In the past month Bitcoin and the other cryptos have traded significantly lower based primarily on the Chinese government crackdown and comments from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon.
However prices have rebounded lately as “traders have now moved to buy and sell Bitcoin directly with each other on peer-to-peer marketplaces and messenger apps.” At the same time “market participants point to the limits Chinese regulators ultimately face in controlling the industry, where many users are anonymous and difficult to track.”
Perhaps nobody yet knows how this will ultimately play out. Although it does seem as if it will be difficult for any government to completely shut down the cryptos. Especially given the nature of the products.
Additionally there are enough other places (such as Venezuela) where its use continues to grow, that seeing any sort of complete end seems unlikely. With Bitcoin trading at $4400 again today, apparently the market seems to agree.
The other factor that most believe responsible to the price dip was JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon saying that Bitcoin is a fraud. Despite that his company has reportedly been one of the largest buyers of a European Bitcoin ETF.
Yet one of Dimon’s main competitors in Goldman Sachs seemingly disagrees and is considering launching a new group specifically to trade the cryptos. So like many things that bankers say, Dimon’s comments are probably well taken with a grain of salt. While watching what the bank actually does with its money might be more constructive.
Possibly the biggest takeaway from the past month is to be prepared for continued volatility. News and trading like this is likely to continue, and if you’re going to get involved it would be wise to be prepared for that.
Learning more about the products and forming your own long-term opinions is also another great step to take. Then you can take a longer term view and not need to time the short-term fluctuations.
In the end, we know the dollar is being printed, while the Bitcoin supply is finite. Which one do you feel more comfortable owning?