While it is true that a week or so of industry news in itself is not a reason to become either bullish or bearish, there are times when you scroll through developments and cannot help but come away feeling positive on, basically, the entire crypto space.
And, then the market dumps.
So to be clear, this positivity doesn’t necessarily mean bullish in the immediate term.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the world’s first digital currency that was created in 2009 by a mysterious entity named Satoshi Nakamoto. As a digital currency or cryptocurrency, Bitcoin operates without a central bank or single administrator. Instead, Bitcoin can be sent via a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networking, devoid of intermediaries.Bitcoins are not issued or backed by any governments or banks, and Bitcoin is not considered to be legal tender, although they do have status as an acknowledged transfer of value in some jurisdictions. Rather than composing a physical currency, Bitcoins are pieces of code that can be sent and received across a kind of distributed ledger network called a blockchain. Transactions on the Bitcoin network are confirmed by a network of computers (or nodes) that solve a series of complex equations. This process is called mining. In exchange for mining, the computers receive rewards in the form of new Bitcoins. Mining grows increasingly difficult over time, and the rewards get smaller and smaller. There is a total of 21 million Bitcoins. As of May 2020, there are 18.3 million Bitcoins in circulation. This number changes approximately every 10 minutes when new blocks are mined. Presently, each new block adds 12.5 bitcoins into circulation.Since its inception, Bitcoin has remained the most popular and largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap in the world. Bitcoin’s popularity has contributed significantly to the release of thousands of other cryptocurrencies, called “altcoins.” While the crypto market was originally hegemonic, today’s landscape features countless altcoins.Bitcoin ControversyBitcoin has been extremely controversial since its original launch. Given its mercurial nature, Bitcoin has been criticized for its use in illegal transactions and money laundering.As its impossible to trace, these attributes make Bitcoin the ideal vehicle for illicit behavior. Moreover, critics point to its high electricity consumption for mining, rampant price volatility, and thefts from exchanges. Bitcoin has been seen as a speculative bubble given its lack of oversight. The crypto has weathered multiple collapses and survived over a decade so far. Unlike its launch back in 2009, Bitcoin today is viewed far differently and is much more accepted by merchants and other entities.
Bitcoin is the world’s first digital currency that was created in 2009 by a mysterious entity named Satoshi Nakamoto. As a digital currency or cryptocurrency, Bitcoin operates without a central bank or single administrator. Instead, Bitcoin can be sent via a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networking, devoid of intermediaries.Bitcoins are not issued or backed by any governments or banks, and Bitcoin is not considered to be legal tender, although they do have status as an acknowledged transfer of value in some jurisdictions. Rather than composing a physical currency, Bitcoins are pieces of code that can be sent and received across a kind of distributed ledger network called a blockchain. Transactions on the Bitcoin network are confirmed by a network of computers (or nodes) that solve a series of complex equations. This process is called mining. In exchange for mining, the computers receive rewards in the form of new Bitcoins. Mining grows increasingly difficult over time, and the rewards get smaller and smaller. There is a total of 21 million Bitcoins. As of May 2020, there are 18.3 million Bitcoins in circulation. This number changes approximately every 10 minutes when new blocks are mined. Presently, each new block adds 12.5 bitcoins into circulation.Since its inception, Bitcoin has remained the most popular and largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap in the world. Bitcoin’s popularity has contributed significantly to the release of thousands of other cryptocurrencies, called “altcoins.” While the crypto market was originally hegemonic, today’s landscape features countless altcoins.Bitcoin ControversyBitcoin has been extremely controversial since its original launch. Given its mercurial nature, Bitcoin has been criticized for its use in illegal transactions and money laundering.As its impossible to trace, these attributes make Bitcoin the ideal vehicle for illicit behavior. Moreover, critics point to its high electricity consumption for mining, rampant price volatility, and thefts from exchanges. Bitcoin has been seen as a speculative bubble given its lack of oversight. The crypto has weathered multiple collapses and survived over a decade so far. Unlike its launch back in 2009, Bitcoin today is viewed far differently and is much more accepted by merchants and other entities.
Read this Term’s price could well dip down further into the 30Ks, and drag most of the crypto market down with it.
