Bitcoin Breaks $100,000, and This May Just Be the Beginning
Bitcoin has officially surpassed $100,000 on December 5, 2024, at 10 a.m.
In the past year, BTC has more than doubled in value; in the past three years, it has increased nearly sixfold; in the past five years, it has risen almost twentyfold; in the past ten years, it has increased 500 times; and in the past fifteen years, starting from Bitcoin Pizza Day, it has surged by 40 million times… In sixteen years, Bitcoin has continuously reached new milestones.
During these sixteen years, Bitcoin has been suppressed by governments but gradually accepted and even openly supported by them. It has been questioned by the public but held by more and more people. In 2024, the number of users on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance alone surpassed 210 million. Every time people thought Bitcoin had reached its peak, nearing its end, it was proven to be just a new beginning.
The narrative and significance of Bitcoin itself are also constantly evolving, and people’s views on Bitcoin have been changing.
Fifteen years ago, it was just a small experiment by cryptographers. A programmer in Florida bought two pizzas with 10,000 Bitcoins. Ten years ago, it was a payment method that provided a breeding ground for illegal transactions such as gambling, drugs, and money laundering. Its most common usage scenarios were associated with illegal transactions. Five years ago, it, along with the cryptocurrency industry, gradually grew into a new financial system. In this system, there is the “crypto Nasdaq” (Ethereum), “crypto bank” (Tether, Ethena), “crypto securities company” (Binance), and an account system (Metamask)… Each product has tens of millions or even billions of users. It has almost all the infrastructure and products of the traditional financial industry, but it is more efficient, streamlined, transparent, decentralized, and globalized. Three years ago, the cryptocurrency industry expanded beyond financial scenes and extended into Web3 application scenarios. Thus, the next-generation financial system + next-generation network system became its new mission.
Now, more people believe that Bitcoin is digital gold. Bitcoin’s market value has reached $2 trillion, surpassing the market value of silver and accounting for one-tenth of the market value of gold.
Bitcoin has been recognized and supported by sovereign countries such as the United States and Japan. And this process took only sixteen years. What is even more astonishing is that the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin has spawned a whole new financial and network ecosystem. The thousands or even tens of thousands of crypto institutions on these two ecosystems continue to promote the popularity of Bitcoin, making it truly possible to become a global currency.
When Bitcoin reaches $100,000, everyone has a common question:
Is Bitcoin nearing its end? How far is Bitcoin from its end? Will Bitcoin have a new narrative?
5 billion Internet users have not yet encountered Bitcoin.
$100,000 is still just the beginning for Bitcoin, and this time Bitcoin will welcome new “buyers.”
This year’s largest new buyers are undoubtedly the world’s largest fund BlackRock and the major buyers behind BlackRock—U.S. corporations and institutions.
In January 2024, the United States approved BTC ETF, which means that U.S. listed companies, pension funds, BlackRock funds, and universities such as Stanford can publicly purchase and hold Bitcoin through ETFs issued by institutions like BlackRock.
The approval of the U.S. Bitcoin ETF has triggered a wave of large institutions in the United States buying Bitcoin. Global large companies are rushing to buy Bitcoin, with BTC ETFs attracting $100 billion in inflows in just 10 months. Bitcoin has also surged from over $40,000 to $100,000, largely due to the approval of the U.S. BTC ETF, allowing U.S. institutions to legally buy Bitcoin through ETFs. The approval of the U.S. BTC ETF and its performance in the following 10 months have become a miracle in the history of ETFs.
When Bitcoin reaches $200,000 from $100,000, what new buyers will enter the market?
Firstly, from an institutional perspective, the institutions purchasing Bitcoin are still primarily from the United States. The U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF continues to attract capital inflows at a rate of tens of billions of dollars per month, with no signs of stopping. U.S. and global companies and institutions will continue to purchase Bitcoin through Bitcoin spot ETFs.
From a global perspective, major economies such as Japan, Europe, and China still have restrictions on institutional purchases. Once these major economies lift restrictions, it will be another leap forward.
According to the famous “time machine theory,” innovative assets and mechanisms often spread from the United States to developed countries and finally to developing countries.
Whether it is in the field of assets and finance such as gold, the Nasdaq listing mechanism, and the SPAC listing mechanism, or in the field of general technology such as the Internet, chips, smartphones, and new energy vehicles, the time machine theory often holds true.
Secondly, from the perspective of the general public, the adoption rate of Bitcoin is still far from enough. According to estimates by Silicon Valley investment firm a16z through various methods, there are currently around 30 million to 60 million active cryptocurrency users worldwide each month. Even if this range is expanded to include users who have held cryptocurrencies, according to Crypto.com’s analysis in April 2024, there are 610 million cryptocurrency users worldwide. With a global population of 8.2 billion, including 5.4 billion internet users, there are approximately 5 billion internet users who have not experienced cryptocurrency products.
