London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 29, 2025

Bitcoin is back - but can the comeback last?

Bitcoin is back - but can the comeback last?

Bitcoin, which recently celebrated its eleventh anniversary, has surged this year. Prices have more than doubled to around $8,500 in 2019.

Bitcoin (XBT) has enjoyed a nice rally in recent weeks as well, even as skepticism about Facebook (FB) and and its Libra cryptocurrency mounts in Washington and Europe.

It appears that bitcoin fans are not worried about what will happen to Libra. The mere fact that Facebook has shown such interest in cryptocurencies is being viewed as validation for bitcoin and other forms of digital payments.

The prices of leading rival cryptocurrencies to bitcoin, such as ethereum, litecoin and EOS have all rallied this year as well.
So is the bitcoin comeback for real? Investors can be forgiven if they are more than a bit skeptical. Bitcoin and other cryprtos have staged monstrous rallies before - only to have them quickly go poof.

What's more, bitcoin is still well below the all-time high of nearly $20,000 that it hit in December 2017.

But the recent spike in bitcoin just might be legit this time. There is mounting evidence that bitcoin adoption is growing rapidly. Mobile payments company Square (SQ) (Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's other company) recently reported a surge in demand for bitcoin purchases on its Cash App, for example.

China is taking more steps to embrace bitcoin as well. Chinese president Xi Jinping recently made bullish comments about the blockchain technology that acts as a ledger for bitcoin transactions, calling blockchain an "important breakthrough."

Nearly half of respondents in a recent survey said they thought bitcoin would be the best performing asset over the next 12 months, according to a poll of 350 finance executives conducted by blockchain research firm Chainalysis in late September. Only a third of those surveyed said stocks would be the top asset to own and a small minority said bonds or housing would outperform equities and bitcoin.

"Our belief in the potential of cryptocurrency was echoed by the number of finance professionals who view bitcoin as a high-growth asset class and envision a global digital currency in the near future," said Jonathan Levin, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Chainalysis, in a report about the survey that was released earlier this month.


Looming supply shock could lift bitcoin prices

Bitcoins are created by a complex process known as mining. It's not as simple as a central bank of a country turning on the printing press to issue more money. There is a finite number of bitcoins that will be issued.

That's why there may be a compelling technical reason to be bullish on bitcoin, according to Matt Hougan, global head of research at cryptocurrency asset management firm Bitwise. Hougan points out that bitcoin production tends to cut slashed in half every four years, which should lead to more demand and higher prices.

"The amount of new bitcoin issued ('mined') each day is hard-coded into the software of the bitcoin blockchain," Hougan wrote in a report earlier this month.

"Every four years, however, the amount of new bitcoin being produced gets cut by 50%. Like a supply shock in oil, this quadrennial 'halving' has historically had a major impact on prices. With less new supply for investors to buy, the price has historically gone up," he added.

Of course, bitcoin could remain insanely volatile for the foreseeable future. But bitcoin no longer seems to be an asset that is relegated to the netherworld of trading. It's not the Wild West anymore.

Bitcoin has gone legit in the past few years thanks to the launch of futures trading on the CME (CME).

Top online brokers Schwab (FNDA), E-Trade (ETFC) and TD Ameritrade (AMTD) offer bitcoin futures trading. So does the red hot trading app Robinhood, which is super popular with millennials. There's also a specialty crypto trading firm named Coinbase that has emerged as a market leader.

Although bitcoin will probably never be an investment for the faint of heart, its best days still may lie ahead of it.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
×