If you were one of the lucky people to purchase crypto at the end of 2017 when Bitcoin was at its all time high, I understand, it is probably hard to get excited about the current state of the market. Since the all time high, Bitcoin has lost a significant portion of its market cap, falling from approximately 20,000 to where it stands today at ~6500.
Some of the alt coins that peaked around the same time are down even more dramatically. Losses of 90+% are not unheard of. As a matter of fact, they are widespread. Due to this wild market volatility, I have read a lot of articles lately claiming that crypto is dead, and that it is not coming back.
The old investment saying comes to mind. When people are the most fearful, buy. When people are riding high, sell. Ladies and gentleman, I believe that the level of fear, uncertainty, and doubt is very close to the highest its been since the beginning of the last bull run.
Some very interesting things are going on in the background regarding the future of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a whole. I’m not going to cover every single possible catalyst, however there is one that is not getting too much attention which I believe will be the gateway to another bull run.
On October 21st, Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the NYSE announced something groundbreaking. Their spin-off company Bakkt will start allowing physically settled daily futures contracts for Bitcoin that will be held in the ICE Digital Asset Warehouse and cleared by ICE Clear US, Inc. The Bakkt system will go live on December 12th pending the proper regulatory approval. Wink Wink, its the owners of the New York Stock Exchange. They have done their due diligence, believe me.
This is a game changer for a couple key reasons. There have been 9 Bitcoin related ETFs that have sought approval from the SEC. The creation of a Bitcoin ETF would allow EVERYONE that has a brokerage account to begin investing in this digital asset class. The amount of volume flowing into Bitcoin with the approval of an ETF would be astronomical! However to date, all of these ETFs have been rejected.
The main reason cited by the SEC for their rejection of these applicants is that the BTC futures markets were not sufficiently liquid. The entrance of Bakkt into the game would provide much more liquidity and possible change the viewpoint of the SEC.
The SEC is not in the business of predicting the market. Their task is to analyze the current data set and make sure that investors are fairly protected from manipulation and bad actors. The data set that is in front of the SEC is about to change dramatically on December 12th! A reexamination of the facts will occur, and I believe that the outcome will be very positive for anyone with exposure to the market.
Enter crypto start ups and ICOs. The job of these project’s CEOs are ensure that their fundraising goals are met. It is difficult, even with the best product on the market, to raise money in today’s market. People are still reluctant to part with their fiat, and even more reluctant to participate in highly volatile alt coins.
If you are a CEO and you are reading this new Bakkt news, you must pay attention. A clear timeline is being formed for the resurrection of the crypto market. Your ability to time your fundraising with a bull market, could be the difference between missing your hard cap and a complete sellout.
One company I follow who has decided to wait until the market conditions are more favorable is Gemstra. A recent delay in the start of their public sale ruffled some feathers in the social selling industry.
I would argue that the team is smarter than most, and their decision to delay the public sale is warranted based on the current market conditions.
Again, strong weight must be given to the new Bakkt announcement. I’m not advocating that all ICOs return immediately and resume fundraising activities. However, the smart companies like Gemstra that are paying attention to the markets can use this information to better plan for the future and ultimately maximize their potential. Almost all coins and tokens have taken a beating, some within inches of their life. However, I am now more confident than I have been in a long time, that crypto could indeed be, Bakkt from the dead.
For more information about Bakkt visit https://www.bakkt.com/index
For more information about Gemstra visit www.gemstra.com