Category Archives: Bitcoin

This weeks price movements for bitcoin, gold, the S&P 500, and this weeks wildcard stock Canopy Growth Corporation, with bonus Airbnb.

Bitcoin (BTC) has mostly been trading sideways, but compared to last week, it has overall been bearish. Last weeks bull run saw BTCs price jump from around $51,500 on March 26 to nearly $60,000 on March 31. However, on April 1, it began channeling between $58,000 and just below $60,000.

On April 3, the price fell to $57,000, which it struggled to overcome the next day before falling back to that level on April 5. Later that day, though, the price bounced back up above $59,000. Persistent selling pressure then took it back down to $56,000 by April 7. Bitcoin is currently trading just below $58,000.

Source: TradingView

Despite this short-term volatility, bitcoin is still in an overall uptrend, according to Fairlead Strategies analyst Katie Stockton.

In our reports, weve highlighted a short- and intermediate-term neutral view for both bitcoin and ethereum (ETH), within the context of their long-term trends, she said. So, if we were a long-term holder wed certainly sit with these coins.

Gold had a rollercoaster ride last week, which ended on an upswing. That trend continued this week.

On April 1, gold continued trading up before rising to $1,730 by the end of the day. It reached nearly $1,735, where it stalled going into the weekend. Gold channeled mostly between $1,730 and $1,720 when markets reopened on April 5.

Meanwhile, April 6 began with buying pressure that largely continued into the afternoon, rising to $1,745. Gold floated down to $1,735 by the end of April 7. But buying pressure early in the day pushed golds price up to $1,755, where it is currently trading.

Source: TradingView

This is the highest gold has been trading for over a month, as the dollar and U.S. yields dropped and the Federal Reserves reaffirmation of its dovish policy stance also lifted its appeal.

Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist, RJO Futures, said:

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The dollar and U.S. yields are coming off, and thats the key catalyst right now. A pretty unimpressive jobs number is also helping push gold higher.

Haberkorn further added:

And the fact that were above $1,750, which is a key technical level, shows that gold has some legs to continue higher.

The S&P 500 (SPX) reached a new all-time high last week, rising above the $4,000 threshold for the first time. This pushed on to $4,020 on April 1. On April 5, the price had gapped up even further, pushing past $4,080 by the end of the day.

It seemed to have met resistance at this point, trading at this level for the next two days. However, on April 8, it began trading up again, reaching $4,095, where it is currently trading.

Source: TradingView

One reason the S&P 500 eked out another record closing high was minutes from the Federal Reserves March meeting. The minutes mentioned policymakers commitment to accommodative monetary policy to support a full economic recovery while showing concerns about the job markets recovery.

Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E-Trade Financial, wrote:

With the tick up in jobless claims this week, were back up to the elevated levels we saw to kick off the year.

This weeks wildcard stock is Canopy Growth Corporation. Over the past few months, the stock of the Canadian cannabis company had traded largely like a cryptocurrency.

After seeing increased momentum towards the end of last year, it exploded in the new year, reaching an all-time high by mid-February. However, like the crypto markets, it tumbled down towards the end of the month.

Although unassociated with cryptocurrencies, the marijuana industry is also a relative newcomer to financial markets.

Source: TradingView

Although the stock has struggled in the past month, some good news is on the horizon. The company announced this week that it would be acquiring Toronto-based Supreme Cannabis Co. Inc. in a stock and cash deal valued at about $345.6 million. As marijuana becomes increasingly legalized across States in America, this consolidation could CGC meet that exploding demand.

This weeks bonus stock in Airbnb (ABNB). ABNB had its IPO on Dec. 10, 2020. Despite occurring in the midst of a global pandemic, the house-sharing platform popular with tourists has fared well coming into the new year.

The stock saw healthy buying pressure in the first month of the year. This continued to its peak, once again in mid-February, of $219.88. As a new stock, it has seen a lot of volatility, but its overall bullish trend now appears to be trading sideways, as another spike in mid-March failed to clear the previous all-time high. It is currently trading around $182.

