Bitcoin making new all time highs, but can the reasons behind it also be good for steem and altcoins?
If you logged onto the internet or turned on a finance channel today you probably heard or read that bitcoin is making another all time high.
It seems like those are happening every couple of days!
If not every couple days, every couple of weeks for sure!
The other day bitcoin was bolstered to new all time highs based on some vague rumors out of China that they could be removing their ban on bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, though when I say "removing their ban", I really mean not renewing their current ban that is set to expire beginning of November.
That doesn't mean they couldn't just reinstate a new ban, but that is beside the point. The rumors are out there and bulls are running with them.
That brings me to today, what is causing the moon shot in bitcoin today?
That is most likely related to the news from the CME announcing that they will likely be live with bitcoin and cryptocurrency futures before the end of the year. (pending review)
Don't believe me? Well CNBC seems to be in agreement as to the cause as well:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/cme-plans-to-launch-bitcoin-futures-by-year-end.html
CME is the leading global exchange for options and futures trading.
This announcement comes on the heels of the CBOE announcing they would have bitcoin derivatives products by early 2018.
(CBOE is the largest US based options exchange)
And...
It comes on the heels of LedgerX announcing a few weeks ago that they are already trading options contracts for institutional clients.
In a statement released recently LedgerX said they did $1 million in volume for the first week and over $2 million in volume for the second week.
Why all the excitement?
This is big time news for the entire space.
It adds legitimacy to bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency space as being a legitimate asset class. The sooner these things get up and running the harder it is going to be for the crypto space to just go away.
It's also going to open the doors to an entirely new group of investors.
Many institutional investors would like some exposure to the space but aren't currently able with the investment products currently out there.
As regulated derivatives make their way onto the scene, more and more Wall Street money will start dipping their toes in.
Even if this money isn't buying the underlying directly, I would imagine a lot of new money will also find its way into the underlying.
Will this benefit more than just bitcoin?
I would assume more than just bitcoin will benefit from these developments.
I would imagine many of the top 10 or 20 coins will see a significant amount of new money coming in as people look to diversify themselves within the space.
There will also be those that think they have missed the train on bitcoin and will look to its younger brothers for some alpha.
Here's to looking at you steem!
For those reasons I am hopeful that what is good for bitcoin is ultimately good for steem etc.
Stay informed my friends.
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/cme-plans-to-launch-bitcoin-futures-by-year-end.html
Image Sources:
https://news.bitcoin.com/cme-patent-physically-settled-bitcoin-derivatives-clearing-system/
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/31/cme-plans-to-launch-bitcoin-futures-by-year-end.html
https://twitter.com/abuomartube/status/261219439398227968
Follow me: @jrcornel
Regardless of whether bitcoin is in a bubble, a brief glance at its price-chart makes it quite evident that it is "in bubble territory."
To be clear, those are 2 separate points. Being "in a bubble" is not the same as being "in bubble territory."
It clearly seems to be in a bubble, and many commentators may seem justified in claiming that it is.
However, we are dealing with a completely new and unique market here. Even the wisest and most experienced observers do not know what the true value of bitcoin is, or what it will be a few months from now or a few years from now. Or tomorrow, for that matter.
With gold and silver, we have hundreds of years of history to determine what their current prices should be, in terms of various historical metrics. With bitcoin, we're discovering the price and the value as it moves.
We can make educated estimates, but so much is still up in the air that many predictions, estimates, forecasts and guesses will be far off the mark.
The best strategy is to keep getting more educated about bitcoin and cryptos.
As for the numerous alt coins, that in itself is not a major cause for concern. There are hundreds of fiat currencies, some of which overlap in terms of use, and transfers and exchange are common. With cryptos, transfers and exchange can be accomplished much quicker and easier. So, let a hundred flowers blossom, and a thousand cryptos contend ...
That said, many (or some) cryptos will most likely prove pointless, valueless, and "use" less.
(My feebly educated guess is that bitcoin (bitcoin cash?) and steem (among others) will continue to blossom and contend.)
Not sure why or how this would do much for the alts.
90% are pure shit coins in any case. Why would a more legitimate view of BTC, lead anyone to believe that shit is going to double in value or double in price.
If you buy crap, you are not investing.
You are spending money to get fertilizer for your lawn - best case.
The top 10-20 alts have some substance behind them.
Man I hope so, I have been waiting on Alt's to recover since what feels like forever.
Im happy to hear about the Bitcoin futures because I think it means big things for the entire crypto marketplace, but regardless, I think Alts should recover, hopefully in a BIG way, heading into December, once the dust settles around Segwit2x hard fork.
Having said that, Im not putting any more into Alts till I see a real bull trend begin.
Agreed, there is a chance it gets a lot worse in the coming weeks. That won't be fun... Though longterm, the real ones (steem etc.) should rebound.
Altcoins have a lot of catching up to do. I really look forward to the day/week/month that happens!
For Steem I hope the best, but number of active users need to grow
https://steemit.com/statistics/@arcange/steemit-statistics-20171030-en
Man, I was just looking at prices a moment ago, BTC over $6550, and some of my fav alts down yet again, this market just wont stop kicking my a$$. Every dollar that can be squeezed out of alts is being squeezed.
Of course hind sight is 20-20 but I just wish I had held all my BTC, bought NO alts, until right before the segwit2x fork. Then bought my alt positions.
Right now I am a #bagholder, but Im not dropping them! :)
Yea I hear you. There is also shorting going on against BTC. Buy btc and short alts... that can't last forever. I hope.
You would certainly think this great bitcoin run would pull others with it, but the correlation isn't there yet... hopefully it will come soon tho!
Yes, right now it is pulling money out of all the other coins. Basically money is mostly just moving from one crypto to the main crypto. However, as these derivatives come online I would imagine new money will be coming in, which would mean they both can go up together! :)
I'm not so sure about that. Derivatives have been used by the banking cartel to manipulate the price of precious metals, so I don't see how having large chunks of bitcoin's daily volume being conducted on trading venues, where the underlying commodity (actual bitcoin) is not being bought and sold, will be beneficial to anyone but fat-cat Wall St. banksters.
Just watch. :)
Thats pretty cool if steem price becomes high!!!
Seems to me the Bitcoin futures would work as yet another piece of confirmation that the entire crypto space is "legitimate" on a greater scale than just to a few weirdos. And that would have to be good for at least some of the alt coins, as well.
But I am guessing it will also mean that the issuers of alt coins better actually have some sort of "plan" when they have their ICOs. With greater scrutiny, someone issuing coins simply because "cryptos are hot" will probably get a serious downside surprise. It's one of the reasons I like Steem... there's "something here."
Exactly. Great points. I would imagine there will be more than just a downside surprise for the fraudulent coins as the space gains legitimacy it will also get scrutinized by regulators.
@rawdawg couldn't have said it better himself!
Yes Yes Yes, let them grow, all crypto! We sure benefit 😉
Enjoyed reading the article and I agree, the more people learn about Cryptocurrency the more money will start to pour in. This will have positive impacts on altcoins as well as Bitcoin!
Following you!
🤞🏾 Fingers crossed indeed. Excellent share. Much thanks 🤙🏾
100% agree with your statement
"it adds legitimacy to bitcoin and the entire cryptocurrency space"