“Bitcoin is the first global monetary system”: CEO meeting in bullish mood

The who’s who of crypto celebrities came together at the Bloomberg Crypto Summit. The general tenor: bullish.

Digital conferences are booming in pandemic times. Just a few weeks ago, MicroStrategy presented the World 2021 Summit. Now it was the turn of the renowned media company Bloomberg, under whose patronage the elite of the crypto industry met. Topic No. 1 at the Crypto Summit? How could it be otherwise: Bitcoin.
The genie is out of the bottl

The three-and-a-half-hour summit resembled a teleshopping event, only instead of promoting necklaces and hoovers, the drum was beaten for the largest digital currency. The list of participants was quite impressive. In addition of the Crypto Bank app to BitGo CEO Mike Belshe, Silverlake co-founder Glenn Hutchins, ARK Investment CEO Catherine “Cathie” Wood and Coin Metrics co-founder Nic Carter, Avanti Bank founder Saitlin Long, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein, WEF blockchain expert Sheila Warren and CMT Digital CEO Colleen Sullivan were also present. Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, also made an appearance.

In various thematic blocks, the conference gave an all-round view of the most important market developments. However, all speakers agreed on one thing: The Bitcoin bandwagon is unstoppable, or as Colleen Sullivan put it, “the crypto genie is out of the bottle”.

The Bitcoin Triad

But even as Bitcoin matures as an asset class and more investors get into the digital gold, Silverlake co-founder Glenn Hutchins says there is still a lack of use cases. The broad masses are still critical of the asset. But this is due to a lack of understanding of network effects, he said.

We need to show consumers use cases for this technology, then they will understand what it is.
Glenn Hutchins

So investors are still fixated on the asset, he said. But Bitcoin is more than “just” a currency or a store of value. Rather, it is the unique symbiosis of asset and network. To illustrate this, Hutchins quoted his favourite metaphor: Bitcoin can be thought of as a railway network, where the protocol is the rail, Bitcoin is the freight wagon and the blockchain is the freight list. This perfectly aligned network revolutionises the global distribution of money.

The primary purpose is not the storage of value, but use cases that make it valuable.
Glenn Hutchins

The actual value of Bitcoin therefore only emerges through use cases. As an example of a practical blockchain use case, Hutchins cited the digital collectible cards of the NBA Top Shot. The collectible market is experiencing enormous demand and is already generating daily revenues of around one million US dollars for the NBA. In addition, investors are noticing secondary markets where the collectible cards continue to be traded.

Bitcoin, the better gold

One thing also became clear at the summit: the narrative of digital gold is no longer a steep thesis, but a commonplace. According to Cathy, Bitcoin is the “most secure network in the world” and also the “first global monetary system”. As such, however, the comparison to gold is a little misleading. Bitcoin can do more than the precious metal. The cryptocurrency is a store of value and a money transmitter at the same time. Or as Nic Carter put it: “Bitcoin combines all gold functions and introduces new properties”.

This opportunity came at the right time for the man who has since become a Bitcoin advertising figure: Michael Saylor. The MicroStrategy CEO once again took it upon himself to vent his Bitcoin enthusiasm. As the CEO of a publicly traded company that consistently shifts cash into the reserve asset, he reiterated the importance for companies to invest in Bitcoin for economic reasons. In the face of expansive monetary expansion by central banks, he said, companies need to look for alternatives to “preserve shareholder value”. While all assets “collapse when the dollar collapses”, “BTC is the most liquid, uncorrelated asset”.

Efter MicroStrategy och Squares fotspår investerar Bitcoin-gruvföretaget Marathon Patent Group nu en stor del av sin skatteserv i BTC.

Marathon köpte BTC till ett värde av 150 miljoner dollar till drygt 31 000 dollar per Bitcoin, enligt ett pressmeddelande från företaget.

Säger Merrick Okamoto, Marathons ordförande och VD

”Genom att köpa Bitcoin Loophole till ett värde av 150 miljoner dollar har vi påskyndat processen att bygga Marathon till vad vi tror är det de facto investeringsvalet för individer och institutioner som söker exponering för denna nya tillgångsklass.

Vi tror också att innehav av en del av våra egna reserver i Bitcoin kommer att vara en bättre långsiktig strategi än att hålla amerikanska dollar, liknande andra framåtblickande företag som MicroStrategy. ”

MicroStrategy äger nu cirka 70 784 BTC värt mer än 2,25 miljarder dollar i skrivande stund, enligt CoinMarketCap. Square har köpt 4 709 BTC värda cirka 148 miljoner dollar.