Source: TradingView

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Gold, Stocks, and Bitcoin: Weekly Overview April 8 - Yahoo Finance

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BIGtoken Inc., the first privacy focused, opt-in data marketplace where people own and monetize their data, will host a webinar on Thursday, April 15, 2021 to discuss the future of bitcoin.

With the price of bitcoin up 90% year-to-date, driven in large part by institutional investors, are we closer to the beginning or the end of this cycle? Bitcoin has potential to hit a $400K price peak this year, how much longer until it becomes a risk-off choice for investors? And as it matures, will bitcoin continue to have the dramatic plunges in price that have plagued it in the past? What else is happening across the crypto landscape, from NFT to CBDCs, that will impact the global interest in bitcoin?

Join BIGtoken CEO Lou Kerner, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Commodity Strategist Mike McGlone, and Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten on April 15 for a discussion on the future of bitcoin.

Who: Lou Kerner, Mike McGlone, Cory Klippsten

When: April 15, 2021 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT

Where: Sign up for the webinar via Zoom HERE!

Mike McGlone

Mike McGlone is a senior commodity strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence, a unique research platform that provides context on industries, companies, and government policy. Mr. McGlone specializes in the broad investable commodity and crypto markets, authoring the monthly Bloomberg Commodity Outlook and Bloomberg Crypto Outlook.

Mr. McGlone joined Bloomberg in 2016 with over 25 years of futures and commodity trading and investing experience, beginning at the Chicago Board of Trade. Prior to joining Bloomberg, he was a head of U.S. research at ETF Securities. Prior to ETF Securities, Mr. McGlone headed the commodity business at S&P Indices. His previous roles included head of futures research at ABN Amro and VP research, analyst, trader, sales at Aubrey G. Lanston / IBJ Futures.

Mr. McGlone has an MBA from DePaul University in Chicago and bachelors of science and arts degrees from Illinois State University. He is a CFA Charter holder and has earned a Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation.

Cory Klippsten

Cory Klippsten is the founder and CEO of Swan Bitcoin. He also serves as an advisor to Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT), Unchained Capital, and Bitcoin Venture Fund (TVP), and is a partner in Bitcoiner Ventures. As an advisor he has supported more than $250M of fundraising since 2016, and as an angel has funded 20+ early stage startups.

Before startups, Klippsten worked for Google, McKinsey, Microsoft and Morgan Stanley, and earned an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of Chicago. He grew up in San Francisco and Seattle, split 15 years between NYC and Chicago, and now lives in LA with his wife and daughters.

About BIGtoken

BIGtoken believes that data privacy is a human right. BIGtoken is the first privacy focused, opt-in data marketplace where people own and monetize their data. Through a transparent platform and consumer reward system, BIG offers users choice, transparency, and compensation for their anonymized data. Participating consumers earn rewards and advertisers and media companies get access to insights from compliant first-party data for marketing and media activation. For more information on BIGtoken, visit bigtoken.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information:

This news release contains "forward-looking statements'' made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to future, not past, events and may often be identified by words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek" or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Specific risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include risks inherent in our business, and our need for future capital. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in BIGtokens periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

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BIGtoken to Host Webinar on Thursday, April 15, 2021 to Discuss Bitcoin 2021 and Beyond - Business Wire

Celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary says he will only buy bitcoin mined sustainably in countries that use clean energy and not "blood coin" mined in China.

"I see over the next year or two, two kinds of coin," he told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Monday. "Blood coin from China, (and) clean coin mined sustainably in countries that use hydroelectricity, not coal."

Bitcoin mining is extremely energy intensive, and around 65% of the world's bitcoin was mined in China as of April 2020, according to Statista.

"I'm going on the side of clean coin," said O'Leary.

O'Leary did not elaborate on where he acquires "clean" bitcoin, but some countries use hydroelectric power more widely than others, and there are entities that claim to mine cryptocurrencies in a sustainable way.

The chairman of O'Shares ETFs once called bitcoin "garbage," but changed his mind more recently and said he would allocate 3% of his personal portfolio to the cryptocurrency, according to a CoinDesk report.

