2019-2-18 00:30 |
In the ongoing Bitcoin bear market which has been the longest one ever, there are plenty of reasons to be depressed about. This prolonged crypto winter is expected to remain unchanged in 2019.
However, there are even more reasons to be bullish in this bear market that further indicates the next boom is coming, if not sooner than later.
Mining the Biggest BlockRecently, the highest Bitcoin is being mined with an average block size of 1.305 megabytes. This biggest block on record has been possible through the rising adoption of Segregate Witness (SegWit). In fact, the block mined today are now regularly bigger than 1 MB which was the limit prior to SegWit’s introduction in 2017.
With SegWit, the block size has been replaced with block weight that allows the capacity of up to 4 MB. Today, about 40 percent of all Bitcoin transactions accounts for the use of SegWit.
Transactions approaching ATHThe total number of transactions on the Bitcoin network has been approaching its all-time high while confirmed transactions has been constantly moving upwards since May 2018.
Meanwhile, after taking a hit in December, the hash rate of the Bitcoin network is yet again on a rise.
Taproot, Schnorr & MAST ComingBitcoin core contributors are working on a protocol upgrade that involves Taproot and Schnorr Signatures. While Taproot would expand the smart contract flexibility of Bitcoin while further offering more privacy, Schnorr is a signature scheme that supports multi signatures, is fast to verify and offers a strong level of accuracy.
Meanwhile, MAST, an acronym for Merkelized Abstract Syntax Tree that is an amalgamation of Merkle trees and Abstract Syntax Trees algorithms will facilitate the reduction of data size within a block.
Exponential Lightning Network GrowthIt’s no hidden fact that the second layer on Bitcoin network is growing at a fast speed. Currently, it made another record as its network capacity nearly reaches 700 BTC while registering 6,330 nodes.
With the recent, Lightning Torch experiment that changed hands in over 44 countries, it has further gained more awareness and interest from the crypto community. In another instance, Domino Pizza now accepts Bitcoin via Lightning Network through a third party called Lightning Pizza.
Bakkt and Fidelity Ready to LaunchCrypto community is eagerly awaiting institutional investors and two mainstream giants have already announced their elaborate plans to go live somewhere around this year. Bakkt has been launched by NASDAQ’s parent company ICE along with other major contributors in the form of Starbucks and Microsoft.
As for Fidelity Digital assets, it is from one of the largest asset managers Fidelity Investments that manages $2.46 trillion in assets.
Retirements Funds invested in Crypto FundsMore institutional investment is flowing into the crypto market as just recently, two US pension funds in Virgina’s Fairfax County have created a $40 million investment fund that is overseen by Morgan Creek Digital and became the first public pension funds to do so.
Police Officer’s Retirement System and Employees’ Retirement System both have put their bet on Bitcoin.
Real-World Bitcoin AdoptionMaybe not completely legal but Bitcoin is certainly not banned in over 110 countries around the world. South American countries that are going through currency or economic crisis have taken a liking to Bitcoin and are registering the all-time highs.
Recently, Indonesia announced that it legally recognizes Bitcoin as a commodity while Wyoming has become the first US state to protect Bitcoin and digital asset ownership through property rights.
Government Debt All time highNot to forget that recently, the US government debt made another record by topping at $22 trillion despite economic growth. The debt is continuously rising but the concerns are not.
While we're in a #Bitcoin bear market, I'm more bullish than I've ever been:
– $1B moved DAILY on the Bitcoin network
– Huge Lightning Network growth
– Schnorr, MAST, Taproot
– Bakkt and Fidelity about to launch
– Government debt at all time highs
— Dan Hedl (@danheld) February 16, 2019
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