Despite my bullishness toward all things blockchain, I can’t explain every nuance of the bitcoin price chart. I previously said that the case for bitcoin $10,000 wasn’t as crazy as you would imagine. I didn’t think in my wildest dreams that the milestone would come so quickly.
Yet here we are.
The bitcoin price chart facilitates very little middle ground. Either you love cryptocurrencies to the point that you’ve decided to invest in it, or you absolutely hate it. I think it’s fair to say that presently, the haters rule the airwaves.
Sure, the bitcoin price has enjoyed a phenomenal run-up. When the digital token reached and breached the bitcoin 10,000 milestone, it took a sharp dive. But just as quickly, its market value recovered, and then some. At the time of writing, one bitcoin trades hands at over $17,300. Such massive profitability naturally sparks legions of fans looking to get in.
However, the overall mainstream consensus is that this remarkable rally is nothing more than a “bitcoin bubble.” At some point, the bitcoin price will literally evaporate, according to the words of InvestorPlace contributor Lawrence Meyers. He wrote:
“The only thing bitcoin is good for is trading. Bitcoin Investment Trust (NASDAQ:GBTC) holds actual bitcoins — or rather the vapor that bitcoin represents since there are no actual coins — so the value of the Trust will fluctuate. It is also trading at a ridiculous premium to the underlying value of Bitcoin.”
Ouch! Our own Dana Blankenhorn consistently added to the chorus of dissent. Last month, he warned that the bitcoin bubble could lead to a recession. This month, he welcomed the bitcoin futures market as a necessary means to regulate trading.
They’re not the greatest fans of bitcoin, but they should be.
Bitcoin 10,000 Is Just the Beginning
Many years from now, InvestorPlace will have a sister site called “BitcoinPlace,” or something to that effect. Hundreds of editors covering three full-time shifts will pound the pavement, and I’ll be the feature writer. [Ed’s note: We like “BitPlace” better.]
Of course, this is merely a product of my imagination, but eventually, it will happen. The reason is simple: the stock market is steadily becoming irrelevant.
That’s not to say that your 401k plan will implode any time soon. But as independent analysts, we can’t pretend that we don’t see the trajectory of human progress. Translation: I’d be shocked if Americans were still trading the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) 200 years into the future.
Nevertheless, most people are denying themselves the opportunity for massive profitability because they don’t understand the bitcoin price chart. How can something with no government regulation, no physical backing and no centralized market ever move so high?
And yet that’s just it! All of these “protections” — which always seems to fail, by the way — cost money. After multiple regulations, protocols and the hiring of human administrators, you end up with the New York Stock Exchange.
Again, don’t get me wrong — I like the traditional markets. I just happen to like cryptocurrencies more.
What gets lost amid the noise of bitcoin $10,000 is that the blockchain represents truly free markets. Blankenhorn made a curious point when he wrote, “Bitcoin is inherently political.” Actually, the opposite is also true. When I watch CNBC, I mostly see people that look like him: smart, successful, all-American. When I trade cryptocurrencies, I see nothing but the binary code — ones and zeroes.
You see, the blockchain strips the barriers that divide us as human beings. That, my friends, is true progress.
Don’t Miss the Story Behind the Bitcoin Price
Unfortunately, all this talk about the bitcoin bubble detracts us from the cryptocurrency’s beauty. I genuinely don’t understand why the same people that embrace globalization don’t embrace the blockchain. Who cares that the bitcoin price chart looks crazy? Wouldn’t any investment that’s about to change the world look the same?
Blankenhorn describes bitcoin futures as a muzzle for the meteoric bitcoin price. I have to say that the stock market is the muzzle for the American economy. Furthermore, the mutual fund and the 401k is the rear-naked chokehold to the hardworking employee’s portfolio.
I marvel that the NYSE is only open from 9:30am to 4:00pm eastern standard time. How the heck is that convenient for me as a Californian? And forget it if you live in another part of the world, or even the state of Hawaii. Simply put, Wall Street’s vast limitations are no longer appropriate for our digitalized society.
At this juncture, you might not understand the bitcoin price, and that’s completely fine. But you do understand what you’ll get if you dump 80% of your portfolio in mutual funds. Over a career that spans 30 or 40 or even 50 years, maybe you’ll amass a million or five. Then you’ll die.
What if you could dramatically shorten that period to three or four years? Assuming good health, you’ll have many decades to enjoy the youth that no amount of money can buy. Heck yes, it’s risky, but safety isn’t necessarily safe.
As of this writing, Josh Enomoto is long bitcoin.
