Benzinga - One of the largest ways in which institutions interact with financial markets is through foreign exchange. LMAX Group provides electronic trading opportunities for institutions as well as cryptocurrency trading. CEO David Mercer discussed his views on the future of crypto on CNBC.
Mercer said that Bitcoin reaching new highs is "inevitable" because of institutional investment, which outweighs selling pressures. He noted that about 900 Bitcoin are mined per day, which is worth between $60 million and $70 million, as opposed to inflows into the exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which reached nearly $700 million in a single day in early March. According to Mercer, this huge imbalance of supply and demand is driving the price of Bitcoin up.
Don't Miss:
- If you invested $100 in DOGE when Elon Musk first tweeted about it in 2019, here’s how much you’d have today.
- About 22% of the adult population in the U.S. owns a share of Bitcoin — how much would $10 get you today?
Additionally, Mercer also discussed the upcoming Bitcoin halving, expected in mid-April. This would lower the amount of Bitcoin mined per day by half to around 450, which could further decrease selling pressures and cause Bitcoin to continue going up. However, some, including Mercer, believe that this is already priced into the market.
He also made a statement regarding the total size of the crypto market, saying that if "3% of the world's assets go to crypto, that would be a $6 trillion asset class." For reference, the entire crypto market is estimated to be worth around $2.5 trillion.
"You should expect most crypto prices to go north from here, and I think that Ethereum and Solana will follow," Mercer said.
Looking beyond crypto, Mercer sees tokenization as "the fourth or fifth industrial revolution" and he predicts that "the token economy will be $20 trillion by 2030." He thinks that tokenization is the true underlying benefit of crypto, and he sees Bitcoin as just a "signpost" and a "proof of concept" for tokenization to take off, "which we will be lucky to live through and enjoy."
"Based purely on supply and demand … you should see the price of Bitcoin being multiples of what it is today," Mercer said.
Though Mercer noted that he is not in the business of predicting, he is basing his idea of Bitcoin going up on the assumption that it will continue to be allocated into standard investment portfolios. This could happen sooner than some expected; the largest pension fund, Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), recently submitted a request to explore the viability of incorporating Bitcoin into its investment strategy.
In terms of the potential for spot Ethereum ETFs, Mercer said that "Bitcoin is the store of value … the gold of the crypto market. Ethereum is the utility. The oil of the crypto market." He predicted that the Ethereum ETF would happen and be great for Ethereum and the decentralized economy.
Mercer discussed nearly all of the pressing issues relating to crypto, bringing every point back to his bullish stance on the asset class. It will be interesting to see how his predictions play out, particularly his idea that crypto could reach a total market size of $6 trillion.
Read Next:
- Bitcoin has jumped another 45% already this year — how much would you need to get started today?
- Bitcoin to $100,000? Here’s what gold bug Peter Schiff said could happen on Anthony Pompliano’s podcast.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.