ask, it is the most important technological revolution since the internet, while others might claim it is a bubble wait to burst.

Tim Bond, fund manager at Odey Asset Management, instead calls it “particularly vile,” “pointless,” and “damaging to the environment.”

Bond claims that Bitcoin isn’t only emitting more CO2 than most small economies, but that it is spearheading “a particularly extreme form of libertarian anarchism,” which he says is why the cryptocurrency is so popular amongst Silicon Valley types.

“If bitcoin starts to displace fiat currencies [government-issued currency that is not backed by a commodity], governments’ ability to tax, spend and redistribute will be severely impaired,” Bond continued.

Crypto Anarchist Future Prefers Consensus Over Forced Taxation
Bond, however, is absolutely right about at least one thing: Bitcoin could severely impact a “governments’ ability to tax, spend and redistribute” – a system that is arguably broken already.

Governments like the United States establish control over society through their money, and without that leverage, society won’t be as compelled to comply with taxation and other forms of control.

While much of this infrastructure was designed for the benefit of civilized society, governments have abused this control and how they redistribute wealth is a major ongoing economic problem that only Bitcoin has the potential to fix.

Read more: NEWSBTC