Okamoto noterar att Marathon har kontrakterat att köpa 103 060 gruvarbetare som förväntas vara helt utplacerade under första kvartalet räkenskapsåret 2022.

Säger verkställande direktören

”Om alla gruvarbetare var operativa idag, baserat på Bitcoin-nätverkets nuvarande svårighetsgrad, skulle vi producera cirka 55-60 bitcoins per dag. Men genom att använda våra kontanter för att investera i Bitcoin nu har vi förvandlat vår potential att vara en ren investering till en verklighet. ”

Et stort antal uforarbejdede transaktioner viser, hvordan aktiviteten på Bitcoin-netværket stiger.

• Bitcoins transaktionsgebyrer har ramt en ny 2021-højde.
• Et stort antal transaktioner er stadig ubehandlede.
• Både handel og efterspørgsel er fortsat høj for mønten.

De gennemsnitlige transaktionsgebyrer for Bitcoin

De gennemsnitlige transaktionsgebyrer for Bitcoin på fredag ramte $ 17,206, viser data fra BitInfoCharts, der overgår det tidligere 2021-niveau på 17,086 $, der blev sat den 12. januar.

Fredagens gennemsnitlige gebyrer er også de højeste siden januar 2018, da forhandlere rasende prøvede at udbetale, før Bitcoins pris kollapsede fuldstændigt. Transaktionsgebyrer dækker nytteomkostningerne for den store computerkraft, der er nødvendig for at behandle blockchain-transaktioner.

For at behandle en transaktion skal minearbejdere kæmpe for at løse komplicerede matematiske gåder. For at gøre dette belønner Bitcoin-netværket dem med frisk præget Bitcoin, stadig varm fra ovnen.

Høje transaktionsgebyrer indikerer stor efterspørgsel. Gebyrer stiger, når efterspørgslen efter behandlingstransaktioner overstiger udbuddet af minearbejdere, der er villige til at behandle dem. For at gøre det værd, hæver minearbejdere deres gebyrer, så netværksdeltagere kun behandler de vigtigste transaktioner.

Hvorfor er gebyrer steget? En åbenbar årsag: fordi Tesla CEO Elon Musk blev den højest profilerede talsmand for Bitcoin. Et kvarter efter hans PR-boost, der kom i form af et et-ords Twitter-bio – gæt hvad? – mønten steg fra 32.000 $ til 38.000 $.

En korrektion fulgte straks med Bitcoins pris på et tidspunkt et laveste niveau på $ 32.940 den følgende dag.

Der er et stort efterslæb af Bitcoin-transaktioner

Ifølge data fra Blockchain.com er der i øjeblikket over 71 MB transaktioner, der endnu ikke skal behandles på Bitcoins blockchain. For at sætte det i sammenhæng: den 7. januar var der 25 MB værd at vente på at blive behandlet. 15. januar var dette hævet til 85 MB, en svimlende stigning på 240%

Dette vil sandsynligvis forblive højt, indtil minearbejdere behandler den kraftige stigning i købere, der tjener ind fra Musks høje tillidsvotum, og mere kynisk en bølge af handlende, der udbetaler hurtigt.

Højdepunktet for Bitcoins gennemsnitlige transaktionsgebyr blev sat den 21. december 2017. På det tidspunkt var Bitcoins pris tæt nok på $ 20.000, den højeste pris nogensinde – indtil Bitcoins nuværende bull run overskred den præstation. Men tilbage i 2017 var efterspørgslen efter behandling af transaktioner så høj, at det gennemsnitlige transaktionsgebyr ramte $ 54,90.

Wenn der Preis von Bitcoin in diesem Jahr auf 100.000 $ ansteigen würde, könnte der Preis, den Square durch Kryptowährungstransaktionen auf seiner Cash App erzielen könnte, auf 1 Million $ ansteigen, so die Wall Street-Analysten von Mizuho Securities.

Laut Business Insider schrieben die Analysten in einer an Kunden gesendeten Notiz, dass, wenn der BTC-Preis bis zum Ende dieses Jahres 10.000 US-Dollar erreicht, die Gewinne des Unternehmens, die mit seinen Kryptotransaktionen verbunden sind, “einen 9-fachen Anstieg des Bitcoin GP [Bruttogewinns] auf etwas über 1 Milliarde US-Dollar antreiben könnten.”