O'Leary said he was "inundated" by institutions asking if he was buying "blood coin from China" after he said he wanted to invest in bitcoin.

I'm not buying coin unless I know where it was mined, when it was mined, the provenance of it. Not in China. No blood coin for me.

Kevin O'Leary

Chairman of OShares ETFs

Increasingly, large institutions impose restrictions on assets they will hold in order to comply with environmental and corporate governance rules. Concerns include human rights and carbon emissions. O'Leary said whether products are made in China is also a consideration.

"All these issues have now come to the fore on bitcoin," he said. "Institutions will not buy coin mined in China, coin mined using coal to burn for electricity, coin mined in countries with sanctions on them."

Institutions are saying that they don't want to endorse China because of issues with human rights, he added.

O'Leary said personally, he's working to ensure every coin he owns is compliant.

"I'm not buying coin unless I know where it was mined, when it was mined, the provenance of it," he said. "Not in China. No blood coin for me."

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Kevin OLeary says he will only buy bitcoin mined with clean energy, and none mined in China - CNBC

Ripple won the right on Tuesday to peek into the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) internal communications on how it determines whether a cryptocurrency is a security.

The San Francisco-based cryptocurrency firm is hoping to find evidence the regulator defined XRP at some point as being similar to bitcoin and ether, two cryptocurrencies largely accepted as non-security instruments, according to a report by Law360.

The distinction is important as the SEC is alleging Ripple and two of its executives violated U.S. securities laws in selling XRP to retail consumers. The case may lead to a court ruling on how and when a cryptocurrency is considered a security that other startups in the U.S. could use as informal guidance in the future.

Related: Bloomberg Foresees Bitcoin Rallying to $400K This Year

The eight years taken by the regulator to file suit against Ripple is also another angle being pushed by the cryptocurrency firm as it attempts to strengthen its argument in the five-month-old case.

Granted by U.S. Judge Sarah Netburn in the Southern District Court of New York, the motion affords Ripple access to the SECs minutes and memos expressing the agencys interpretation or views on cryptocurrency, which Netburn said are likely discoverable. Netburn also said Ripples discovery was a high-stakes win, according to the report.

Read more: XRP Rises Above $1 for First Time Since March 2018, Despite SEC Shadow

One of Ripples lawyers, Mathew Solomon, argued it could be game over for the entire case should Ripple catch the SEC as having privately stated XRP is more like a currency than a security because that would place XRP outside the regulators jurisdiction.

Related: Chart of the Day: Coinbase Q1 Revenue Compared to Other Exchanges

Im going to grant in large part the defendants motion, said Netburn. As part of the ruling, staff-to-staff email communications will not have to be produced.

Story continues

In December, the SEC sued Ripple, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Executive Chairman Chris Larsen alleging they violated federal securities laws in selling $1.38 billion worth of XRP to the general public. The defendants are arguing they havent done anything wrong.

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Ripple Granted Access to SEC Documents on Bitcoin, Ether in Ongoing XRP Fight - Yahoo Finance

The Ballooning Valuations In Private Equity Deals

Private equity is getting increasingly expensive. As a result, the pricing of an average deal today, by the EV/EBITDA metric, is expected to be at a premium relative to the last decade.

The EV/EBIDTA ratio breaks down into two parts:

Overall, EV/EBITDA shows the relationship between a companys total value and its earnings, and is often seen as the price-to-earnings ratios sophisticated sibling, used to view companies the way acquirers would.

However, the EV component is not necessarily intuitive, so lets expand a little on it:

To acquire a company completely, one must pay out all stakeholders in order to reach the final cost of the acquisition. This includes the stock (equity holders) and the debt holders, subsequently, adding back the market value debt to market cap does just this.

Subtracting cash can also be seen as arriving at net debt. That is, the remaining debt after using the cash and equivalents on a companys balance sheet to pay it down. In other words, if cash exceeds debt, enterprise value shrinks, and the cost of acquiring the company becomes cheaper. Whereas if debt exceeds cash, the acquirer would have to pay off more debt holders, thus making the acquisition more expensive.

