On Monday Bitcoin continued making slight gains and was close to its all-time high of $11,850 for a while before it retreated slightly to the $11,200 mark. Other crypto currencies such as
Ethereum
and
Litecoin
also posted modest gains during the day but fell flat as trading progressed with the market seemingly poised for another major surge very soon. Financial analysts and tarders are predicting that the Bitcoin crypto currency could easily hit $20,000 very soon although there are those who are also saying that it might crash to historic lows very soon after it does that.
Michael Spencer, CEO of NEX Group Plc, a London financial expert, sees bitcoin’s price reaching $20,000 before reversing steeply, joining the cadre of financial leaders who claim bitcoin is a bubble,
Spencer told Bloomberg TV’s Guy Johnson in London that he has no idea if bitcoin’s price will double before it halves, but said it could hit $20,000 “pretty damn quickly.” Johnson began the interview referring to bitcoin, which surpassed the $11,000 mark on Wednesday, as “irrational exuberance.”
Crypto Is Here To Stay
Spencer acknowledged that cryptocurrencies are here to stay, but said bitcoin is a bubble.
In July, Spencer said he prefers Ripple and Ethereum to bitcoin and that he might introduce NEX trading platforms for cryptocurrencies. The problem with any bubble, he said, is that you don’t know if it’s going to double before it halves.
“At some point, it’s going to go a hell of a long way back down,” he said.
Bull markets typically hit a point where everyone is bullish, he said, and he doesn’t think bitcoin has reached this point. , SaAcknowledging that bitcoin has broad momentum, Spencer said there are signals that it is not the time to invest in it just because others are doing so.
Thumbs Up For Blockchain
Spencer, like many other bitcoin naysayers, is optimistic about blockchain’s future, noting that it has enormous implications that extend beyond the financial markets.
He said blockchain technology could be used to provide real-time settlement of securities transactions.
The fact that a technology has implications in many industries where it can improve efficiencies does not mean the bull market “can’t roll on a bit,” he said, hinting at bitcoin. He said there are signals that this is not a time to be “chasing everything the way everyone else is.”
Spencer also addressed the volatility of stocks, Brexit and other financial topics. NEX Group’s shares tumbled earlier in November after claiming market conditions were creating challenges for its post-trade services and electronic trading.
The bitcoin price has continued to trade near $11,500 in defiance of reports that multiple national governments are scheming to regulate or curtail domestic cryptocurrency usage.
U.K. and Indonesia Plot Bitcoin Regulations
As CCN reported, both the United Kingdom and Indonesia are preparing to implement regulatory crackdowns of varying degrees on cryptocurrency usage within their respective jurisdictions. The U.K. Treasury plans to expand its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations to explicitly bring bitcoin under their purview. This move is generally in line with the ordinary course of mainstream cryptocurrency adoption and — depending on the extent of the regulations — could have a negligible effect on the domestic markets.
Indonesia, on the other hand, is planning to issue a ban on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies sometime next year. The drastic step is being orchestrated by the central bank, which fears that allowing cryptocurrency usage to continue unfettered will threaten the sovereignty of the rupiah, Indonesia’s national currency.
Neither the U.K. nor Indonesia represents a major cryptocurrency market. Indeed, the total value of bitcoin in circulation eclipses the combined M1 money supplies of the two nations.
Bitcoin Price Holds Near $11,500
The markets spent most of the weekend on an incline, and on Sunday evening the bitcoin price rose to a new all-time high just below $11,900. However, the regulatory concerns discussed above caused the bitcoin price to take a $1,000 hit, from which it has since seen a moderate recovery.
At present, the bitcoin price is trading at a global average of $11,449, which translates into a market cap of approximately $191.4 billion.
Ethereum Price
The ethereum price followed a similar trajectory over the course of the weekend, rising as high as $482 before experiencing a $30 plunge and subsequent recovery. At present, the ethereum price is valued at $467, which gives the second largest cryptocurrency a market cap of $44.9 billion.
IOTA Storms Into Top Five
On Monday, the majority of cryptocurrency valuations made slight retreats against the value of the dollar. The IOTA price, however, surged by more than 50 percent to rocket it into the fifth spot on in the market cap rankings.
As reported by CCN sister site Hacked, the rally has been fueled by the announcement of a partnership with Microsoft to develop a blockchain-based Internet of Things (IoT) solution that integrates IOTA’s Data Marketplace.
Aside from IOTA, cardano was the only top 10-cryptocurrency to rise against the dollar. Cardano posted a 24-hour increase of approximately one percent, enabling the ninth-largest cryptocurrency to widen its market cap edge on 10th-ranked monero to nearly $500 million.