The cryptocurrency industry hopes to create a global new financial and network system that allows everyone to use cryptocurrency products just like internet products. In 2024, there are 5.4 billion internet users, but only 610 million cryptocurrency users, indicating a huge potential market. The cryptocurrency industry is changing this situation and transforming the financial and network systems.
When the cryptocurrency industry becomes as popular as the internet industry, Bitcoin will reach ten times the current population.
Lastly, there is another crucial buyer: sovereign countries.
After El Salvador, Bitcoin is expected to become the reserve asset of more and more sovereign countries. Especially after Donald Trump was elected as the President of the United States, major economies such as China, the United States, Japan, Europe, and the United Arab Emirates are expected to accelerate the inclusion of Bitcoin as a national reserve asset, which will further propel Bitcoin’s growth.
It is not unfounded for major countries to personally purchase Bitcoin. On November 22, according to Reuters, Trump’s “Cryptocurrency Advisory Committee” is expected to establish a committed Bitcoin reserve.
Trump has openly supported Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry on multiple occasions. During his campaign, Trump made several promises to support the cryptocurrency industry, such as including Bitcoin in the national reserves, making the United States the world’s cryptocurrency capital, and relaxing regulations.
Trump’s proposals have received support from some political and industry experts. For example, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has proposed a bill to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, aiming to acquire 1 million BTC within five years and hold it for at least 20 years as a hedge against U.S. national debt.
When the United States adopts Bitcoin as a reserve, most countries around the world are likely to allocate a corresponding proportion of Bitcoin assets, just like gold.
In conclusion, whether it is the 5 billion internet users, the significant inflow of billions of dollars into Bitcoin spot ETFs every month by major institutions, or sovereign national funds, they are all potential buyers of Bitcoin and the key “buyers” for Bitcoin’s rise from $100,000 to $200,000.
$100,000 is just the beginning.
If Bitcoin wants to rise from $100,000 to $200,000, it not only needs new buyers but also a new group of believers and builders to expand its reach.
Cryptocurrency practitioners may be one of the most exploratory groups in the world.
They not only need to understand the development of various blockchain technologies such as ZK but also keep up with the latest trends in various technology industries such as AI, VR, and metaverse. They not only need to have a deep understanding of U.S. politics and elections, the timing and magnitude of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts, and the cryptocurrency policies of Hong Kong and Singapore but also need to constantly pay attention to wars, economic crises, stock market fluctuations, and various macro events. They need to understand the differences between public chains like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Sui, and Base, and be familiar with concepts and tracks such as Web3 social, Web3 gaming, DeFi, and NFT.
From ICO to DeFi, to NFT, and now to mass adoption, cryptocurrency practitioners continue to expand the boundaries of the blockchain network, enabling assets like Bitcoin to truly circulate globally and generate value.
Many people ask, what is the meaning of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies? Why do so many people join the cryptocurrency industry?
I often answer that when the value of the national currency in Argentina has been devalued by more than 50% annually, companies like Binance and Tether provide stablecoins to protect their assets from significant devaluation. This is the meaning of Bitcoin’s existence. When people want to transfer money to their family and friends across countries but face layers of obstacles set up by the traditional economic and political systems, requiring high fees and long waiting times, this is the meaning of Bitcoin’s existence. When as an entrepreneur of a startup company, it is difficult to collaborate with employees from several or even dozens of countries with different currencies and systems at a low cost within the existing system, this is the meaning of Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain.
Bitcoin creates value and continues to explore new possibilities for value creation. It is building a new financial system and network system from the ground up. This road is still only partially completed, and the new builders still have a long way to go.
In conclusion, these events are happening all the time in every corner of the world, from the past to the present. Some countries experience milder symptoms, such as China, Japan, and the United States, while others suffer more severe symptoms, such as Argentina. Some countries may see their symptoms worsen at any time, such as Russia and Ukraine. Every individual and every country has both positive and negative aspects. The existence of countries has both positive and negative sides.
The emergence of the internet prevents most countries from arbitrarily blocking information, countering the negative aspects of nations. The emergence of Bitcoin prevents most countries from arbitrarily issuing more currency, countering the negative aspects of nations.
And countries cannot stop Bitcoin because Bitcoin is just a technology, a tool. Just as Russian President Putin said at the Russia Calling Forum on December 4, “Who can ban Bitcoin? No one can. Who can ban the use of other electronic payment methods? No one can. Because these are all new technologies.”
This is why Bitcoin has reached $100,000.
This is also why it is said that $100,000 is still just the beginning.
This article is a collaboration and reprinted from DeepTech.