First, the public markets are often used as a starting point to derive valuations for deals. Generally, companies with similar business models and operations should be assigned similar valuation multiples. For instance, Lowes and Home Depot, or alternatively, Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Therefore, a company under consideration in private equity often has peers trading publicly.

Furthermore, the average multiple assigned to businesses in the stock market fluctuates through peaks and troughs. Today, theyre trading at a premium to historic averages, a result of a rallying prices and elevated investor risk appetite. Naturally, these public valuations spills over into the private equity space.

Second, asset markets move based on relativity and opportunity cost. A low interest rate environment pairing with the trillions in money printing is placing debt securities at unattractive levels. Hence, low rates of return on debt is resulting in money moving elsewhere.

For private equity though, debt is considered fuel. And in this industry firms use high levels of leverage to acquire companies. For this reason, low rates and cheap debt are a private equity managers dream.

But whats true for one private equity firm can be true for all. Because access to cheap debt means more money chasing deals, and this heightened level of competition is reflecting in the higher multiples and expensive deals today.

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Why the Market is Thinking About Bitcoin Differently - Visual Capitalist

Experts representing numerous aspects of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin are scheduled to participate in the Bitcoin Conference April 16-17, hosted by the Mays Innovation Research Center, a center of excellence within Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.

The conference, which will be held via Zoom but with an in-person option on April 17, will address topics such as Bitcoins economic foundations, underlying technology, business and finance, and the law/policy/regulatory landscape.

Bitcoin is one of the most radical innovations of our time, so it is appropriate that the Center convene a healthy debate on Bitcoin from all angles, said Center Director Korok Ray.

Bitcoin, created in 2009 by an unknown person, is the first cryptocurrency. The digital currency is bought and sold anonymously, usually through exchanges such as Coinbase, without the need for banks or other intermediaries. The supply is limited to 21 million coins.

Bitcoin is now reaching widespread adoption and attention from institutional investors and corporations in addition to retail investors, Ray said. This attention is at least partly in response to the current low interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve.

There is considerable debate among investment professionals regarding the fundamental value of Bitcoin. Some market participants expect Bitcoins value to continue to rise, reflecting an increase in competition for a limited number of coins. Others are more conservative in their predictions, pointing to significant regulatory risk and to the fact that, contrary to other financial assets, acquiring Bitcoin does not confer their holder a claim on a commodity, on a precious metal, or on the cashflow of any other asset.

Ray said conference participants will better understand what Bitcoin is and how it works, as well as its possibilities, limitations, and future prospects.

The conference idea came from conversations between Mays Business School faculty, including Ray, and Grant Weston, Texas A&M Bitcoin Club president.

I founded the Texas A&M Bitcoin Club with my roommate Matt Lohstroh to create a community around Bitcoin, said Weston, a senior busines honors major. Students need to know about the opportunities that are out there. The Bitcoin space is still so small. Every new participant makes a difference.

Featured speakers will include Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates; Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson; Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy; Bill Miller of Miller Value Partners; Pete Briger of Fortress Investment Group; Glenn Hutchins of Silver Lake Partners; Rob Kaplan of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas; Dawn Stump of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission; Nobel Laureate Eric Maskin of Harvard; and more.

For the full schedule and to register, go to the Bitcoin Conference registration page.

Link:
Texas A&M Mays Innovation Research Center To Host Bitcoin Conference April 16-17 - Texas A&M University Today

Allianzs chief economic advisor Mohamed El-Erian says that bitcoin is not too big to fail and that governments may intervene. While he believes that cryptocurrency will grow in popularity, the economist says it takes away a lot from governments, adding that this asset can only establish itself if governments allow it to.

Mohamed El-Erian said in an interview with CNN Tuesday that bitcoin is not too big to fail and its failure could disrupt the global monetary system due to the liquidity paradigm.

El-Erian, an Egyptian-American businessman, is the president of Queens College, Cambridge University. He is also the chief economic adviser at Allianz, the corporate parent of PIMCO, one of the largest investment managers, where he was CEO and co-chief investment officer.

