About two years ago, crypto prices peaked. Bitcoin (BTC) almost reached $70,000. Then it got bad, then it got worse, and then it got catastrophic. After the FTX explosion, BTC fell to $15,000.
Prices have largely recovered in 2023, but these felt like hard-fought gains – rallies were quickly followed by setbacks. In mid-October, the Bitcoin price was around $27,000.
A friend who is skeptical of crypto texted me on Tuesday saying he was about to buy more Bitcoin. A colleague says he hears from people wondering about crypto. Will it stay that way? Is crypto moving back towards mainstream territory?
To the disappointment of my father, who has repeatedly asked me for predictions throughout my two-decade career in markets and finance, I have no idea. But I know that the mood in the crypto markets was already so exuberant two years ago – before the collapse of Celsius, Voyager, Three Arrows Capital, FTX, Genesis…
FOMO (you know, “fear of missing out”), perhaps mixed with a dose of YOLO (“you only live one”), seems to be back.
It is not difficult to understand how this enthusiasm came about. It’s really a big deal that Wall Street heavyweights BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton are trying to list Bitcoin ETFs in the US
Anyone with a plain vanilla brokerage account should be able to purchase these products provided they are approved by regulators – and all signs suggest that approval is likely soon. That’s easier and probably more realistic for everyday Americans than setting up a Coinbase account or, God forbid, figuring out how a decentralized exchange or MetaMask works.
The sales and marketing strength of BlackRock, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton are likely to be behind the Bitcoin ETFs. It’s not crazy to think that this will result in a lot of money flowing into cryptocurrencies. Whether this leads to a sustainable rally is up for debate.
Here’s what else is on my mind: