No one knows if the recent rally is the last pump before the bubble pops, or indeed if it is the tipping point. But, Octogon Strategy Dave Chapman is seeing a new breed of investors flowing towards cryptocurrency that makes him believe Bitcoin is growing up.
Chapman’s company, which specializes in commodity investment, especially digital currencies, is seeing a new flow of institutionalized money opening accounts with Octagon. These new account holders are the type of people that make it look like Bitcoin is growing up, not preparing to pop.
Heated market
The talk and debate around Bitcoin, especially at big rallies, is whether the digital currency is preparing to pop on the same level as Tulip Mania, the dotcom bubble and other such market crashes.
Chapman admits that the market is a heated one, but it is also a very different one.
“I don't think we are looking at a bubble at all,” Chapman told Bloomberg. “I would say that the market is heated and a lot of people do think it is a bubble and it is sometimes hard for me to defend that position. But what I will say we are potentially at the tipping point.”
“Bitcoin is growing up. What we are seeing at Octagon Strategy with the account applications today is that we are serving a very different demographic, looking at high net worth individuals, funds and asset managers, private banks, the institutional flow is coming and I think that is one of the main reason why we are seeing the price at what it is today.”
$10,000 not out of sight
For Chapman, the idea thrown around that Bitcoin could hit $10,000 by the end of the year is not as absurd as many think.
“I don’t think it is unimaginable to think we will have a five figure headline at the end of the year,” Chapman added. “There has been an enormous amount of investment that has come into cryptocurrencies as a whole.
“The total market cap for all cryptocurrencies in January this year was $20 bln, today we are looking at $146 bln. In the space of eight months we have had $126 bln enter this sector, so it is heated, but I believe we are seeing a tipping point, it is a totally different institutionalised flow that is entering this market right now.”