He explained that there are three types of crypto investors. The first type consists of those who use bitcoin to mitigate risk, viewing the cryptocurrency as the least bad asset. The economist explained that as the Fed has kept interest rates low, the price of government bonds has become artificially high, making them less attractive for investors looking to mitigate risk and diversify their portfolios. Usually, investors will turn to gold but since the metal is also experiencing difficulties, investors are turning to bitcoin despite its volatility, he noted.

The second type comprises speculators and the third type of investors are those who truly believe that there will be a debasement of currencies. The economist added that investors are assuming that crypto assets will grow in popularity in the private sector and governments will not interfere. While El-Erian also believes that demand for cryptocurrencies will rise, he is unsure about the government not intervening. The Allianz chief economic advisor cautioned:

I tend to tell people: be really careful. This is an asset that wants to establish itself, but it can only establish itself if governments allow it to. And it takes away a lot from governments.

As for whether bitcoin is too big to fail, he said: From a narrow perspective, its not too big to fail. From a broader perspective, that would be another challenge for the liquidity paradigm.

He elaborated that there is plenty of liquidity sloshing around the system, but excessive and irresponsible risk-taking is still being encouraged in certain areas. El-Erian noted that last week, the implosion of Archegos Capital caused several stocks to tumble and led to billions of dollars in losses for investment banks. Moreover, the financial market chaos in January surrounding Gamestop and other heavily shorted meme stocks drove up their prices and squeezed short sellers.

Do you think bitcoin is too big to fail? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Economist Says Bitcoin Isn't Too Big to Fail Warns BTC Can Only Establish Itself if Governments Allow It Regulation - Bitcoin News

Rarely does a news cycle go by without some mention of bitcoin's growing popularity, from fans and skeptics alike.

Its prices on trading exchanges tumbled around Thanksgiving last year only to roar back and set an all-time high of $19,857 on November 30: a 177% year-to-date increase that put the S&P 500's 14% rise to shame, as Insider previously reported.

Then, last month, the cryptocurrency hit an all-time high, with prices surging to $60,000. One quirk of the increase meant that two pizzas bought by crypto legend Laszlo Hanyecz would have effectively been worth $613 million.

Bitcoin's volatility is well-publicized and has led many investors, including Warren Buffet, to criticize it and other cryptocurrencies as "risky" and "worthless." Such warnings have not dissuaded more companies from accepting the currency as an official payment option, however.

In February, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would accept bitcoin as a form of payment for all models of its cars in the US. In addition, Twitter's CEO and founder, Jack Dorsey, teamed up with Jay-Z for abitcoin endowment. The pair will invest 500 bitcoins to develop the currency in India and Africa.

Although Tesla stole the headlines, there are also hundreds of other notable companies that accept the cryptocurrency as a valid form of payment, across various industries.

Burger King Venezuela accepts cryptocurrencies as payment. AP

Restaurant Brands International is one of the world's largest fast-food holding companies. It is the parent company of Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes.

Last year, Burger King Venezuela announced it will begin accepting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It collaborated with Cryptobuyer, a platform that generates conversion of cryptocurrencies to normal currency, Yahoo Finance reported.

Yum Brands, which operates KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill, is also accepting cryptocurrencies.

The corporation permitted bitcoin as a valid payment method at Pizza Hut Venezuela last year. Yum Brands also partnered with CryptoBuyer to initiate the launch of crypto payment methods, according to Nasdaq.

For a short period of time, KFC Canada accepted the cryptocurrency as payment for products such as the Bitcoin Bucket, via a partnership with BitPay, per Yahoo Finance.

PayPal announced in October 2020 that users can buy, sell, and hold selective cryptocurrencies through their Cash or Cash Plus accounts starting in 2021. AP

After provisionally pausing from accepting the cryptocurrency as a valid payment method due to its volatility, Xbox is accepting bitcoin payments for Xbox store credits.

Meanwhile, PayPal announced in October 2020 that users can buy, sell, and hold selective cryptocurrencies through their Cash or Cash Plus accounts, starting in 2021, Yahoo Finance reports.

Users will also have the ability to learn and track crypto within their PayPal app.

