Bloomberg praises market depth and liquidity, agreeing that conditions are much better now than during Bitcoin’s 2017 bull run.
Bitcoin (BTC) continues to convert some of its harshest traditional critics from mainstream finance as Bloomberg admits that this bull run is nothing like 2017.
In an article on Nov. 27, the publication known for its pessimism highlighted a range of Bitcoin metrics pointing to a bullish future — despite Thursday’s $3,000 price rout.
Bloomberg: Bitcoin market “far more liquid”
Included as evidence were record-high Bitcoin futures open interest, non-zero wallet numbers, hash rate and the lack of correlation between Bitcoin and other macro assets.
“Just look at market technicals and Wall Street’s growing embrace of the world’s biggest digital currency,” it began.
“And while the trading doesn’t always run smoothly, the $315 billion digital coin is far deeper and more liquid than it was during last boom in 2017.”
Bloomberg referenced what it describes as “crypto diehards” who reject the idea that the current price gains are another bubble. Among them was regular Cointelegraph contributor, Mati Greenspan.
“It’s different now,” he commented.
“The last time we saw Bitcoin get this high, the blockchain was close to collapsing, but the network has had improvements since then.”
A separate interview with Bloomberg TV on Friday meanwhile saw Antoni Trenchev, CEO of the world’s biggest crypto lender Nexo, forecast Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high by the end of 2020, adding:
“The digital gold narrative is stronger than ever. If Bitcoin captures just 10% of the total market cap of gold, we will be at $50,000 in no time.”
BTC macro performance smothers gold
The lack of criticism contained in the article echoes growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a genuine asset, whether investment interest is coming from retail or institutional circles.
Part of the cryptocurrency’s positive image stems from its now eight-month growth spurt versus its March crash, during which it has consistently outperformed other macro assets. Even after its retreat to $17,000, Bitcoin’s year-to-date returns stand at 135%, against 19% for gold and 12% for the S&P 500, data from analytics resource Skew confirms.
In the case of Gold, Mike McGlone, the Bloomberg Intelligence chief strategist who has long diverged from the broader narrative to be fully bullish on Bitcoin, believes that institutions will continue to pile in to cryptocurrency going forward.
“Is Bitcoin replacing gold? Futures and fund flows are saying Yes — Rising futures open interest and investor inflows in Bitcoin vs. the same declining for gold indicate the cryptocurrency gaining an edge for price appreciation, in our view,” he tweeted earlier this week.
McGlone subsequently added that gold would likely see a rebound next year, with the precious metal “favorably tilted” towards regaining $2,000.
“Dipping into support layers toward the end of November should provide a foundation for further gold price gains,” he wrote on Friday.
