Bitcoin Bulls Rear Their Heads

For some odd reason, crypto pundits en-masse have started to tout optimism on Twitter. As Alistair Milne, the chief investment officer at an industry investment firm, recently put it, “pretty much every OG Bitcoin trader” that he respects is now leaning bullish. And funilly enough, this might not be hearsay.

Pretty much every OG Bitcoin trader I respect is now leaning bullish — Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) March 31, 2019

Michael Arlington, the founder of TechCrunch and a big fan of XRP, recently explained that he is now more bullish on crypto than ever before.

#TechCrunch founder: never been more bullish on cryptos than right now



The reason behind such a statement by #Arrington has been the major investment firms in the industry secured investments worth more than $100 million to invest in emerging companies in the #crypto industry. pic.twitter.com/xyesBUITXR — Mia Tam (@blockandchain) March 31, 2019

The Crypto Dog, a prominent analyst who likely imbued the following comment with some creative license, remarked that he heard a friend telling him that “literally everyone is bullish.” And in the comments under this tweet, it seemed as though this sentiment was shared.

Close friend of mine (deep insider in the cryptocurrency universe) said this word for word over chat right now:



"Literally everyone is bullish. Like everyone. Not in the usual 'haha everyone's bullish let's short' way.



Everyone is bullish."



I'm not even kidding. — The Crypto Dog📈 (@TheCryptoDog) March 16, 2019

The Block’s Mike Dudas explained that from his first-hand experiences, the projects and individuals he has been talking to in Bitcoin have been entirely buoyant. Others likened the current mood to that felt in late-2016 and early-2017, which was when industry innovation started to ramp up as crypto diehards felt something bubbling up fundamentally.

Why Is Everyone Bullish On Crypto?

This begs two questions: Why is everyone so, so bullish on crypto right now? And, more importantly, is this senseless optimism really warranted?

From a technical and price action perspective, everyone seems to be relatively cheery.

Instead of calling for lower lows, many, if not most crypto analysts are now expecting for range trading — a large shift sentiment-wise. While Bitcoin has made it past the $4,000 range, it still needs to make a convincing move to and past the $4,200 to $4,400 region, which some are convinced will mark an end to the ongoing bear trend.

Fundamentally, crypto’s prospects seem great too.

Brendan Bernstein, a proponent of the “Bitcoin, not blockchain” movement, recently explained that there is currently a “perfect storm” brewing for BTC and its long-term potential. Citing macroeconomy factors, he looks to the rise of Quantitative Easing (QE), the likely-to-be controversial 2020 election, an influx in retirees, and the rise in fiscal trends like Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) as a way to claim that BTC is likely to be a safe haven in all this. Bernstein adds that the impending block reward halving, which will decrease natural selling pressure in the crypto market, will likely be a boon for the Bitcoin price in the years to come.

More broadly, industry developments have convinced some that adoption is on the horizon: Starbucks is potentially looking into accepting Bitcoin, Samsung opened the crypto doors to millions through its Blockchain Keystore offering, Facebook is on the verge of launching its own digital assets, and some of the largest institutions have started to hire industry talents en-masse.

These reasons, along with countless others, are likely why much of the industry has somehow managed to get high on hopium once again, in spite of 2018’s downturn, which crushed the dreams of many retail investors in Bitcoin.

Title Image Courtesy of Icons8 Team Via Unsplash