19/06/2019 11:06
EST. Journalist:
By CCN Markets: Crypto bull Max Keiser has predicted that Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra will help boost the bitcoin price to new all-time highs.
Bitcoin price to go up with increasing hash rate
According to Keiser, this is because Libra will increase the awareness and appeal of cryptocurrencies in general. Consequently, this will raise Bitcoin’s hash rate up leading to a new record price.
Currently, Bitcoin’s hash rate is slightly above 60,036,687 TH/s according to statistics obtained from Blockchain.com.
A growing hash rate positively correlates with increased mining difficulty. This translates to fewer bitcoins being mined causing the bitcoin price to go up.
‘Libra is the netscape browser of crypto’
Keiser’s opinion is similar to that of the founder and CEO of crypto VC firm Digital Currency Group, Barry Silbert. Last week Silbert stated that Libra will serve as a catalyst for the adoption of bitcoin and other cryptos. Silbert equated Libra to the pioneering internet browser Netscape whose development was discontinued more than a decade ago.
Cryptocurrency advocate Caitlin Long has also stated that Libra will have a bullish effect on bitcoin price. After the launch of the cryptocurrency Long, a Wall Street veteran, said that Libra will expose the ‘unfairness & instability of current monetary & payment systems’. However, its users will turn to Bitcoin once they realize that Libra has an unlimited supply.
‘Libra will be bullish for bitcoin price’
Analyst and crypto bull Tom Lee also expects Libra to drive the price of Bitcoin up. According to Lee, as a mainstream tech giant, Facebook’s cryptocurrency efforts are assisting in legitimizing the wider crypto industry. This could potentially make Bitcoin a ‘reserve currency’ for crypto in future. Lee, however, ruled out Libra as competing against Bitcoin saying the relationship was ‘complementary:
I think it is more targeted at stablecoin and creating a new kind of banking system, and it’s very complementary to bitcoin. So I think this is actually a really bullish development for bitcoin.
While correlation does not equal causation, since the Wall Street Journal reported in early May that Facebook was working on Project Libra, the bitcoin price has rallied massively.
On May 2, the bitcoin price ranged between $5,300 and $5,450. It has since gone up by over 60 percent clearly making it one of the best-performing assets this year. Currently, Bitcoin is trading above the $9,000 psychological level.
This post was last modified (EST) on 19/06/2019 12:10