Added to that, we have the disorientating phenomenon of NFTs pumping while the crypto they are priced in falls off a cliff.
But, that is not the point, because the crypto bullishness of interest is on a wider scale. It is the kind of mood that sticks in your mind and makes you wonder how you will feel five years from now, looking back on January 2022; this period when the world was a mess, normality had been scattered, and everything that once seemed fixed was up in the air and up for grabs.
If you feel like you are on the cusp of some major transformations, then you are not alone. Perhaps this is the start of substantial change. Either way, much is happening, and at pace.
NFTs Keep Moving Up
One striking observation is how NFT metrics have continued to grow in strength during the extended dip that the rest of crypto has been experiencing. Market cap for the entire NFT space soared from around $60m at the start of 2021, to over $10.6 billion by the end of the year, and has since December’s end, accelerated up to around $12.2 billion.
Partly, this is fueled by a surge of interest from China, but it is also significant that NFTs are integral to metaverse development, play-to-earn gaming and web3 in general. What’s more, the total market cap of all crypto is $2 trillion, so even with the past year’s astonishing growth, NFTs are still only a small fraction of that total.
If any element of the crypto space were to break away and become uncoupled from bitcoin price action, then it would likely be NFTs, as through art, gaming and metaverse projects they have both mainstream utility and a creative appeal which is unrelated to finance and economics.
Microsoft and Activision
Speaking of gaming and metaverses, a huge story this week was Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. This is Microsoft’s largest-ever acquisition, and also the biggest ever deal in the gaming industry.
A Microsoft post mentioned that the
acquisition
Acquisition
Acquisition means acquiring or taking possession or the securing of property, services, or abilities. To put it simply, it is the act or process of acquiring or gaining. You can acquire a work of art, you can acquire an ability such as speaking another language, you can acquire a business or shares in a company and you can acquire an accountant’s service. For example, you can acquire a new car. In a broad sense, Acquisition can mean the act of taking ownership or possession of something. There are many ways to acquire or to take the acquisition of property and services. How Companies Utilize AcquisitionsIn finance, the term acquisition is most often used when referring to taking control of a company. An acquisition can be either an agreed deal or a hostile takeover. Companies also may acquire units of a company, property, or other assets. An acquisition is when one business, person, or company purchases most if not of another company’s shares to gain control of that company. Buying more than 50% of a target firm’s stock and other assets allows the acquirer to make decisions about the newly acquired assets without the approval of the company’s shareholders. In finance, there are several types of acquisitions that one speaks of when referring to Acquisitions and Mergers. A horizontal acquisition is when two companies come together with similar products/services. Conversely, a vertical acquisition means two companies join forces in the same industry, but they are at different points on the supply chain.Moreover, a conglomerate represents two companies in different industries join forces, or one takes over the other to broaden their range of services and products. Finally, a concentric acquisition occurs when companies will share customers but provide different services.
Acquisition means acquiring or taking possession or the securing of property, services, or abilities. To put it simply, it is the act or process of acquiring or gaining. You can acquire a work of art, you can acquire an ability such as speaking another language, you can acquire a business or shares in a company and you can acquire an accountant’s service. For example, you can acquire a new car. In a broad sense, Acquisition can mean the act of taking ownership or possession of something. There are many ways to acquire or to take the acquisition of property and services. How Companies Utilize AcquisitionsIn finance, the term acquisition is most often used when referring to taking control of a company. An acquisition can be either an agreed deal or a hostile takeover. Companies also may acquire units of a company, property, or other assets. An acquisition is when one business, person, or company purchases most if not of another company’s shares to gain control of that company. Buying more than 50% of a target firm’s stock and other assets allows the acquirer to make decisions about the newly acquired assets without the approval of the company’s shareholders. In finance, there are several types of acquisitions that one speaks of when referring to Acquisitions and Mergers. A horizontal acquisition is when two companies come together with similar products/services. Conversely, a vertical acquisition means two companies join forces in the same industry, but they are at different points on the supply chain.Moreover, a conglomerate represents two companies in different industries join forces, or one takes over the other to broaden their range of services and products. Finally, a concentric acquisition occurs when companies will share customers but provide different services.
