Bitcoin Still Bullish For 2018 — Three Factors
The top crypto coin has lost over 66% of its value from its peak price of $20,000. Still, with a recent rebound, it looks like we should expect to see the top crypto coin bounce back pretty soon. Below we are going to look at three reasons why Bitcoin will storm back in 2018.
1. Impending Bitcoin ETF decision
The SEC has been playing hardball for a while nowconcerning Bitcoin ETFs, however, they are very much still deliberating on it.
The exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for now are geared to attract institutional investors to invest in cryptocurrencies and this will make it ok to invest in cryptocurrencies.
So far the SEC has denied nine Bitcoin ETFs including those of Direxion, ProShares and Granite Shares. Their main concern seems to be centered on manipulation. They said the two exchanges where the listing would be on—CBOE and NYSE—did not demonstrate they were adequately equipped to prevent manipulative and fraudulent acts and practices.
Also, the SEC expressed concern for the still small sized Bitcoin futures market saying there was insufficient evidence that determines whether CME or Cboe bitcoin futures would be well traded enough to support an exchange-traded product (ETP).
However, on August 23, the SEC came out to say the intended to review their decision on Bitcoin ETFs meaning there was plenty of room to be optimistic. The next decision will be in September, which will shed more light on where ETFs are heading.
2. Bitcoin could soon be used for soccer transfers
In what could herald mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, English premier league clubs, in partnership with eToro, are testing how cryptocurrencies and the blockchain can be used in football.
The teams include; Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, Cardiff City F.C., Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., Newcastle United F.C., Leicester City F.C., and Southampton F.C. The crypto exchange has helped all seven premier league clubs set up Bitcoin wallets and also receive their first BTC payments.
The eToro managing director in the UK was excited by the partnership and in a press release statement said:
“As a global multi-asset platform where you can purchase the world’s biggest crypto assets alongside more traditional investments, we are excited to be partnering with so many Premier League clubs and make history by being the first company ever to pay for a Premier League partnership in Bitcoin.”
This could change how money is transferred in the football world and given that soccer is the most popular sport in the world, it’s easy to see how mass adoption may come.
The exchange adds that use of the distributed ledger technology and cryptocurrencies in football will address the issues of “ticket touting” and “transparency.” They will also guarantee the authenticity of the merchandise.
3. Bitcoin ETNs are now available
The SEC may be playing hardball with Bitcoin ETFs but recently, XBT Provider, a Global Advisors Limited a company based in the U.K. announced that they would offer Bitcoin exchange-traded notes (ETNs) which are quoted on USD (ticker: CXBTF).
This is great news especially for investors who are based in the US as the ETNs will now be accessible to brokerage and retirement accounts in the country.
Ryan Radloff, the CEO of CoinShares Holdings limited while speaking to Bloomberg said this was significant because everyone who was investing in USD could now get exposure to these products. And given the current regulatory obstacles in the U.S., this represents a big win for Bitcoin.
If anyone should know how significant these ETNs are, it has to be Bitcoin bull Tom Lee, the Fundstart Bitcoin analyst was excited by the news and took to Twitter to express his delight saying despite the difference in structure, the ETNs would function in the same way as ETFs.
Currently trading at $7,218, BTC has experienced an8.5% gain in the past week. According to the chart above now the target is $7,305 with the support level at $7,000 and $6,900. With the above developments, we can expect to see BTC follow in the bullish channel.
