Young people’s interest in speculative assets could funnel stimulus checks into crypto. But how high can bitcoin go?
A “Bubblicious” Market
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, crypto hedge-funder Mike Novogratz said that the markets would continue to climb. Young Americans especially are taking their stimulus checks and flipping them into stocks and cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
Still, the billionaire explains that one day we’ll wake up, and markets will be reversing. And when they do, they will “flip hard.” But, says Novogratz, “I don’t know when that is.” For now, stocks and crypto are both climbing.
In the same vein, Bill Gross, the legend fund manager known as the “Bond King” of Wall Street, said the “bubblicious” stock market had young people and Robinhood to thank. And an app from Sherwood Forest is to blame.
Robbed From the Rich?
The Robinhood app allows users to trade stocks and some cryptocurrencies fee-free (though it could be argued that the fee is baked into the price).
Since the pandemic started, when many people found themselves stuck at home and unemployed, the number of Robinhood accounts has exploded. The app added three million new users in the first four months of 2020 alone.
Armed with stimulus checks and smartphones just a pocket away, young investors have been driving up prices, says Bill Gross. This, coupled with the basically zero-interest loans of corporations, have created incredible momentum on Wall Street.
Momentous Bitcoin Momentum
But some investors, like Novogratz, believe that this momentum, as well as the new $600 (and possibly soon-to-be $2000) stimulus checks for US citizens, will find their way into bitcoin.
For one thing, bitcoin’s massive rise has attracted media attention. Younger users are more open to cryptocurrency, too. For another, apps like Robinhood and Paypal, which millions of users already use on a daily basis, now offer cryptocurrency purchases.
With the crypto market cap passing a record $1 trillion this week, the momentum truly is astounding. Bitcoin is now hovering near the 10th spot as a worldwide market cap asset. Recent research has shown that retail interest is still nowhere near its top.
What’s more, Google Trends interest in Bitcoin is still half of what it was at the peak of the 2017 hype. Meanwhile, Ethereum is seeing more interest than ever and is now worth over $100 billion. Regardless, ETH has only 1/5th the interest of Bitcoin.
And on top of that, institutional interest is growing. Crypto prices could explode even more once top companies buy bitcoin.
Now with Americans waking up to $600 checks, Novogratz proposes that prices could go even higher. Crypto Twitter likes to joke that ‘we are just getting started.’ But as bitcoin’s price approaches $40,000, it might not be a joke at all.
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