Bitcoin is trading between a definite range of $6,000 and $7,000, with the once-famous long candles in either direction looking like a feature of the past.
As CNBC termed the price action in a recent interview with Susquehanna International Group head Bart Smith, Bitcoin is in “purgatory” mode, with price action in the upwards direction relying highly on a growth catalyst for the cryptocurrency market.
The executive is called Wall Street’s “Crypto King,” a title is given to him for his expertise in leading the digital asset trading department at Susquehanna.
Smith believes Bitcoin movements will occur only with substantial market growth and real-world adoption and use-cases of the pioneer cryptocurrency: A feature mainly missing from the digital asset ecosystem.
Smith stated:
“The market is in show me mode. There’s a lot of news that’s come along that you thought would be a catalyst, where the market hasn’t responded.”
The cryptocurrency trader revealed his sentiment is in line with the broader cryptocurrency community’s “bearish” overtones. Smith points out 2018’s notorious bear rally will continue unless Bitcoin sees a flurry of trading activity from institutional investors or other cryptocurrency hedge funds.
Meanwhile, crypto-enthusiasts await the prospects of a bitcoin Exchange-Traded-Fund (ETF), the rumors of which is enough to send BTC’s price surging on the dullest of days.
Smith stated in this regard:
“An ETF in the United States that’s SEC-registered would have a much bigger effect, but then again if there’s something thats driving the money into the price of Bitcoin, I imagine that that would raise it up.”
Smith also highlighted the interest in cryptocurrency custodianship from Wall Street institutions, after reports last week that privates banks wanted a chunk of the cryptocurrency market pie without directly dealing in digital assets.
He also mentioned the reservations of a few:
“JPMorgan [and] Jamie Dimon have said that they won’t let their investors invest in Bitcoin. Depending on where you have your brokerage account and whether you can get access to whatever it is at that place.”
In the interview, Smith was quick to state 2018’s “most bullish” news: The parent company of NYSE, Intercontinental Exchange, announcing their interest in cryptocurrency trading and launching a bitcoin payments venture with Starbucks and Microsoft, called “Baakt.”
Smith added in this regard:
“It was very surprising. I think we saw a lot of big names in the space, Novogratz and many others, saying ‘I don’t know why this isn’t a bigger deal’. You have a CFTC regulated warehouse. This is an opportunity for NYSE and ICE, the parent company to custody warehouse the spot commodity for institutions.”
To conclude, Smith stated that ICE presented an opportunity for investors, traders, and market makers to capitalize on the lucrative cryptocurrency trading market, given ICE’s reputation for building trusted financial products.