Although Amazon does not directly permit bitcoin as a valid payment method, you can buy Amazon vouchers and gift cards through Bitrefill. This is a crypto-only company that authorizes users to top up subscription-based services, and then spend them on Amazon.

Coca-Cola Amatil announced their partnership with an online assets platform, Centrapay, to permit bitcoin as an official payment method last year. AP

Coca-Cola Amatil is one of the world's biggest bottlers and distributors of non-alcoholic and ready-to-drink beverages in the Asia Pacific region.

Last year, the company announced in a press release their partnership with an online assets platform, Centrapay. This enabled it to accept bitcoin as an official payment method. There are about 2,000 vending machines in Australia and New Zealand that now accept cryptocurrency, according to a CoinDesk report.

Elsewhere, Starbucks began testing bitcoin payments last year through the app, Bakkt, Nasdaq reported.

This week, the digital asset marketplace app launched their digital-wallet application, in which users can convert bitcoin into USD to reload their Starbucks Card.

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More companies are accepting bitcoin, including PayPal and Xbox - Business Insider

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices are soaring, pushing the value of the entire cryptocurrency market over $2 trillion for the first time (though some think the bull run could be just getting started).

With the bitcoin price hovering around $60,000 per bitcoin, the psychological $2 trillion barrier was broken by sharp increases in the price of smaller cryptocurrencies ethereum, binance coin, Ripple's XRP and litecoin, according to data from crypto price website CoinGecko.

INDIA - 2020/04/30: In this photo illustration a Bitcoin cryptocurrency logo seen displayed on a ... [+] smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The bitcoin and cryptocurrency market has more than doubled in value so far this year, rising from around $750 billion at the beginning of the year. Bitcoin, by far the biggest cryptocurrency by value, makes up more than half of the cryptocurrency market capitalization and has traditionally led the market.

However, the latest rally is being driven by ethereum and binance coin, both cryptocurrencies that have surged over the last year due to a burst of interest in so-called decentralized finance (DeFi). Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin with a total value of around $250 billion, has hit a fresh all-time high price over the last weekadding a further 2% today.

Binance coin and bitcoin-rival litecoin, both top ten cryptocurrencies, have each added around 10% during the last 24 hours.

XRP, the cryptocurrency developed by the company Ripple, has leaped by 35% over the same period following upbeat comments from Ripple chief executive Brad Garlinghouse on the company's legal battle with U.S. regulators that have claimed XRP is a security and was illegally sold to investors. Ripple is braced for a key discovery session with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, bitcoin and cryptocurrency traders are feeling positive after breaking the $2 trillion barrier and it's thought this so-called altcoin rally could be set to continue for some time yet.

"I'm expecting continuation upwards in the coming weeks, with bitcoin lagging," says crypto trader and economist Alex Krger, speaking via Telegram. "The issue for this market is that leverage heats up too easily whenever bitcoin pushes higher. That's a headwind."

The bitcoin price has added almost 800% over the last 12 months, climbing to a total value of over ... [+] $1 trillion.

Other crypto market watchers are feeling similarly optimistic, though passing the $2 trillion milestone has had a muted reaction after a run that's seen so many barriers broken.

"It's a fun milestone to celebrate but as we know, quite meaningless," says Mati Greenspan, the founder of market analysis firm Quantum Economics, who's feeling bullish despite the massive gains cryptocurrencies have already racked up this year. "The crypto market will continue to grow and more non-crypto related markets will migrate to digital assets. It's a very good time for the industry."

The bitcoin and cryptocurrency bull run was sparked in October by news PayPal PYPL would be opening up its platform to bitcoin and a handful of other cryptocurrencies, kicking off a wave of institutional investment in the crypto space. Meanwhile, Telsa billionaire Elon Musk whipped retail traders into a frenzy with his pro-bitcoin tweets, setting the market alight when it was revealed Tesla had added $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin to its balance sheet.

The bitcoin and cryptocurrency community is now celebrating what it sees as the normalization of blockchain-based technology.

"With the crypto market cap exceeding $2 trillion, it is important to note that momentum and interest has begun to expand beyond bitcoin and ethereum," Paolo Ardoino, the chief technology officer at the British Virgin Islands-based bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, said in emailed comments.

