At press time, bitcoin is managing to stay above the $9,100 marker. This is huge news for the granddaddy of crypto, but many believe that the currency is just getting started.
Tom Lee Thinks Bitcoin Is Headed for Greatness
One of those people is bitcoin bull and crypto analyst at Fundstrat Tom Lee. As one of bitcoin’s biggest advocates, Lee is no stranger to crazy predictions centered around bitcoin’s alleged rise to fame. Throughout 2018, Lee was consistently claiming that bitcoin would ultimately spike to $25,000 by the end of the year. Despite 2018 being arguably the worst 12 months for bitcoin and crypto in general, Lee never put his guns down, though he did draw back on his initial prediction, later assuming bitcoin would rise to $20,000 and then $15,000 respectively.
Bitcoin has been on a stellar rise since April of this year. It was during this month that it rose beyond $5,000 for the first time in roughly five months, something many traders and former enthusiasts thought could never happen again. However, it has since nearly doubled that price and has continued its epic rise faster than anyone could have anticipated.
In a recent interview, Lee commented that we’re “deep in the bull market,” and that bitcoin would surpass its $20,000 all-time high. In addition, he’s confident that bitcoin’s price could go as high as $40,000 in the coming years granted its “use cases” improve.
One of the big things pushing bitcoin’s price, Lee believes, is Facebook’s recent announcement of the Libra Network. He states that Facebook shouldn’t be viewed as an entity that’s stealing the limelight, but rather as one of bitcoin’s biggest soldiers in the ongoing war for recognition. He states:
The Facebook announcement is a complete validation that mainstream is now focused on cryptocurrencies. I think it really destroys those arguments that say, ‘I believe in blockchain, not bitcoin’… I think it is more targeted at stable coin and creating a new kind of banking system, and it’s very complementary to bitcoin. I think this is a bullish development for bitcoin. I think it’s bad for stable coins and anyone who’s been trying to do decentralized finance.
Facebook Isn’t a Problem
He also posed reasoning as to why Facebook was now attracting some bad press from both financial institutions and Congress, stating:
One thing to keep in mind [is] Facebook’s annual revenue per user is probably $50. That might be a little high, but an average bank generates close to $1,000 per user, so Facebook has a 20x upside to their customer model if they start doing banking services, and so I can see why banks aren’t really enthusiastic about this.
In the end, crypto is designed to give people a stronger sense of financial independence, while banks typically take that away.