Bitcoin is dead, they said. Blockchain has had its day, they said. Well, apparently the bulls thought better. For the first time in over a year, the price of Bitcoin has topped $8,000, and the entire market cap of the crypto market could soon be back up to over $250 billion. The amazing thing is, it doesn’t seem to be in any danger of stopping soon.
Why Now?
It’s undoubtedly one in the eye for the naysayers, but what’s behind this sudden bull run? Various theories abound. After all, the 2017 Bitcoin high of $20k is still thought to be down to price manipulation rather than genuine market sentiment.
However, there could be other factors at play. CNBC reports that Bitcoin is being seen as a safe-haven asset amid the continuing tensions of the US-China trade war. Tense relations have seen the Chinese yuan bottom out in a four-month low, with the stock markets following suit.
Meanwhile, others point to the investments being made by big-name companies as the critical factor for the crypto price hike. Facebook has recently been featured heavily in the crypto news sphere due to its intentions to launch its own digital currency. Elsewhere, Andreessen Horowitz has also stated its intention to invest $1bn in cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and distributed ledger technologies.
Similarly, the recent news that many well-known brands will soon start to accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment could also have boosted the markets. A joint initiative between the Gemini exchange and Flexa, a payments startup will allow customers of Whole Foods, Nordstrom, and Baskin Robbins to pay with crypto.
Of course, it can’t be ignored that this bull run coincides with the biggest event in the crypto calendar – New York Blockchain Week. Consensus, the Ethereal Summit and a host of other activities in the Big Apple may also have contributed to positive sentiment around Bitcoin and the crypto markets.
Show Me the Money
Regardless of the reasons for this sudden buoyancy, the question that will be of interest to many is: “Can I still profit from this?” Some crypto-analysts are already forecasting that this is just the beginning of a much bigger bull run. GalaxyBTC stated on Twitter that the potential highs could go up to as much as $333k over the next two years.
If they’re right, then the good news for speculators is that there have been many developments in crypto trading since the last bull run in 2017. Many exchanges have now started offering various financial instruments based on the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. FT Exchange is making an effort to stand out from the crowd with several trading innovations.
Leveraged Tokens
FT Exchange offers leveraged tokens. Using FT Exchange, a trader can buy 3x, -1x or -3x leveraged tokens for BTC, ETH, XRP, EOS, and USDT, offering plenty of options whether you believe in the longevity of the current bull run or not. These leveraged tokens are based on the ERC-20 protocol, so they’re not restricted to trading on FT Exchange — other exchanges can also list them without any need to implement their own margin trading.
Unlike many exchanges which are bootstrapped by founders with little expertise, FT Exchange is backed by Alameda Research. Alameda is a quantitative trading firm on a mission to bring liquidity to the global cryptocurrency markets. The team brings experience from Wall Street and Silicon Valley, and the company has over $70 million of assets under management. Its daily trading activities account for around 30 percent of stable coin trading volume.
The Alameda-FT Exchange partnership also provides the exchange with access to liquidity, which has historically been a problem for startup exchanges. Alameda also brings established relationships with various exchanges and trading desks.
The Future Looks Bright
That there are plenty of options for new exchanges and financial trading instruments is excellent news for traders who will be eager to capitalize on the current bull run. For the first time in a long time, the crypto-winter is showing some serious signs of a thaw.