Read this Term ‘will provide building blocks for the metaverse’, while Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said: “gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms.”
There’s that word again, the one that starts with meta.
When Facebook went as far as to rebrand as that actual prefix, Meta, they made an unambiguous statement about the direction of travel for the entire tech industry, and it became apparent that tech’s next destination was interlocked with blockchain technology. It is clear that Microsoft has no intention of losing ground in this field.
Intel to Make Mining Hardware
Another positive recent story is that Intel, one of the world’s leading computer chip manufacturers, appears to be planning on manufacturing bitcoin mining hardware.
The company has a presentation planned for the ISSCC conference (an annual chip industry gathering), in which they will provide details of their Bonanza Mine processor, an ‘ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient Bitcoin mining ASIC’.
This all fits in with comments made by Intel’s Senior Vice President Raja Koduri, at the end of last December, with regard to GPUs and mining hardware: “GPUs will do graphics, gaming, and all those wonderful things. But, being able to do much more efficient blockchain validation at a much lower cost, much lower power, is a pretty solvable problem”.
BitMEX Acquires German Bank
On a symbolic level at the very least, news that BitMEX is to acquire Bankhaus von der Heydt, one of Germany’s oldest banks, certainly has an impact.
BitMEX is a crypto trading platform established in 2014, while Bankhaus von der Heydt has been operating in Germany since 1754.
BitMEX CEO Alexander Höptner explained the intention behind the move like this: “Through combining the regulated digital assets expertise of Bankhaus von der Heydt with the crypto innovation and scale of BitMEX, I believe we can create a regulated crypto products powerhouse in the heart of Europe.”
As an indicator of how traditional finance might become subsumed into blockchain alternatives, it is an event to take note of.
There are a few people who intuited what bitcoin could become from the very earliest stages of its existence, and many more who have come on board at later points in the journey, perhaps through bitcoin itself, or perhaps into alternative branches of the crypto environment.
Whatever your entry point, at this stage in the development and expansion of blockchain technology, whether you are focused on just one path or on the broader whole, the long-term bullish signals are emphatic and persistent.
While it is true that a week or so of industry news in itself is not a reason to become either bullish or bearish, there are times when you scroll through developments and cannot help but come away feeling positive on, basically, the entire crypto space.
And, then the market dumps.
So to be clear, this positivity doesn’t necessarily mean bullish in the immediate term.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is the world’s first digital currency that was created in 2009 by a mysterious entity named Satoshi Nakamoto. As a digital currency or cryptocurrency, Bitcoin operates without a central bank or single administrator. Instead, Bitcoin can be sent via a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networking, devoid of intermediaries.Bitcoins are not issued or backed by any governments or banks, and Bitcoin is not considered to be legal tender, although they do have status as an acknowledged transfer of value in some jurisdictions. Rather than composing a physical currency, Bitcoins are pieces of code that can be sent and received across a kind of distributed ledger network called a blockchain. Transactions on the Bitcoin network are confirmed by a network of computers (or nodes) that solve a series of complex equations. This process is called mining. In exchange for mining, the computers receive rewards in the form of new Bitcoins. Mining grows increasingly difficult over time, and the rewards get smaller and smaller. There is a total of 21 million Bitcoins. As of May 2020, there are 18.3 million Bitcoins in circulation. This number changes approximately every 10 minutes when new blocks are mined. Presently, each new block adds 12.5 bitcoins into circulation.Since its inception, Bitcoin has remained the most popular and largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap in the world. Bitcoin’s popularity has contributed significantly to the release of thousands of other cryptocurrencies, called “altcoins.” While the crypto market was originally hegemonic, today’s landscape features countless altcoins.Bitcoin ControversyBitcoin has been extremely controversial since its original launch. Given its mercurial nature, Bitcoin has been criticized for its use in illegal transactions and money laundering.As its impossible to trace, these attributes make Bitcoin the ideal vehicle for illicit behavior. Moreover, critics point to its high electricity consumption for mining, rampant price volatility, and thefts from exchanges. Bitcoin has been seen as a speculative bubble given its lack of oversight. The crypto has weathered multiple collapses and survived over a decade so far. Unlike its launch back in 2009, Bitcoin today is viewed far differently and is much more accepted by merchants and other entities.
