Bitcoin and Crypto Set for an Earthquake in China After $100 Billion Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Cardano, Dogecoin, Polygon and Solana Price Rally
02/22 update below. This post was originally published on February 20
BitcoinBTC, ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies have surged into 2023, despite growing fears that the US may be waging a “quiet” war on crypto.
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The bitcoin price topped $25,000 per bitcoin, up 50% since the beginning of the year, helping boost the ethereum price and adding over $100 billion to the combined crypto market – including BNBBNB, XRPXRP, cardano, dogecoin, polygon and solana.
02/22 Update: A shift in bitcoin and crypto sentiment may be underway, with traders increasingly cheering what appears to be a softening of China’s stance on crypto following the brutal attack in the summer of 2021 that wiped billions from the crypto market .
“The big question is, despite interest rates going up and the dollar gaining strength, is there a catalyst that could push [the bitcoin price over $25,000?]”, said Gareth Soloway, market strategist at Verified Investing Coindesk, pointing to the China narrative as attracting new bitcoin buyers who had been spooked by Federal Reserve interest rate hikes and the threat of looming US regulation over the past year. “I think this narrative from Hong Kong can be something that helps.”
After Hong Kong’s financial regulator announced plans that could lead to an opening of the crypto market this week, Bloomberg reported China’s mainland government in Beijing could have quietly backed the idea, fueling expectations that the crypto market could be in for an Asia-led boom.
“The interest in crypto is a global phenomenon, and regulators in Europe and now in Asia have realized that a basic level of regulation is not only necessary, but also desirable to build confidence in this nascent industry,” Bradley Duke, co-CEO of ETC ETC Group, said in emailed comments. “Both investors and crypto service providers benefit from the stability of sensible regulation – a point that currently seems lost to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).”
Now the co-founder of bitcoin and crypto exchange Gemini, Cameron Winklevoss of Facebook founding fame, has issued a “bull run” price prediction – warning that the US could either “embrace [crypto] or be left behind.”
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“My work assignment [at the moment] is that the next bull run is going to start in the East,” Winklevoss, who founded the New York-based bitcoin and crypto exchange Gemini with his twin brother Tyler, posted to Twitter.
The last bitcoin bull turned into a bitter crypto winter in late 2021, with the bitcoin price crashing to below $16,000 per bitcoin from a peak of nearly $70,000. The combined crypto market, which reached $3 trillion in November 2021, saw $2 trillion in value wiped out in just 12 months.
Cameron Winklevoss made his “next bull run” bitcoin price prediction just hours before Hong Kong’s securities regulator announced plans to allow retail investors to trade bitcoin, ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies later this year under a new licensing regime for crypto exchanges.
US regulators, meanwhile, are cracking down on bitcoin, ethereum, cryptocurrencies and crypto companies in the wake of the shock FTX collapse last year that sent shockwaves through the crypto market.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been accused of waging war on bitcoin and crypto by cutting off the industry from banking services – dubbed “Operation Choke Point 2.0”.
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“Any government that doesn’t offer clear rules and honest guidance will be left in the dust. Quickly,” Cameron Winklevoss said.
“This would mean missing out on the greatest period of growth since the rise of the commercial internet. And it would mean missing out on shaping and being a fundamental part of the future financial infrastructure of this world (and beyond).”
Last week, Singapore-based DBS revealed that crypto trading volume will almost double by 2022.
“The increase in trading volume on DBS’s digital asset platform is a reminder that any government, even the United States, that does not offer clear guidelines could potentially be left behind in the fourth industrial revolution,” Marcus Sotiriou, market analyst at digital asset broker GlobalBlock, wrote in an email message.
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