The Calm Before the Storm for Bitcoin
Surprisingly, bitcoin has been relatively stable in the past few months. For the last two months, Bitcoin has been traded in the narrow range of $6,000 — $6,800. While markets are typically unpredictable, Bitcoin appears to remain calm, for now anyway.
However, is this calmness just a prelude to a huge change? Is it the calm before the proverbial Bitcoin storm? Most people speculate for Bitcoin prices to skyrocket in the next few years. In previous periods of humble price swings and low volatility, this popular cryptocurrency surprised the market with a Bitcoin bull market.
Going Up — What Will Move Bitcoin Forward?
This current quiet period for Bitcoin is likely leading up to another bull market, but what will be its catalyst? There are a few developments that may have a significant impact on Bitcoin’s current prices.
Tim Draper, billionaire investor, believes Bitcoin will reach his target price of $250,000 by 2022. Draper attests that in the next five years, everyday transactions will be performed with Bitcoin instead of cash or credit. To back up this bullish analysis, Tom Lee of Fundstrat also believes that Bitcoin is on its way to becoming incredibly valuable. Lee went a step further to say that Bitcoin could reach $25,000 by 2018’s end.
Bitcoin’s Detractors
Just as Bitcoin has its passionate supporters, it also has its skeptics. Of Bitcoin’s detractors, the most notable are JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon and famed investor Warren Buffet. Dimon holds that he doesn’t care for the cryptocurrency, saying that Bitcoin is hardly the same as traditional forms of currency. Dimon’s opinion poses an important question — why should anyone care about cryptocurrency?
When looking at the hard facts of the banking system in America, it makes sense that Dimon, the head of such a powerful banking institution, would despise cryptocurrency. Essentially, the creation of the dollar, the lending of credit, and any conventional methods of banking are owned by the likes of Dimon. Alternatively, cryptocurrency like Bitcoin favors the general public over private institutions like banks.
Bitcoin and blockchain technology both promise to effectively put the control of currency into the hands of the individual instead of banks and private institutions. With Bitcoin, the average person can follow in the footsteps of Jimmy Buffet and other popular investors.
While the power of cryptocurrency is just beginning to be understood, many investors are buying into Bitcoin while it is still stable. Once the market changes, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen next.
