This news proves the crypto industry isn’t dead even after Bitcoin’s 50% crash last week ๐จ This article is 5 years old...
This news proves the crypto industry isn’t dead even after Bitcoin’s 50% crash last week
3 min read
Updated: Mar. 20, 2020 at 2:45 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Glancing at Bitcoin’s price performance over the past week, punctuated by a 50 percent decline on the days Mar. 12 and 13, it’s easy to say that “crypto is dead.”
Case in point: Peter Brandt, a long-time commodities trader that once said BTC could hit $50,000 and beyond, recently argued that if he looks at the asset’s chart “without bias,” he sees a feasible decline to sub-$1,000 prices. He even went as far as to say that once Bitcoin fell under $7,500, he placed all his “bets on zero.”
All along I have stated my belief that there was a 50% chance BTC was going to $100,000 and a 50% chance it would go to $0, or literally zero. Once we broke through 7500 I place my bets on zero.
— Peter Brandt (@PeterLBrandt) March 13, 2020
Fortunately, this seems to be anything but the case, with a single news event proving that cryptocurrencies are more alive than ever before.
Crypto is anything but dead; Bakkt proved that on Monday
Bakkt is undoubtedly one of the most hyped companies in the crypto industry; the infrastructure startup, best known for its Bitcoin futures that are physically deliverable as opposed to cash-settled, was lauded in 2018/early-2019’s bear market as the most likely harbinger of another Bitcoin bull run.
While this didn’t happen โ the day Bakkt launched actually saw BTC fall nearly 20 percent โ the upstart continues to prove there remains institutional interest in cryptocurrencies in trying times, just as it did in the last bear market.
Announced Monday morning, Bakkt has just completed its Series B financing round, raising a jaw-dropping $300 million worth of capital, adding to the $182.5 million it raised for its Series A, which saw global coffee giant Starbucks participate. Round participants included the Intercontinental Exchange โ the owner of the New York Stock Exchange โ Microsoft’s venture division, and Boston Consulting Group.
Per the post outlining this news, Bakkt will be putting these funds to help roll out its next big project: a mobile application that will unlock “nearly $1 trillion of digital assets” โ from cryptocurrencies like BTC to loyalty points.
The details of this project are scarce, though there were reports released in 2019 that suggest Starbucks may accept Bitcoin โ yes, you may be able to buy a venti vanilla bean frappuccino with some satoshis โ through the application.
The fact that some of the world’s most powerful companies โ namely Microsoft and Starbucks โ are throwing their weight behind a Bitcoin startup confirms that this industry is anything but a joke or a failure; rather, it’s just beginning.
How did this go unnoticed… https://t.co/7nGOAI5S3e
— Trajan (@SplitCapital) March 16, 2020
Not the only reason why Bitcoin’s bull case remains intact
Indeed, while there are many reasons to be bearish on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in the short term, the long-term value of this asset class is arguably more potent than ever before, supported by news like the aforementioned and the following.
Per previous reports from CryptoSlate, on Sunday the Federal Reserve made history when it revealed it would be restarting its large-scale asset purchase program by purchasing $700 billion in securities, cutting its policy interest rate by 1 percent, and abolishing reserve requirements for banks.
This was music to the ears of Bitcoiners the world over. As put best by Russell Okung, a player for the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and a fervent Bitcoin evangelist:
“The world has never needed Bitcoin more.”
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In this article
Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Bakkt
Bakkt is a new company of NYSE-operator InterContinental Exchange (ICE) designed to bring digital assets to the mainstream and help unlock the potential of this important technology.
Peter Brandtย entered the commodity trading business in 1976 with ContiCommodity Services, a division of Continental Grain Company.