The price is getting hammered, the FUD is everywhere. I’m getting hit with “I told you so” everyday. We’re down 44% from all time highs, heck we’re down 11% from yesterday. Who knows what tomorrow brings…
Luckily I’ve been through this before, and its at times like these that I ask myself what has changed? Is the vision for Bitcoin the same? Are the fundamentals still sound? Has a previously unknown flaw been discovered? As always the answer is no, and furthermore Bitcoin is actually stronger than ever.
The current price action is not a reflection of Bitcoin itself, but rather the macro environment.
To reinforce this I thought I’d layout some reasons to be bullish about Bitcoin.
All the below are based on events or announcements from the last 2 weeks or so.
1. Bitcoin Hashrate at all time time
After recovering from the ban in China, bitcoin miners have gone on to reach all time high levels of hashrate. This means that the network has never been more secure and there has never been more investment behind mining it.
2. Block (formerly Square) working on an open source mining system
Block, the payment company formerly known as Square, is working on building an open Bitcoin mining system for the people. The overall aim is to make mining more decentralized, in turn making the overall Bitcoin network more resilient.
3. Intel will be announcing a new Bitcoin mining chip
While the chipmaker hasn’t said anything publicly just yet, reports state they are set to give a presentation about a new “Bonanza Mine” processor at the 2022 International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), which kicks off on Feb 20th.
Furthermore sales contracts have been leaked proving the chip’s existence.
The chip is described as an “ultra-low-voltage energy-efficient bitcoin-mining ASIC,” where the acronym ASIC stands for an application-specific integrated circuit; a chip made for one specific purpose.
This is great news for the decentralisation of mining as currently the Chinese manufacturer Bitmain dominates the space.
4. President Bukele of El Salvador meeting President Erdoğan of Turkey
As the Turkish Lira flounders speculation is rampant as to why Erdoğan would spend time talking to the president of such a small insignificant country. Could it be to do with El Salvador’s recent adoption of Bitcoin as a national currency and its upcoming Bitcoin-backed bond?
While expecting any immediate policy change is maybe a tad over-optimistic, the fact that the conversation could be happening at all is pretty incredible. We wait to hear what went on behind the closed doors.
5. BitMex buying a German bank
Crypto firm BitMEX Group announced Tuesday its plan to acquire Bankhaus von der Heydt, a 268-year-old private bank based in Germany. BitMEX Group aims to create “a regulated crypto products powerhouse in the heart of Europe” if the deal goes through. The group plans to launch regulated crypto products in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with the planned acquisition.
6. NCR Integrates Crypto Services into over 750k ATMs globally
Global payments giant NCR has just acquired LibertyX, a leading cryptocurrency software provider. Moving forward, NCR will offer the LibertyX capabilities as part of its solutions for banks, retailers and restaurants. NCR’s digital wallet and mobile applications will provide these capabilities across NCR’s physical and digital touchpoints.
7. NYDIG Announces $1 Billion Funding Round
NYDIG, a leading bitcoin company, announced today a growth equity funding round of $1 billion that will value the company at more than $7 billion. NYDIG delivers Bitcoin products across industries, from banking and insurance to fintech and non-profits.
8. Costa Rica – Hydroelectric Plant supported by crypto mining
The privately owned hydroelectric power plant had to close for 9 months when the government stopped buying electricity during the pandemic. The owner discovered Bitcoin and mining 1 year ago and since then pivoted to supplying miners with power. So far all plants customers are local miners.
9. Fidelity predict country level game theory at play
Fidelity Investments is one of the world’s largest and most diversified financial services providers, with more than $7 trillion in client assets under administration and over 1.3 million trades processed each day. In a report published on the 6th of Jan, they state “We also think there is very high stakes game theory at play here, whereby if bitcoin adoption increases, the countries that secure some bitcoin today will be better off competitively than their peers. In other words, a small cost can be paid today as a hedge compared to a potentially much larger cost year in the future.”
Bullish.
10. Strike launched in Argentina
Jack Maller’s Strike rolled out its crypto payment services for the Argentinian market on Jan 12. Strike uses the bitcoin lightning network to facilitate near instant, free global payments. The app quickly moved to become the #1 app in Argentina’s app store a week after launch and the 5th most popular finance app globally.
In summary
The current drop in price is not related to Bitcoin’s fundamentals, rather the macro economy. Unfortunately as such the price could well fall further as investors and traders react to the serious macro issues that are unfolding.
However Bitcoin is stronger than ever. The story of its relentless global adoption is still very much in play.
Stay strong and hodl on.
Fact Stamp
| Date | 18:32 21st January 2022 |
| Price | $37,955 £28,249 |
| All Time High | $69,010 |
| Change from All Time High | -44.5% ⬇ |
| Block Height | 719,794 |
| Hash Rate | 190.1 EH/s |
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