Last Week In Bitcoin is a new segment covering the week that was in Bitcoin, including all of the important news along with some analysis.
It was the week we’ve been waiting for: We’ve spent most of the last week with the bitcoin price in the $40,000s, briefly seeing bitcoin eye $37,000 on Thursday before starting off its weekend run, which saw it break above $45,000 a few times as many asked themselves: Is this the start of the next bull run?
Timeline of the bitcoin price this week, with corresponding news items listed below.
The News That Drove The Bitcoin Price
This week started off with a bang when finance giant NCR, which operates over 1 million ATMs worldwide, announced that it would acquire bitcoin ATM operator LibertyX (1), aiming to roll out bitcoin ATMs and point-of-sale (POS) systems across the globe. Pretty bullish, right?
Also, on Monday, Wells Fargo, the same bank that banned users from buying cryptocurrencies in 2019, started offering wealthy clients exposure to bitcoin and bitcoin-related investments (2).
Tuesday continued the week’s bullish trend when American fast food chain Quiznos announced it would start accepting bitcoin payments soon (4) and eligible users would receive $15 in bitcoin rewards, paving the way for more businesses across the U.S. to do the same. Despite once boasting over 4,700 outlets across the globe, the fast food chain currently has closer to 1,000 outlets, most of which are likely to start accepting bitcoin, per the news.
Thursday brought some interesting news as well, with reports that JPMorgan would open a bitcoin fund to wealthy investors (7). This would be the same JPMorgan whose CEO, Jamie Dimon, has repeatedly bashed bitcoin over the years, saying bitcoin is a terrible store of value in 2014, saying it would go nowhere in 2016, calling bitcoin a fraud in 2017 and saying that he doesn’t give a sh*t about bitcoin in 2019. Turns out, Bitcoin is undeniable.
But for most of the week, the market was abuzz about the controversial U.S. infrastructure bill proposal, which included a section focusing specifically on regulating the tax payments around cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. The bill’s author, Senator Rob Portman, admitted during the course of the week that wording in the bill was vague and would need some clarification (3).
The ongoing discussions regarding the section covering bitcoin stalled as the bill was debated, and it appeared that legislators will ultimately make changes in haste or push the bill through without doing so, which could have dire consequences for the U.S. If taxed inappropriately, bitcoin miners will leave the country, users will hide their bitcoin stashes and the U.S. will be set back years.
Overall, the phrase “buy the rumor, sell the news” became more apt by the day. Although the market did not seem very phased by this, if this bill does go through with onerous bitcoin taxing requirements, it may very well act as a catalyst for the start of the next bear market. Of course, that’s just my opinion.
Bitcoin Is Primed For A Pump
This past week was a breath of fresh air for Bitcoin, confirming my constant yammering over the last few months that bitcoin is primed for a pump. I remain firm in my opinion that bitcoin will continue to surge over the next few months and a six-digit price tag isn’t unlikely (even Bloomberg thinks so). There may be another few dips in the weeks or months to come, but we’re on a rocket that will pave the way for the future of finance.
Over a decade ago, just a week after the Bitcoin network went live, pioneer Hal Finney speculated that a single bitcoin could someday be worth $10 million. That’s still at least 20,000% upside, if you’re at all bothered with bitcoin’s pricing in fiat currencies. If you look at bitcoin’s performance over the last decade, then it’s clear as daylight that the next decade will be a spectacle.
I believe the U.S. infrastructure bill is something to keep a close eye on, and not just if you’re based in the U.S. or one of its territories. It will have long-term ramifications for the entire market, if it goes through in its original form — though that may not be likely to happen.
Bitcoin has gone from $0 to an asset with a nearly $1 trillion market capitalization in just over a decade. And that doesn’t include the platforms and services that have been built around bitcoin, its trading or expansion. Media, hardware and software companies, influencers, investors and more have built massive industries around Bitcoin.
Bitcoin isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, this week will just be another green candle in a sea of them…
This is a guest post by Dion Guillaume. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.