Bitcoin is the world’s first digital currency that was created in 2009 by a mysterious entity named Satoshi Nakamoto. As a digital currency or cryptocurrency, Bitcoin operates without a central bank or single administrator. Instead, Bitcoin can be sent via a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networking, devoid of intermediaries.Bitcoins are not issued or backed by any governments or banks, and Bitcoin is not considered to be legal tender, although they do have status as an acknowledged transfer of value in some jurisdictions. Rather than composing a physical currency, Bitcoins are pieces of code that can be sent and received across a kind of distributed ledger network called a blockchain. Transactions on the Bitcoin network are confirmed by a network of computers (or nodes) that solve a series of complex equations. This process is called mining. In exchange for mining, the computers receive rewards in the form of new Bitcoins. Mining grows increasingly difficult over time, and the rewards get smaller and smaller. There is a total of 21 million Bitcoins. As of May 2020, there are 18.3 million Bitcoins in circulation. This number changes approximately every 10 minutes when new blocks are mined. Presently, each new block adds 12.5 bitcoins into circulation.Since its inception, Bitcoin has remained the most popular and largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap in the world. Bitcoin’s popularity has contributed significantly to the release of thousands of other cryptocurrencies, called “altcoins.” While the crypto market was originally hegemonic, today’s landscape features countless altcoins.Bitcoin ControversyBitcoin has been extremely controversial since its original launch. Given its mercurial nature, Bitcoin has been criticized for its use in illegal transactions and money laundering.As its impossible to trace, these attributes make Bitcoin the ideal vehicle for illicit behavior. Moreover, critics point to its high electricity consumption for mining, rampant price volatility, and thefts from exchanges. Bitcoin has been seen as a speculative bubble given its lack of oversight. The crypto has weathered multiple collapses and survived over a decade so far. Unlike its launch back in 2009, Bitcoin today is viewed far differently and is much more accepted by merchants and other entities.
Read this Term’s price could well dip down further into the 30Ks, and drag most of the crypto market down with it.
Added to that, we have the disorientating phenomenon of NFTs pumping while the crypto they are priced in falls off a cliff.
But, that is not the point, because the crypto bullishness of interest is on a wider scale. It is the kind of mood that sticks in your mind and makes you wonder how you will feel five years from now, looking back on January 2022; this period when the world was a mess, normality had been scattered, and everything that once seemed fixed was up in the air and up for grabs.
If you feel like you are on the cusp of some major transformations, then you are not alone. Perhaps this is the start of substantial change. Either way, much is happening, and at pace.
NFTs Keep Moving Up
One striking observation is how NFT metrics have continued to grow in strength during the extended dip that the rest of crypto has been experiencing. Market cap for the entire NFT space soared from around $60m at the start of 2021, to over $10.6 billion by the end of the year, and has since December’s end, accelerated up to around $12.2 billion.
Partly, this is fueled by a surge of interest from China, but it is also significant that NFTs are integral to metaverse development, play-to-earn gaming and web3 in general. What’s more, the total market cap of all crypto is $2 trillion, so even with the past year’s astonishing growth, NFTs are still only a small fraction of that total.
If any element of the crypto space were to break away and become uncoupled from bitcoin price action, then it would likely be NFTs, as through art, gaming and metaverse projects they have both mainstream utility and a creative appeal which is unrelated to finance and economics.
Microsoft and Activision
Speaking of gaming and metaverses, a huge story this week was Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. This is Microsoft’s largest-ever acquisition, and also the biggest ever deal in the gaming industry.
