The often overused term “crypto winter” may finally be getting retired for a bit as analysts have started to announce we are in more of a “crypto spring”. In fact, analyst Brian Kelly believes we’ll see $50k Bitcoin in the next year.
Bullish predictions aren’t new, but with the recent shift in the climate, our ability to take them seriously has definitely improved. With technicals and fundamentals looking good for Bitcoin (as well as altcoins in general), the future’s looking bright.
What it Will Take for Mass Adoption
As CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong has an extreme level of belief in the likelihood of mass adoption. The more people who participate in the crypto craze, the more the price will go up. In his eyes, the three main factors that need to improve are volatility, usability, and scalability. Users love volatility when they can benefit from it on the upside, but more traditional investors are unlikely to get involved until prices start to stabilize. This is one reason why stablecoins like Tether have done so well.
The last 15 months have seen significant development on the scalability front. Lightning network has been implemented and other solutions are in the works. Bitcoin is no Paypal yet, but it was never meant to be.
Finally, users still struggle to invest in cryptocurrencies. The banks don’t make it easy and it is taking integration from other mainstream applications for usability to move forward at all.
More Explanations for the Price Rise
Everyone has been floating their own ideas on why the price of Bitcoin has gone up so much. Other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Ripple have experienced the same rise, but that is usually due to their heavy correlation with Bitcoin and less to do with a change in their fundamentals.
One recent point that analysts have made regarding the price pump is that many Chinese investors have begun to circumvent anti-Bitcoin regulations in order to pump money in. They are experiencing FOMO (fear of missing out) and also trying to lock in gains they might have experienced with the 20% rise in the Hang Seng Index. Current reports are unclear if this was a reaction to the rise in Bitcoin or the actual cause of it.
A Perfect Climate for Bitcoin
At the same time as everyone is talking about the good in Bitcoin, Paypal is making cryptocurrency look even more appealing as a method of transferring money across borders. With their recent announcement about keeping merchant fees even after executing refunds be the cause of this?
The sellers fees have been perceived as unfair from the perspective of sellers, and when you combine this with the increase in international payment fees, Paypal is definitely attracting the anger of two of their most profitable segments. By moving from a flat fee to a percentage fee (albeit with a cap of $5), it becomes much less practical to send smaller amounts and really hurts the small-time users.
Paypal’s screw up could be Bitcoin’s time to shine. It and many other cryptocurrencies, like Dash or Litecoin, can transmit money for way cheaper. As mass adoption comes and the price continues to increase, things are looking rosy for Bitcoin’s future.