Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of blockchain startup Ripple, stated in a recent media interview that the total market value of the cryptocurrency market will exceed $5 trillion this year.
Garlinghouse said he expects the market value of the entire cryptocurrency market to double, citing macro factors such as the approval of the US spot Bitcoin ETF at the beginning of the year and the upcoming so-called "halving" of Bitcoin.
Garlinghouse pointed out, "I have been working in this industry for a long time and I am used to the ups and downs of these trends. I am very optimistic. I believe that macro trends, such as the listing of Bitcoin spot ETFs, are driving true institutional capital into the cryptocurrency circle for the first time."
Garlinghouse said that you will see that this drives demand, and as demand increases, supply decreases. This doesn't even require economics professionals to tell you what happens when supply contracts and demand expands& Amp; Quota;
On January 10th of this year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the listing application of the first batch of US spot Bitcoin ETF varieties. They are allowed to trade on US stock exchanges, allowing a large number of institutional and retail investors to gain exposure to the primary cryptocurrency without directly holding Bitcoin.
The halving of Bitcoin is a technological event that occurs approximately every four years in Bitcoin's history. The issuance of Bitcoin is subject to design limitations - mining rewards are "halved" approximately every four years, which actually reduces the number of new tokens issued. The last halving occurred in 2020, and the next one will occur later this month.
"The overall market value of the cryptocurrency industry is expected to easily double by the end of this year, as the market is being influenced by all these macro factors," Garlinghouse said.
Statistics show that as of April 4th, the total market value of the cryptocurrency market is approximately 2.6 trillion US dollars. If the market size doubles, it means that the total market value of cryptocurrencies will reach $5.2 trillion by then. This is close to the combined market value of Microsoft and Nvidia, which are currently in high demand - Microsoft's market value is approximately $3.1 trillion, while Nvidia's market value is $2.2 trillion.
Bitcoin has risen by over 140% in the past 12 months. According to CoinGecko's data, Bitcoin hit a historic high of over $73000 on March 13th. However, since then, the price of Bitcoin has dropped to a level far below $70000. As of early April, Bitcoin's market value accounted for half of the entire cryptocurrency market, approximately $1.36 trillion.
Will US regulation be more friendly to the cryptocurrency industry in the future?
Garlinghouse also stated that another factor that is expected to drive the cryptocurrency market to a new high will be the potential for more industry friendly regulatory momentum in the United States.
This year is an election year in the United States, and many cryptocurrency practitioners are optimistic that the next US government's policy focus will be more favorable to the cryptocurrency industry.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by current chairman Gary Gensler, has been quite strict in its regulatory enforcement of cryptocurrency companies (including Ripple itself) in recent years. The SEC has previously filed a securities lawsuit against Ripple, accusing it of illegally selling the cryptocurrency Ripple (XRP) closely related to Ripple in unregistered securities trading. Ruibo Company has denied this accusation and is currently resisting it.
"Actually, one of the things I want to say is the macro positive factors in the industry: I think the (regulatory) situation in the United States will be clearer," Garlinghouse said. "The United States remains the world's largest economy, but unfortunately, it has always been one of the more hostile countries in the cryptocurrency market. I believe this situation will begin to change."
It is worth mentioning that Garlinghouse is not the only cryptocurrency giant predicting huge profits in the cryptocurrency market this year.
Marshall Beard, Chief Operating Officer of Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, recently stated at a cryptocurrency conference in London that he expects Bitcoin prices to further double to $150000 later this year.