Bitcoin Breaks $100,000, and This May Just Be the Beginning
Bitcoin has officially broken the $100,000 mark on December 5, 2024, at 10 am. 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, which marks the day of Bitcoin Pizza Day, BTC has increased by 40 million times… For sixteen years, Bitcoin has been at a new starting point.
During these sixteen years, Bitcoin has been targeted by governments around the world and then gradually accepted and even openly supported by them. It has been criticized by the public and then held by more and more people. In 2024, the number of users on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange alone exceeded 210 million. Every time people thought Bitcoin had reached its peak and was approaching the end, it was proven to be just a new starting point.
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 from Florida used 10,000 Bitcoins to buy two pizzas. Ten years ago, it was just a payment method for illegal transactions such as gambling, drugs, and money laundering. Most of its use cases were for illegal transactions. Five years ago, it, along with the cryptocurrency industry, gradually grew into a new financial system. In this system, there are “crypto Nasdaq” (Ethereum), “crypto bank” (Tether, Ethena), “crypto securities company” (Binance), and account systems (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 scenarios and extended to Web3 applications. Thus, the next generation financial system + the next generation internet system became its new mission.
Today, 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 only took sixteen years. What is even more surprising is that the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin has spawned a whole new financial ecosystem and internet ecosystem. These thousands or even tens of thousands of institutions in these two ecosystems continue to promote the popularity of Bitcoin, making it truly possible to become a global currency.
When Bitcoin reaches the high point of $100,000, everyone has a common question:
Is Bitcoin nearing its end? How far is Bitcoin from the end? Will Bitcoin have a new narrative?
5 billion internet users have not yet been exposed to Bitcoin.
$100,000 is still just the beginning for Bitcoin, and this time Bitcoin will usher in new “buyers”.
The biggest new buyers this year are undoubtedly the world’s largest fund BlackRock and the major buyers behind BlackRock, such as US corporations and institutions.
In January 2024, the United States approved the BTC ETF, which means that US-listed companies, pension funds, BlackRock funds, Stanford University, and other university funds can publicly buy and hold Bitcoin through ETFs issued by BlackRock and other funds.
The approval of the US Bitcoin ETF has triggered a wave of large institutions buying Bitcoin in the United States, and global large companies are rushing to buy Bitcoin. In the span of 10 months, BTC ETF has attracted $100 billion, with nearly $10 billion being invested in Bitcoin through US fund companies every month.
Bitcoin has also surged from over $40,000 to $100,000, largely due to the approval of the US BTC ETF, which allows US institutions to legally buy Bitcoin through ETFs. The approval of the US BTC ETF and its performance in the following 10 months have become a miracle in the history of ETFs.
When Bitcoin goes from $100,000 to $200,000, which new buyers will flood in?
First of all, from an institutional perspective, the institutions buying Bitcoin currently are mainly from the United States. The US Bitcoin spot ETF continues to attract capital inflows at a rate of billions of dollars per month, and there is no sign of stopping. US and global companies and institutions will continue to buy Bitcoin through Bitcoin spot ETFs.
From a global perspective, major economies such as Japan, Europe, and China still have restrictions on institutional purchases. Once major economies lift these 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 eventually to developing countries.
Whether it is in the field of assets and finance, such as gold, Nasdaq listing mechanism, SPAC listing mechanism, or in the field of technology, such as the internet, chips, mobile phones, and new energy vehicles, they often follow the time machine theory.
Secondly, from the perspective of ordinary people, 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 30 to 60 million active cryptocurrency users worldwide each month.
Even if this range is expanded to include users who have held cryptocurrencies, according to an analysis by Crypto.com in April 2024, there are 610 million cryptocurrency users worldwide. With a global population of 8.2 billion, of which 5.4 billion use the internet, there are approximately 5 billion internet users who have not experienced cryptocurrency products.
The cryptocurrency industry aims to create a global new financial system and internet system that allows everyone to use cryptocurrency products just like internet products. In 2024, there are 5.4 billion people using the internet, but there are only 610 million cryptocurrency users, indicating a huge potential market. The cryptocurrency industry is changing this situation and is changing the financial and internet systems.
When the cryptocurrency industry is as popular as the internet industry today, Bitcoin will reach ten times its current user base.
Finally, 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 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 adoption of Bitcoin as a national reserve asset, which will lead to another leap for Bitcoin.
The fact that major countries are personally buying Bitcoin is not unfounded. On November 22, according to Reuters, Trump’s “Cryptocurrency Advisory Committee” plans 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, among others.
Trump’s proposals have received support from some political and industry experts. For example, US Senator Cynthia Lummis has proposed a bill to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve, with the goal of acquiring 1 million BTC within five years and holding it for at least 20 years to hedge against US national debt.
When the United States adopts Bitcoin as a reserve, most countries around the world are also expected to allocate a corresponding proportion of Bitcoin assets, just like gold.
In summary, whether it is the 5 billion internet users, the billions of dollars flowing into Bitcoin spot ETFs every month by major institutions, or sovereign wealth funds, they are all potential buyers of Bitcoin and key “buyers” for Bitcoin to 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 needs a new group of believers and builders to expand Bitcoin’s reach.
Cryptocurrency practitioners may be one of the most exploratory groups in the world.
They need to understand the development of various blockchain technologies, such as ZK, and also keep up with new technological trends in industries like AI, VR, and the metaverse. They need to have a deep understanding of US politics, elections, the Federal Reserve’s interest rate timing and magnitude, cryptocurrency policies in Hong Kong and Singapore, and constantly monitor events such as wars, economic crises, and stock market fluctuations. They need to understand the differences between public chains such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Sushi, and Base, and be familiar with concepts and tracks such as Web3 social, Web3 games, DeFi, and NFTs.
From ICOs to DeFi, to NFTs, and now to mass adoption, cryptocurrency practitioners are constantly expanding the boundaries of the blockchain network, allowing assets such as 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 shrinks by more than 50% every year, companies like Binance and Tether provide stablecoins to protect their assets from significant depreciation. This is the meaning of Bitcoin’s existence. When people want to transfer money to family and friends across countries but face layers of obstacles set by the traditional economic and political systems, including high fees and long waiting times, this is the meaning of Bitcoin’s existence. When entrepreneurs of startup companies find it difficult to collaborate with employees from different 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 the possibilities of creating new value, from building a new financial system to building a new internet system. This path is only partially completed, and the new builders still have a long way to go.
In conclusion, whether it is happening all the time or in every corner of the world, there are good and bad aspects to everything, including countries. The emergence of the internet has made it impossible for most countries to block information at will, countering the negative side of national actions. The emergence of Bitcoin has made it impossible for most countries to arbitrarily increase the issuance of currency, countering the negative side of national actions.
And countries cannot stop Bitcoin because Bitcoin is just a technology, a tool. 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 new technologies.”
This is why Bitcoin can reach $100,000 per coin.
This is also why we say that $100,000 is still just the beginning for Bitcoin.
