One of the things that make some experts still bullish on Bitcoin especially in the long run is due to its short supply. Many believe that it is going to go up in value once there is fewer bitcoin in circulation. Two research firms Chainalysis and Diar, discovered that 36% of Bitcoin is probably “lost, likely lost, or unmined”. If you will be doing the math, that means 6.226 million BTC is technically not available.
In addition to this, 22% of the circulating supply is currently in the hands of speculators. On the other hand, investors have a 30% stake in the current circulation of cryptocurrencies.
More Scarce Than People Think
The number of bitcoins is set at 21 million. This means that there is scarcity in the number of bitcoins. And considering the fact that 6.226 million BTC are technically unavailable, 3.704 million BTC are yet to be mined, this means that there really is a small percentage of Bitcoin to meet the demand of investors worldwide.
Is Charlie Lee correct when he suggested that “There will be at most 21 million bitcoins in existence. There isn’t even enough BTC to go around for EVERY millionaire to own one. So before you buy any other coin (LTC included), try to own at least 1 BTC first. Once you have 1 BTC, buy all the shitcoins you want”.
What’s Next For Bitcoin?
What’s next for Bitcoin? Many are still waiting for institutional investors to enter the picture and invest serious capital into the niche. You have the likes of ICE that has even teamed up with Microsoft and Starbucks. Also, many are anticipating the possibility of having a Bitcoin ETF.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss both attempted to have their own Bitcoin ETF only to be denied by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The reason why the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF was denied is due to the possibility of price manipulation. Now, Solid X and VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF application has been delayed. However, many are optimistic about this application. You also have the fact that there is now a US SEC commissioner who is pro-crypto. Hester Peirce even wrote a letter of dissent when the agency decided to shut down Bitcoin ETF applications on the basis of price manipulation.
Has Bitcoin Bottomed?
Bitcoin has reached near $20K level in 2017. However, due to regulatory changes applied to the industry, it price slipped. In fact, there was a time when Bitcoin reached around $5,700 and many believed that Bitcoin was gone for good.
As for Mike Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital, he believes that Bitcoin has already bottomed. And this means that he is simply waiting for Bitcoin to go up once again. He believes that once Bitcoin surpassed major resistance levels at $6,800, $8,800, and $10,000, institutional investors are bound to enter. In addition to this, custodian solution is going to be needed before the institutional investors get involved.
Is Bitcoin bound to go up again? Considering the short supply of Bitcoin, not to mention the study that some bitcoins are already lost, has it really bottomed?
