There are two bitcoins now?
It's safe to say cast a pall over uncertainty the markets last week cryptocurrency when on August 1, a group of developers and miners split the blockchain and created a new cryptocurrency.
It was the first (high-profile) bitcoin fork to date, and in response, the price very well could have entered a period of unprecedented churn. With bitcoin bitcoin cash and competing, it was not hard to foresee market esta creating downward pressure on dislocations and price.
What happened, however, was the opposite, as in the last few days markets surged past Have all-time highs. In fact, analysts Have Indicated to major upswell in confidence and a broad consensus That the upward march of bitcoin's price Could continue.
Brad Chun, CEO of Digital Identity Mooti blockchain startup, Went so far as to argue That money is likely to institutional pour into bitcoin as a result.
Chun told CoinDesk:
"For early tech adopters Who Can not fathom a market cap of over $ 50 billion or $ 100 billion for bitcoin, They have not seen anything yet. While We might see profit taking short-term, I view any dips as buying opportunities."
Chun, WHO plans to hold bitcoin through the remainder of 2017, you have a $ 5,000 end-of-year price target on bitcoin, a price figure That includes bitcoin cash and any other potential "fork currencies" created as a result of disagreements over the network's Future
Kevin Zhou, of the Galois cryptocurrency Capital fund, is bullish on the price Also of bitcoin, Particularly after Segregated Witness locked in on the main bitcoin blockchain Went yesterday and the split by without incident.
Said Zhou bitcoin Could See price gains of 200 to 300 percent year-over-year, for the next two years. That added $ 3,000 and $ 4,500 to "seems reasonable" as a price target for the year, though I hedges a bit on That range.
Harry Yeh, managing partner at Binary Financial, is more categorical now that the hard fork has passed.
"Expect a big move past $ 3,500 - possibly this week," I Told CoinDesk. Yeh $ 4,000 Believes "is on the horizon" for bitcoin by the end of the year.
'Fork Mania'
But perhaps the most prevailing view in the wake of the bitcoin cash fork is that a major headwind has just come off the table.
The argument goes like this: bitcoin survived a fork without a major catastrophe technical or price. As a consequence, the market has stabilized, clearing the way for higher prices in the future.
Yeh explained:
"Traders trade based on technical and critical analysis. With the hard fork gone and the issue being very bullish technicals again, long term there is definitely a lot more confidence amongst traders."
Once again, confidence has risen because the downside risks were not realized.
Tellingly, and in keeping With This thesis, points out Yeh That this is only the case until "the next" fork Arises to darken markets.
Here, Zhou's comments Reflect how can be forking positive and negative factors Both in the market. While forks can create uncertainty and risk, I NOTED Forks Also have an upside - the ability to spawn new assets.
"I think after the success Also of bitcoin cash forking off bitcion, Might we see a lot of other forks altcoin mania was happening 2014;. 2015-2016 was blockchain mania, mania ICO is 2017, maybe 2018 will be fork mania," I Said
When up signals down
Elsewhere, Petar Zivkovski, director of operations at Whaleclub, struck a more nuanced note on price direction and short-term price targets.
"2017 Has Been a stellar year for bitcoin. Barring a black swan event (this is a big assumption in the industry), I think the bull run will continue through the end of the year since it's the predominant trend," I remarked.
Zivkovski While the price has ADMITTED That Could see a short-term pullback, I Said I have is watching out for the $ 3,000 price Whether will hold. If it does, I Said $ 4,000 Might not be far off.
Interestingly, a novel note struck Zivkovski That none of the other analysts picked up on: The Possibility That bitcoin prices soaring Could cause a negative feedback loop for the price of bitcoin.
In a nutshell, That His thesis is the "incredible price rise" in bitcoin is attracting the attention of Both Governments and regulators on a global basis. As a consequence, "a wider crackdown on bitcoin exchanges," he said, could mitigate price gains.
In other words, bitcoin could become a victim of its own success.