A Microsoft post mentioned that the
acquisition
Acquisition
Acquisition means acquiring or taking possession or the securing of property, services, or abilities. To put it simply, it is the act or process of acquiring or gaining. You can acquire a work of art, you can acquire an ability such as speaking another language, you can acquire a business or shares in a company and you can acquire an accountant’s service. For example, you can acquire a new car. In a broad sense, Acquisition can mean the act of taking ownership or possession of something. There are many ways to acquire or to take the acquisition of property and services. How Companies Utilize AcquisitionsIn finance, the term acquisition is most often used when referring to taking control of a company. An acquisition can be either an agreed deal or a hostile takeover. Companies also may acquire units of a company, property, or other assets. An acquisition is when one business, person, or company purchases most if not of another company’s shares to gain control of that company. Buying more than 50% of a target firm’s stock and other assets allows the acquirer to make decisions about the newly acquired assets without the approval of the company’s shareholders. In finance, there are several types of acquisitions that one speaks of when referring to Acquisitions and Mergers. A horizontal acquisition is when two companies come together with similar products/services. Conversely, a vertical acquisition means two companies join forces in the same industry, but they are at different points on the supply chain.Moreover, a conglomerate represents two companies in different industries join forces, or one takes over the other to broaden their range of services and products. Finally, a concentric acquisition occurs when companies will share customers but provide different services.
Acquisition means acquiring or taking possession or the securing of property, services, or abilities. To put it simply, it is the act or process of acquiring or gaining. You can acquire a work of art, you can acquire an ability such as speaking another language, you can acquire a business or shares in a company and you can acquire an accountant’s service. For example, you can acquire a new car. In a broad sense, Acquisition can mean the act of taking ownership or possession of something. There are many ways to acquire or to take the acquisition of property and services. How Companies Utilize AcquisitionsIn finance, the term acquisition is most often used when referring to taking control of a company. An acquisition can be either an agreed deal or a hostile takeover. Companies also may acquire units of a company, property, or other assets. An acquisition is when one business, person, or company purchases most if not of another company’s shares to gain control of that company. Buying more than 50% of a target firm’s stock and other assets allows the acquirer to make decisions about the newly acquired assets without the approval of the company’s shareholders. In finance, there are several types of acquisitions that one speaks of when referring to Acquisitions and Mergers. A horizontal acquisition is when two companies come together with similar products/services. Conversely, a vertical acquisition means two companies join forces in the same industry, but they are at different points on the supply chain.Moreover, a conglomerate represents two companies in different industries join forces, or one takes over the other to broaden their range of services and products. Finally, a concentric acquisition occurs when companies will share customers but provide different services.
Read this Term ‘will provide building blocks for the metaverse’, while Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said: “gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms.”
There’s that word again, the one that starts with meta.
When Facebook went as far as to rebrand as that actual prefix, Meta, they made an unambiguous statement about the direction of travel for the entire tech industry, and it became apparent that tech’s next destination was interlocked with blockchain technology. It is clear that Microsoft has no intention of losing ground in this field.
Intel to Make Mining Hardware
Another positive recent story is that Intel, one of the world’s leading computer chip manufacturers, appears to be planning on manufacturing bitcoin mining hardware.
The company has a presentation planned for the ISSCC conference (an annual chip industry gathering), in which they will provide details of their Bonanza Mine processor, an ‘ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient Bitcoin mining ASIC’.
This all fits in with comments made by Intel’s Senior Vice President Raja Koduri, at the end of last December, with regard to GPUs and mining hardware: “GPUs will do graphics, gaming, and all those wonderful things. But, being able to do much more efficient blockchain validation at a much lower cost, much lower power, is a pretty solvable problem”.
BitMEX Acquires German Bank
On a symbolic level at the very least, news that BitMEX is to acquire Bankhaus von der Heydt, one of Germany’s oldest banks, certainly has an impact.
BitMEX is a crypto trading platform established in 2014, while Bankhaus von der Heydt has been operating in Germany since 1754.
BitMEX CEO Alexander Höptner explained the intention behind the move like this: “Through combining the regulated digital assets expertise of Bankhaus von der Heydt with the crypto innovation and scale of BitMEX, I believe we can create a regulated crypto products powerhouse in the heart of Europe.”
As an indicator of how traditional finance might become subsumed into blockchain alternatives, it is an event to take note of.
There are a few people who intuited what bitcoin could become from the very earliest stages of its existence, and many more who have come on board at later points in the journey, perhaps through bitcoin itself, or perhaps into alternative branches of the crypto environment.
Whatever your entry point, at this stage in the development and expansion of blockchain technology, whether you are focused on just one path or on the broader whole, the long-term bullish signals are emphatic and persistent.
Source: https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/are-you-bullish-on-crypto/