Bitcoin has a tough, tough week. According to price trackers, the cryptocurrency has shed 20% in the past seven days, resulting in mass panic and fears of a return to a bear market.
This week was so bad for the market that the Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index — an index derived from market sentiment, price action, and social media trends — established a 2019 low of 11, which coincides with an “extreme fear” reading. What’s crazy, Bitcoin is still up over 300% from the bottom of December.
Bitcoin to Hit $20,000 by Year’s End
Despite this mass fear and hysteria, there remain some bulls that optimists can rely on. Thomas Lee, the co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, is one of those bulls.
He recently made an appearance on Fox Business, which he frequents, to talk up Bitcoin. During his segment, Lee, who has been one of Bitcoin’s most staunch bulls for two years now, made the argument that Bitcoin is truly a safe haven, which would thus give BTC inherent value.
Lee argues that due to the premiums currently being seen in the Bitcoin markets in places where crisis has struck, namely Hong Kong, it is clear that there are people looking to protect their wealth in the cryptocurrency.
Indeed, over the past few months, the semi-autonomous Chinese city has seen Bitcoin trade at a premium and at higher volumes than normal seemingly due to massive protests, which so-called Hongkongers are holding to stop China from encroaching on their sovereignty.
With this in mind, Lee concluded by stating that Bitcoin is likely to end the year a lot higher than it is now, potentially at its all-time high of $20,000 or at a fresh high. As reported by Blockonomi on an earlier date, he believes there is a confluence of factors that will drive bouts of Bitcoin price appreciation this year. These include the unveiling of Libra, which he believes will bring attention to the cryptocurrency space; the impassioned anti-crypto tweet thread from Donald Trump; and macroeconomic turmoil.
Mainstream Media Coverage is Widely Bullish
Whether or not you believe Lee’s cheery prediction, one thing is for certain: mainstream media is warming up to Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry once again.
Just look to CNBC “Squawk Box”, where an overt, outspoken Bitcoin bull literally graces the panel multiple times a week. As Blockonomi has detailed on many occasions, on the panel is Joe “Squawk” Kernen, a cryptocurrency bull that may not look like your average cryptocurrency bull.
While he doesn’t spread the good word of Bitcoin every day, when he does, he’s surprisingly cheery about it. For instance, he openly rebutted comments from Steven Mnuchin, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, regarding the use of Bitcoin in illicit activity. And Kernen was once “caught” pushing a Bitcoin at $55,000 by 2020 price prediction that likely made many CNBC viewers spit out their morning coffees.
On a sister show, CNBC “Fast Money”, there’s Brian Kelly, a mostly bullish cryptocurrency and blockchain investor that has been pushing his rhetoric on the outlet for over five years.
Even media outlets across the pond are getting in on the cryptocurrency action.
Metro, the United Kingdom’s highest-circulation newspaper, recently released a Bitcoin article to its website. In it, a writer at the outlet accentuated that BTC is “less influenced by instability in the economy” — a safe haven asset or store of value — and is much more private than traditional forms of money.
Years ago, Metro or similar outlets like it likely wouldn’t be caught dead publishing such rhetoric, even if was an opinionated piece.
The post Fundstrat’s Lee: Doubles Down on Cheery $20k Bitcoin Prediction appeared first on Blockonomi.
August 16, 2019 at 12:15PM https://blockonomi.com from Blockonomi https://ift.tt/2MkLmUM
Comments
Post a Comment