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Bitcoin in 2019: Analysts See Institutional Investors Wading into Crypto

Bitcoin in 2019: analysts see institutional investors wading into crypto

Bitcoin in 2019: Analysts See Institutional Investors Wading into Crypto


Wall street bitcoin crypto cryptocurrency

The bitcoin price got hammered in 2018 amid the prolonged Crypto Winter, but many investment experts expect the volatility to subside in 2019, as institutional investors start entering the market.

Some analysts believe bitcoin will re-emerge — like the proverbial Phoenix rising from the ashes — on back of momentum created by institutional investors, the Australian Financial Review reported.

“During the coming year we will see a gradual adoption from institutions,” said Henrik Andersson, chief investment officer of Apollo Capital Fund in Australia. “We have the first US university endowments investing in funds.”

JPMorgan: bitcoin Bears Scared Off Institutions

Over the summer, the multi-billion-dollar endowments of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford stunned Wall Street after revealing that they had invested in cryptocurrencies.

Because of the herd mentality of institutions, analysts say the move will likely trigger a chain reaction among other institutional investors, such as pension funds.

“The fact that David Swensen [Yale’s chief investment officer] put an investment into bitcoin — with his reputation on the line, his endowment on the line — tells you something,” Novogratz said. “Some of the smartest people in the investing world think it’s a store of value.”

The influx of institutional investors — which some expected in late-2018 — was stalled by the unexpectedly harsh bear market. Institutions reportedly got scared off by the protracted downturn, said JPMorgan Chase analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.

As Wall Street appears poised for more turbulence, analysts say crypto assets could be buoyed because they are not correlated to the regular stock market — making them a good investment during volatile periods.

Tom Surman, the director of Every Capital — Australia’s first retail crypto investment fund — believes the institutional phase for crypto has quietly begun.

“Massive retail offerings and institutional investors are probably the only groups that can meaningfully move the needle on the crypto market cap from here on,” Surman told the Australian Financial Review.

Push to Legitimize Crypto is Underway

However, observers say mainstream adoption hinges on regulatory clarity to help legitimize the market. As it is, the move to promulgate targeted regulation of the industry has already started.

In December 2018, US lawmakers proposed legislation designed to prevent bitcoin price manipulation and position the US as a market leader.

Congressmen Darren Soto and Ted Budd are pushing for widespread adoption of crypto, saying the US must not ignore its “profound potential” to bolster the economy.

“Virtual currencies and the underlying bitcoin technology has a profound potential to be a driver of economic growth,” said Soto and Budd. “That’s why we must ensure that the United States is at the forefront.”

Washington dc capitol
The industry has been making moves in washington, dc to promote the mainstream adoption of crypto. (pixabay)

In September 2018, a pro-crypto lobbying group was launched in Washington, D.C. by three of the biggest cryptocurrency companies in the United States:

  • Coinbase
  • Circle
  • Digital Currency Group.

The move signals that the industry is taking concrete steps to advance mainstream crypto adoption by greasing the wheels of Congress.

“We have been very active with Congress, with policymakers,” said Jeremy Allaire, the co-founder of Circle, a crypto unicorn with a $3 billion valuation.

France Throws Down the Blockchain Gauntlet

Across the pond in Europe, French legislators are aggressively pushing blockchain adoption. Some even suggested that the Bank of France or the European Central Bank should issue their own digital currencies.

Laure de La Raudière, a member of the French Parliament, said France must move quickly to capitalize on bitcoin and crypto before its international rivals China and the United States do.

De La Raudière lamented that France was late to the Internet revolution in the 1990s, and should not miss the boat again.

“France must have a conquering philosophy on this subject,” she told French financial website Journal du Net. “I’m sounding the alarm.”

Featured Image from Shutterstock

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Published at Sun, 30 Dec 2018 15:45:22 +0000

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Litecoin Price Tops $11 Amid SegWit Euphoria, Coinbase Support

With Litecoin’s price rallying and SegWit activation around the corner, bitcoin’s baby brother may soon be added to Coinbase.


Litecoin on Coinbase

Litecoin is the currently on the center stage of the blockchain sphere as the activation of SegWit becomes imminent and the price rallies to heights not seen since 2014. Now, it seems like Litecoin may become the second alternative cryptocurrency to be added to Coinbase, following Ethereum.

A recent Twitter conversation between Charlie Lee, founder of Litecoin and Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, reveals that both want to see Litecoin added to Coinbase so that users can easily buy the altcoin with national currencies.

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Although Litecoin trades on the GDAX exchange which belongs to Coinbase, adding it to the main Coinbase platform is a much more relevant step for LTC given that Coinbase is meant for the mainstream audience that is now entering the cryptocurrency scene, while GDAX is a platform for experienced traders. The addition of Litecoin to Coinbase will, as so, make it much easier for users to acquire it with fiat currencies.

Earlier this month, Coinbase received an approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer its customers the option of trading both Litecoin and Ether, making it the first NY-based exchange to offer both Litecoin and Ethereum markets.

SegWit may be coming for Litecoin

The argument used by Charlie Lee to get Litecoin into Coinbase is that Litecoin’s trading volume in GDAX was above $10M for the day, which was caused by the rally experienced yesterday in which Litecoin gained over 20% in value, going as high as $12.70.

CryptoCompare Index: Litecoin (LTC)

The reason for the surge in value is connected to the imminent activation of SegWit. Miner approval went as high as 65% yesterday (on the last 576 blocks at the time) and it’s currently sitting at 68%.

Once (if) the 75% mining approval threshold for SegWit activation is reached, miner approval will need to stay above this figure for two weeks (8064 blocks) in order to be activated. If SegWit is in fact activated in Litecoin, the following days/weeks could prove crucial for bitcoin’s future, as Litecoin leads the way as a scalability testbed for bitcoin. If the price increases tremendously, miners may be tempted to support SegWit with an increase in the mining revenue in mind.

SegWit support poll

Who is and Isn’t Signaling SegWit?

While some of the biggest Litecoin mining pools are signaling their support for SegWit, like F2Pool (34%), Batpool (11.6%), HappyChina (9.8%) and others, some refuse to change their position. Most notably, LTC1BTC which is the second biggest Litecoin mining pool in the market.

Litecoin mining pool market share

Jiang Zhuoer, founder of LTC1BTC said in an interview that LTC1BTC would not signal SegWit approval and he added that no other primary Litecoin pool would, which turned out to be incorrect.

Currently, only LTC1BTC (11.8%),BW (11%), Antpool (2.6%), LTC.top (2.4%) and Prohashing (1.4%) are not signaling for SegWit. It seems unlikely that Antpool and Prohashing will change to support SegWit, given their opposition to SegWit and support for bitcoin Unlimited.

Now, it all comes down to BW. Although it’s unclear what BW’s position on the matter is, we can expect an update to be released according to a recent tweet by the pool:

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With BW’s 11% share of the Litecoin mining network, SegWit will most likely be activated. 

Will BW move to activate SegWit, allowing Litecoin to be the first SegWit-enabled cryptocurrency? Would this help bitcoin’s case for SegWit? Let us know what you think in the comment section.


Images courtesy of CryptoCompare, Segwit.co, Litecoinpool, Shutterstock

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