Laut Mizuho hat Square im letzten Jahr geschätzte $110 Millionen an Bruttogewinnen im Zusammenhang mit Bitcoin gemacht. Die Firma, es ist erwähnenswert, hat BTC-Käufe für seine Benutzer bereits im Dezember 2017 eingeführt, als die Kryptowährung bei rund 12.000 $ gehandelt wurde.

CryptoCompare-Daten zeigen, dass der Preis von BTC im Jahr 2017 ein Hoch nahe der $20.000-Marke erreichte, das erst Ende letzten Jahres übertroffen wurde. Seit dieses Hoch gebrochen wurde, ist BTC in die Höhe geschossen und wird nun über $41,400 gehandelt. Die $40,000 Marke, es ist erwähnenswert, wurde heute früh durchbrochen.

Die Analysten von Mizuho fügten jedoch hinzu, dass selbst wenn der Bitcoin-Preis zu fallen beginnt, die Gewinne von Square dank der BTC-Handelsaktivität auf seiner Cash-App steigen könnten. Im dritten Quartal 2019 und ersten Quartal 2020 sei der durchschnittliche BTC-Preis von 10.400 US-Dollar auf 8.300 US-Dollar gefallen, aber der damit verbundene Bruttogewinn von Square habe sich von 2,1 Millionen US-Dollar auf 6,7 Millionen US-Dollar verdreifacht.

Selbst wenn der BTC-Kurs bis zum Ende des Jahres auf 35.000 US-Dollar fällt, könnte sich der Bruttogewinn von Square mit BTC nach Ansicht von Mizuho auf 400 Millionen US-Dollar vervierfachen. Square hat, wie berichtet, Ende letzten Jahres 50 Millionen Dollar in BTC investiert und damit die Kryptowährung zu seinen Treasury-Reserven hinzugefügt. Die BTC Square hält, nach einer Website Tracking der Investition, ist jetzt wert $195 Millionen.

Ethereum searches on Google are climbing to new highs.

There is still no retail investor FOMO at ETH.

The price is only a few percent away from a new all-time high

Google searches for Bitcoin Bank have skyrocketed recently along with the asset’s price. ETH is now less than 20% from its all-time high.

Interest in Ethereum is at a record level, at least according to the “Google Trends” search data. Google searches for “Ethereum” are now higher than they were in 2017 when the asset got its first “moonshot”.

Ethereum was largely unknown in 2017, starting the year under $ 10 and soaring to over $ 1,400 twelve months later. The surge was largely driven by a blockchain and initial coin offering boom and the resulting FOMO.

2021 – very different for Ethereum

Three years later, the scene for the world’s second largest digital asset is very different. ICOs are no longer a driver of the markets as they were regulated into the ground in 2018, and Ethereum ( How to buy Ethereum with PayPal instructions), which according to metrics could still be undervalued, has diversified.

Today, Ethereum is so much more – it powers DeFi, offers staking opportunities, and fuels dApps and smart contracts. It’s a versatile foundation for a decentralized financial economy – not just a token for selling ICOs.

‘DCinvestor’, a public sector business advisor, predicted Ethereum will go mainstream in this market cycle:

“This is the cycle in which Ethereum & $ ETH will go mainstream and enter the zeitgeist. Any Boomer & Gen X fund manager on Wall Street who is eyeing Bitcoin now will know and understand (conceptually) what Ethereum is by the end of 2021. “

The current bull market is largely being driven by institutions that clearly want a piece of the pie – in addition to Bitcoin. Grayscale, for example, currently holds $ 3.3 billion in its Ethereum Trust and has been aggressively buying up even more. To put this into perspective: That is more ETH than is currently used in the Beacon Chain custody contract.

The surge in Google searches is an indication that traders and the mainstream are finally showing some interest as Ethereum is heading for its all-time high.

• Bitcoin has experienced an extreme rally since the October lows, rising from $11,000 to (currently) $28,100.
• Tim Draper believes BTC could reach $250,000 in the next two years.

Bitcoin could grow tenfold from here

Bitcoin has seen an extreme rally since the lows in October and has risen to $28,100 at the time of writing. A few hours ago, BTC peaked at $27,900, but could rise even further in the coming days as Wall Street gets back to work.

Tim Draper, a longtime venture capitalist, believes BTC still has room for growth in the long run.

