Pomp: ‘Bitcoin Will See Very Fast Price Appreciation This Year’

The bitcoin bulls are back in charge, and the handoff couldn’t have come too soon for cryptocurrency investors. Bitcoin crossed the psychologically important USD 50K level once again on Sunday and has rallied more than 50% since about mid-July. The rally has put the wind back in the sails of a market that continues to prove its resilience in the face of regulatory headwinds.

The broader cryptocurrency market has risen higher in celebration, as bitcoin with a dominance rate of close to 44% continues to largely dictate the direction for altcoins too. And while bitcoin has come so far so fast, market leaders believe the leading cryptocurrency is just getting started.

More Runway for Gains

Even though bitcoin is nearing its peak of approximately USD 64K, Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano of Pomp Investments believes that the BTC price has more runway for gains in 2021. He told CNBC this morning that he expects to see “very, very fast price appreciation through the end of this year.”

Pomp points to the 2017 bitcoin rally as an example, explaining that during that bull run, the BTC price doubled from USD 10K to USD 20K in fewer than 20 days “as a blowoff top,” adding on Squawk Box:

“It would not surprise me to see something crazy like that happen before the end of the year.”

With bitcoin hovering at USD 50K, that would put BTC 100K in play.

"I think that we are going to see very fast price appreciation before the end of this year," says @APompliano on #Bitcoin crossing $50,000. "I think that generational divide is playing itself out in markets right now." pic.twitter.com/fRgSWE13rj

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) August 23, 2021

Pomp revealed that more than 90% of his liquid net worth is in bitcoin, which he believes is conservative in crypto land. He described a “generational divide” in which the baby boomers, meanwhile, believe that BTC is the riskiest asset out there.

Regulatory Whirlwinds

The summer has been a whirlwind for bitcoin, with U.S. lawmakers taking aim at the industry as part of the recently passed infrastructure bill with a so-called crypto tax. Kristin Smith,  executive director of the Blockchain Association, also joined the CNBC interview.

Smith noted that crypto regulation has yet to play out. She pointed to crypto’s “political superpower,” which emerged as the industry organized so quickly and sought to make their voices heard in the midst of the vote on Capitol Hill.

Smith sees it as an encouraging sign “at a very high level” that lawmakers are looking to generate revenue from digital assets. The Blockchain Association executive expects that the crypto industry “will get a good outcome on the regulatory front.” If she’s right, it could be another bullish sign for bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market more broadly.