"As the industry continues to mature, we expect more blockchain-based applications to be introduced to the world, and coinciding with that, a surge of interest around other alternative assets, dApps and ecosystems as they become more market-ready."

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Bitcoin And Crypto Market Smashes Through $2 Trillion As The Price Of Ethereum, Binance Coin, Litecoin And Ripples XRP Suddenly Soar - Forbes

Our perception of money is expanding. The way humans think about money, understand it, discuss it and interact with it is changing. As an inverse to previous regressions in freedom like the transition from the gold standard to the fiat standard, we now progress to the inevitably more advanced money of modernity.

In a world with the internet, fiat money is obsolete. Instantaneous global value transfer is not only a necessity but now a reality. An immutable, deflationary computer program taking over the global monetary system should be expected. If humans want to get to Mars, they need Bitcoin.

As we come from a century of financialization across the globe, we have an excess of "monetary light" present. Monetary light, as this essay defines it, is simply the excess energy spent on this financialization of the global economy. What Bitcoin does is focus this light through an ever-contracting aperture, slowly directing this vast energy of value onto a single focus point.

It is still early on in this process. As William Clemente III illustrated so beautifully for Bitcoin Magazine, Bitcoin is going to compress quadrillions of monetary energy into just 21 million BTC. The reality shift necessary for this to happen will be dramatic and, indeed, entirely unpredictable.

The future will happen according to the actions of individuals, and the impact of those actions will decide the direction that Bitcoin goes. This shift will most likely manifest itself as major changes in the traditional finance industry.

But, regardless of how it looks, the focusing of monetary energy via Bitcoin will surely happen. Much along the same lines as the black hole analogy, it suffices to say that Bitcoin is extremely effective at gathering energy upon a single point. Once this energy is focused on this point, it would be reasonable to expect an excitation of the point itself like a fire being lit by a magnifying glass, the concentration of monetary energy into Bitcoin will ignite innovation within the Bitcoin network, further attracting and consuming more monetary energy.

This positive feedback loop will be inextinguishable, and is already at work. It is what allows me and so many others to contribute to this magazine; with Bitcoin, you are rewarded for contributing to the strengthening of the network, which in turn enhances the reward.

The earliest of Bitcoiners know this, as evidenced by their wealth accumulation throughout years of working in the space. What goes around comes around, and when you start sending hard work into the Bitcoin universe, bitcoin comes back to you; and when you understand the scarcity of that bitcoin, you treasure it.

Bitcoin is the natural result of human progress. The internets invention, the creation of an interconnecting virtual reality which is free to be shaped by the user, was the precursor to a form of money built on these ideals. Satoshi Nakamoto created an interconnecting virtual reality of money, by creating a fixed technology, which allowed the market (price) and industry to be free to be shaped by the user.

The nature of Bitcoin is such that once version 0.1 was released, the core design was set in stone for the rest of its lifetime. -Satoshi Nakamoto

To reiterate, it's actually the rigidity of Bitcoin which enables it to be shaped by the users of the network. This isnt unlike the protocols which enable the internet as we know it to exist. Consensus is necessary for interconnecting virtual realities.

When Bitcoin was created, the technological progress which enabled the internet was shifted in focus to money, even if only by a small amount. As the network has grown, absorbed brain power from other industries, and therefore the time and output of fantastic individuals, so the aperture of this technological progress has been further focused upon money.

The existence of the network, entirely reliant upon users, is now bolstered by all of the work being done on it. In addition, the built layers that exist on the network serve as applications and uses for bitcoin, and further bolster the network.

A product of human ingenuity, Bitcoins network finds its foundations in the same technological innovation which serves as implementation of the grand-scale economic transformation that Bitcoin necessitates. That is, the work that built Bitcoin originally, is now being applied to creating access to Bitcoin for the whole world.

As we havent witnessed anything like Bitcoin before, the potential of it is yet to be known. I, for one, excitedly await to see what human progress generates next.

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Bitcoin: The Aperture Of Money - Bitcoin Magazine