He wrote on Twitter, “He thinks bitcoin will go up tenfold from here by the end of 2022 or early 2023. That means he thinks bitcoin could reach $250,000 in the next two years.

Draper has long expressed this opinion in interviews and on social media channels. He made his first purchase of Bitcoin many years ago, when the coin was selling for hundreds apiece as part of the Silk Road sale.

He believes Bitcoin Trader will rise to that level over time as the leading cryptocurrency proves itself as a payment network. Draper is a proponent of the Lightning Network, arguing that the scaling solution will give Bitcoin an edge over traditional payment networks in the coming years.

Draper is a prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist who has invested in companies such as Skype, Coinbase, Baidu, SpaceX, Tesla and many more. His net worth is estimated to be around $1 billion.

He’s not the only one who thinks this way

He is far from the only analyst who expects bitcoin to move to $250,000 and beyond in the coming market cycle. Scott Minerd, the global CIO at Guggenheim Investments, believes Bitcoin (Buy Now? Go here for guidance) could reach $400,000 in the coming years – due to its scarcity and ability to potentially take market share from gold.

Guggenheim Investments is a prominent investment firm based in the United States. The firm manages billions of dollars worth of assets and publicly announced that it has made allocations to bitcoin in the last two months.

Minerd in the Bloomberg interview:

“Our fundamental work shows that Bitcoin should be worth about $400,000. That’s based on scarcity and the relative valuation in things like gold as a percentage of GDP.”

While he is the first Wall Street executive to make such a lofty prediction, there are now many other mainstream proponents of the cryptocurrency.

For example, the new U.S. Senator for Wyoming, Cynthia Lummis, is a Bitcoin supporter. By her own admission, one of her main priorities is to convince her congressional colleagues that BTC is valuable as an investment.

A new feature presented by the digital bank allows you to request a refund of cryptomites until January 31, 2020.

Zro Bank launches card that distributes Bitcoin in retroactive cashback program

Fintech Zro Bank has launched a card with cashback in Bitcoin for debit purchases. According to TI Bahia, this is the first card of its kind to use cash back through cryptomoedas with retroactive effect for cash purchases.

In total, users should receive 0.5% of the value of the purchase made in debit with the cashback program offered by the Zro Bank card. According to the regulation of the ‘cash back’ promotion, the benefit will be valid for purchases in the debit above R$ 10.

Zro bank bets on market digitization with Pix and Open Banking to become crypto reference in Brazil

Available to all Zro Bank customers, the Bitcoin cashback program aims to offer benefits to new and old users of digital banking. With retroactive effect, it will be possible to redeem 0.5% of old purchases that will be transformed into cryptomoedas.

Bitcoin cashback

Zro Bank digital bank has launched a cashback program that intends to return 0.5% of purchases made with the platform’s debit card. In this way, users should receive cryptomoedas for free just for using the debit card for purchases.

Brazilian Bank of Bitcoin is among the 100 most innovative startups in Brazil

Valid only for debit purchases, Zro Bank’s cashback program reverses part of users’ balance purchases in Bitcoin. With the amount delivered by the digital bank in BTC, users can make new purchases or simply save the balance in cryptomain in the bank itself.

In an interview, Edisio Pereira Neto, CEO of Zro Bank, comments on the rise of cryptomaps like Bitcoin worldwide. According to him, the digital bank is the leader in the segment that offers a multiple account, where it is possible to use money and cryptomoins.

“We see a worldwide movement in which cryptomoins are becoming more and more popular, with bitcoin being the first and best known. We lead the Brazilian financial system by offering a bitcoin account, with automatic conversion for purchases via debit card and no cost of custody or withdrawal”.

Retroactive program

Although Bitcoin cashback programs are not considered a novelty in the market, Zro Bank’s promotion is the first to offer ‘money back’ retroactively.

With Bitcoin ‘pumping’, Z.Ro Bank reaches 30 thousand clients in one month

That is, with the digital bank card it will be possible to receive cashback in Bitcoin even for purchases made in early 2020. According to the program, the offer is available for purchases from January 31st.

When talking about the novelty of cashback in Bitcoin retroactive, the CEO of Zro Bank highlights that it is necessary to stimulate the adoption of cryptomoedas, especially in payments with debit cards.

“At this time when bitcoin has been beating historical highs in dollar and in real, we want to stimulate new experiences of use with cryptomoeda”.