Bitcoin is towering above where it was this past Christmas, and according to some estimates, it’s poised to soar much higher.
Friday morning, fintech journalists (and many other observer) are making much of Bitcoin’s rise up to over $5700, and its march toward that critical $6000 mark.
“Bitcoin has broken multiple price thresholds over the day, having surged to as high as $5,854 from an intraday low of $5,448,” writes Helen Partz at Cointelegraph this morning. “At press time, the biggest cryptocurrency is trading at $5,808, up 6.5% over the past 24 hours. Following a significant price surge, bitcoin is up almost 10% over the past 7 days.”
Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency to see big gains – runner-up Ethereum is up almost 5%, and Ripple (XRP) is up over 1%, while other smaller coins, like both flavors of post-fork Bitcoin Cash, are also in the green.
But it’s Bitcoin that many traders are primarily fixated on, and there’s evidence to suggest that this household name cryptocurrency has some pretty strong fundamentals.
This isn’t meant to be a cheer leading section, but let’s focus on where Bitcoin is right now, and some distinct positives that apply.
We have Bitcoin ATMs being rolled out around the world, in places like downtown Chicago and Philadelphia, and a Bitcoin exchange traded fund under advisement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
We also have the big debate between coin enthusiasts and coin detractors like Nouriel Roubini over whether cryptocurrency either combats or aids fraud and deception.
It’s important to note that Bitcoin receives a lot less scrutiny in terms of fraud and money laundering than, say, Monero, a “dark web” coin, or certain types of smaller altcoins, not to mention central-bank cryptocurrencies like the Petro and private blockchain coins, some of which have virtually no oversight.
By contrast, Bitcoin is essentially the authentic type of decentralized consensus-based blockchain cryptocurrency. It works as cryptocurrency was meant to – in a transparent blockchain ledger that is controlled by an enormous number of investing hands.
All of this supports the idea that Bitcoin has a long way to go.
For example, in a client note May 2, Fundstrat analyst Robert Sluymer predicts a long term bull market for Bitcoin continuing on into 2020.
“Bitcoin’s (BTC) price may pull back soon, but investors should leverage it to buy more, Bloomberg quoted market strategy firm Fundstrat Global Advisors as saying on May 3,” writes Cointelegraph’s William Suberg.
When you evaluate Bitcoin in the current market or future markets, keep in mind that one of the reasons value is so strong on a volatility cycle is Bitcoin’s inherently decentralized nature and all of the stability that comes along with that. In other words, one coin isn’t just like another, and if you are cautious about investor oversight, Bitcoin may be a better choice than some other less tested cryptocurrencies.
