Last Week In Bitcoin is a series discussing the events of the previous week that occurred in the Bitcoin industry, covering all the important news and analysis.
Summary Of The Week
A mere month ago, bitcoin was hovering below $30,000 with many expecting a further dump. But if you bought the dip, you’d already be up over 60% with bitcoin breaking $50,000 on Sunday, trading on levels last seen in mid May. With bitcoin’s surge of over 60% over the last month, can we expect it to hit its most recent all-time high of just over $64,000?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the last week has been full of bullish news as more institutional investors come onboard, banks pave the way for bitcoin adoption, and legendary investors jump on the bitcoin bandwagon (or confirm they’ve been along for the ride this whole time). Let’s take a look at the last week in bitcoin.
Timeline Of Bitcoin This Week
Bullish Financial Services News
❶ Not to be left behind, global retail giant, Walmart, posted a job listing for a ‘digital currency and cryptocurrency product lead’ on Monday. Following in the footsteps of other retail giants, such as Amazon, Walmart appears to be getting ready to explore the acceptance of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. For some context on the company’s size, in its last fiscal year, Walmart reported nearly $560 billion in revenue, during a global pandemic. The scale at which they operate could bring a drastic increase to the bitcoin network should they choose to allow bitcoin payments.
❷ Also on Monday, Jehudi Castro Sierre, an advisor to the President of Colombia called bitcoin the “most brilliant piece of software ever” leading many to speculate this could lead to the South American nation looking to adopt bitcoin as either legal tender, or an investment, much like El Salvador. Nothing to this effect has been announced, or even rumoured, but the markets love to speculate.
❸ On Tuesday, news emerged that the UK’s largest retail bank, Lloyds Banking Group, is hiring a “Digital Currency Manager.” The bank has over 30 million customers in the UK and appears to be interested in offering services catering to increased demand for crypto and bitcoin specifically.
❹ Also on Tuesday, Fidelity, one of the largest financial services company which manages $10 trillion in assets said that bitcoin is a key focus for them now as it is emerging as a real asset class, revealing that 90% of Fidelity’s biggest clients are asking about bitcoin.
❺ On Wednesday, news emerged that billionaire Peter Thiel's company, Palantir Technologies, is now accepting bitcoin. Thiel has welcomed bitcoin as a hedge against fiat currency inflation, however cautioned that "you have to be prepared for a future with more black swan events."
❻ Also on Wednesday, legendary investor, Bill Miller, revealed that he’s been buying bitcoin since it was $200. The 71 year-old investor has been betting big on investments in software this year and announced that he’s acquired a stake in Coinbase, appearing to remain bullish on bitcoin.
❼ Thursday was a busy day for bullish news as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Japan’s largest bank struck a deal with Coinbase that will allow its 40 million customers to buy bitcoin. Japan has some of the highest bitcoin trading volume in the world and the government has been very open towards cryptocurrencies.
❽ Also on Thursday, banking giants Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan both filed for private bitcoin funds. Both institutions have been against bitcoin in the past, but it’s become an asset that’s hard to dismiss.Their pursuit of bitcoin-based products has undoubtedly been in part influenced by demand from customers.
❾ Wrapping up Thursday’s bullish news, payments giant Worldline partnered with Bitcoin Suisse to allow 85,000 merchants in Switzerland to accept bitcoin, paving the way for wider adoption in the country with over 8.5 million inhabitants.
❿ Finally on Friday, the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, revealed that it’s pursuing investments in bitcoin mining, joining the likes of Fidelity and Vanguard. The firm invested over $382 million in shares of Marathon Digital Holdings and Riot Blockchain.
Bear FUD And Criminals
Just because nothing hit the headlines doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any negativity towards bitcoin over the last week. Jake Klein, executive chairman of Australian gold mining firm, Evolution Mining, made some misguided claims, saying that bitcoin’s volatility will drive investors back to gold.
Criminals were also in the spotlight over the last week, as Helix operator, Larry Dean Harmon, forfeited 4,400 BTC to the U.S. Justice Department as part of a guilty plea to laundering charges. The Swedish government was also forced to pay a jailed drug dealer 33 BTC, after it sold his holdings when he was arrested. This will likely continue the “crypto is for criminals” narrative wrongly being pushed by many.
Then there’s the continued FUD about bitcoin mining’s effect on the government. This week Fortune published a piece about how CO2 emissions from bitcoin mining will exceed that of Mexico or Brazil should bitcoin hit $500,000, but doesn’t consider that the higher bitcoin goes, the more incentive there will be for greener mining operations. Pieces like these continue pushing a narrative that bitcoin can’t “go green” or in fact won’t, when the opposite is true.
Overall it’s good that the bearish news seems to be slowly fading to the so called “back pages,” but there still seems to be a push by traditional media to find negative angles to cover or negative voices to provide a platform to.
A Bullish Verdict
I’ve said for weeks now that bitcoin is overdue for a breakout, and the last month’s trend upwards confirms that bitcoin is poised to start a new run. The last week has been overwhelmingly bullish, even if the price didn’t necessarily “moon.” More banks, institutional investors and others are joining the fray. Bitcoin is becoming undeniable as a sturdy investment and with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continuing, it’s undeniable that the global economy is going to suffer for a few years.
Bitcoin stands out as a hedge against inflation, and as the money printers continue in overdrive across the globe, it’s becoming an increasingly important investment vehicle for those who want to uplift themselves from the so-called financial tyranny of the fiat currency system.
This is a guest post by Dion Guillaume. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.