Why Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies are not dead

Hello, Steemit world. I joined Steemit based on my love of cryptocurrencies, so seeing as this is my first ever Steemit post, it was only fitting for me to write something related to crypto. More specifically, I wanted to make my case for the survival of Bitcoin and other leading alt-coins amongst this horrible blood bath of a week.

My argument stems from two main perspectives. First, blockchain technology has become a word recognized by most -- I'm not saying everyone can explain how blockchain works, however most have likely heard the term tossed around before. The truth of the matter is, if a concept becomes too large to ignore, someone will find a way to exploit and profit from it. More on this in a moment. My second perspective stems from the crypto-community at large, and our excitement, belief, and support in blockchain technology. At some point, buyers will emerge as the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum become 'too good' of a deal. A 'steal,' if you will. Until then, we're in for a wild ride.

But let's circle back to my first point. Have you heard of Bakkt? Maybe not yet, but you likely will. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is currently owned by a much larger company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). I had always assumed the NYSE was its own entity and operated separately from any single organization, but I digress. So what is Bakkt, and what does it have to do with the NYSE? In short, ICE has officially announced the development of an integrated exchange that allows both institutional and regular users (like you or I) to exchange dollars into bitcoin and/or bitcoin into dollars in a quick and seamless process. To a regular user, it would seem like you just purchased Starbucks with bitcoin. In reality, the exchange would sell bitcoin for dollars and then use those dollars to purchase your latte (in a matter of seconds). A much more detailed article from Forbes offers further information, here: (https://www.forbes.com/sites/norbertmichel/2018/08/13/new-bakkt-venture-could-make-bitcoin-as-mainstream-as-starbucks/#2be9a7de36c8). The exchanged referenced above, will be called Bakkt, and ICE has also announced its development will receive direct support from large companies such as Starbucks and Microsoft.

So how does this tie back into exploitation and money making? We're getting there!

ICE also holds control over the ICE Futures US and ICE Futures Europe markets as well. Perhaps I can go into the importance of Futures markts in a separate article, but to keep it simple, physically backed Futures commodities - in this case, a physically backed bitcoin futures offering - along with the Bakkt exchange (owned by a secure and reputable entity), provide the necessary pieces for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a Bitcoin ETF. And what would that do, exactly? A bitcoin ETF will fiiinnnaaalllllyyyy offer institutional investors (Vanguard, Fidelity, etc.) the opportunity to invest in Bitcoin. In short, a flood of money -- more money than most can comprehend -- will likely be investing in Bitcoin ETFs and other Bitcoin funds. We're talking billions of dollars in combined investments. Moreover, because the Bitcoin Futures market offered by ICE is based on physically backed Bitcoin, each respective ICE Bitcoin ETF will be legally required to own an equal share of physical bitcoin to coincide the ETF price. In laymans terms, as instituional money buys Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin ETFs will have to buy bitcoin -- hence driving the price of bitcoin upward.

So who really wins in this scenario? Well, hopefully all the hodlers do, but in truth, ICE will likely walk away with a full purse. But not matter that fact, it is likely that bitcoin prices will rise in the short to mid-term once Bakkt is deployed and the Bitcoin ETFs are approved. Hang in there folks, we're still in the early innings with much more to come.