Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, talks about the cryptocurrency market situation and the possible timing of the next Bitcoin bull run.
A Quiet Year so Far
Bitcoin hit its all-time high of nearly $20,000 in December last year. Since then, the cryptocurrency has only moved downwards and, over the previous few weeks, stabilized between the $6,000 – $6,500 range.
While BTC has corrected by around 70%, other digital assets like Ethereum and Ripple have seen a fall of over 80%. Most technical analysts and investors believe that BTC has bottomed out and have been expecting the next rally.
Investors, especially those who entered the markets between November 2017 – January 2018, are desperately waiting for Bitcoin to return to its previous highs, or even higher, in the hope of making some gains.
Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume, was speaking to CNBC and expressed that he expects the next Bitcoin bull run “sooner or later.” The details were reported earlier by Forbes.
Zhao, also known as CZ, said:
Even if I don’t know what will catalyze a bitcoin bull run, I am certain it will happen… Sooner or later, something will trigger it.
Impact on Binance
Talking about the effect the bear market has had on Binance, Zhao shared that trading volume on the platform was down by almost 90%. He, however, believes that Binance and the broader market are still in good health.
Zhao said:
Compared to January [of 2018], we are probably down 90 percent. So we only have one-tenth of the trading volume compared to what we had in January. But, compared to like a year or two years ago, we’re still trading at huge volumes. Business is still okay, we are still profitable, and we are still a very healthy business.
CZ mentioned that the number of active users and Bitcoin deposits on the platform have steadily increased over the year. Binance is also preparing for institutional investors and high net worth individuals amidst growing interest shown by institutions.
What Will Trigger the Next Rally?
While CZ is not sure about the trigger for the next bull run, the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift, Erik Voorhees, believes that the U.S. debt will act as the next catalyst.
Voorhees recently tweeted, “When the next global financial crisis occurs, and the world realizes organizations with $20 trillion in debt can’t possibly ever pay it back and thus must print it instead, and thus fiat is doomed. Watch what happens to crypto.”
When the next global financial crisis occurs, and the world realizes organizations with $20 trillion in debt can't possibly ever pay it back, and thus must print it instead, and thus fiat is doomed… watch what happens to crypto.
— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) November 8, 2018
According to Bloomberg analysts, indicators like the Directional Movement Index (DMI) for Bitcoin appears to have entered a new bullish phase.
Over the last couple of months, despite positive news of growing adoption, prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have only moved sideways.
Even Bitcoin bulls like Novogratz have toned down on their previous bullish predictions. The only thing that can be said as of now is that the crypto market is quite unpredictable.
What do you think could trigger the next Bitcoin rally? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Twitter/@ErikVoorhees.