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Bitcoin white paper just celebrated its 11th birthday amidst renewed interest in the crypto industry, CoinDesk reported. The leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization has been trading sideways recently following its rise from $7,200 to $10,000.
As of this writing, Bitcoin is exchanging hands at $9,125, down by $175 compared to its yesterday’s value. The cryptocurrency certainly has come a long way since its inception 11 years ago, with its price swinging by ridiculous margins, the highest of which was seen in 2017 where it reached $20,000.
The latter parts of 2019 have been kind to Bitcoin so far. The crypto winter has ended, miners are returning to the fold, and the overall sentiment on the crypto market is leaning on the positive.
One of the major reasons for this shift occurred recently when Chinese President Xi Jinping endorsed blockchain technology. And while Jinping made no mentioned of cryptocurrency whatsoever, it still drove Bitcoin’s price higher a day after the endorsement was made.
The two major events that could affect Bitcoin’s price
So what’s next for Bitcoin? Well, there are two major events that are being closely monitored by crypto observers. First is the Bitcoin halving that’s slated to occur on May 20, 2020. In a nutshell, the halving is a predetermined occurrence where miners’ rewards are cut in half.
The event takes place every four years, with next year’s halving being the third for the major cryptocurrency. What makes crypto investors excited about the halving is due to the previous ones yielding massive positivity for Bitcoin, driving its price by significant margins a year after the event occurs.
Bitcoin could see a bullish run if Bakkt succeeds
The second development is rooted in the launching of Bakkt’s consumer app in the second half of 2020. In collaboration with Starbucks, Bakkt will allow people to buy their coffee using digital currencies. Bakkt chief product officer Mike Blandina provided some explanation of what exactly is Bakkt going to accomplish.
“A key feature of the model we’ve designed is to support a superset of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, as seamlessly as investors transact in stocks in a retail brokerage account,” Blandina said.
If successful, this could accelerate the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies worldwide, which can then drive the prices of Bitcoin and its kin to new heights. Of course, since none of this has yet to happen, it’s best to lower expectations for now and monitor how the market evolves moving forward.
