Bitcoin Gets New Bullish Signals, Even with Sub $10K Drop

A hallmark of the recent higher degrees of volatility in the price of Bitcoin is the large range of price predictions from various analysts. Some voices are calling for a parabolic rise to the $40k mark, and others are saying that a drop to sub $7k is likely. 

The main item all these analysts keep bringing up is the $10k mark. With Bitcoin now trending just below it, this has given cause for bears to think that things could continue to get worse. Technical traders base a lot of their psychology around this level and it has truly become the best measure of optimism. 

A Major Partnership

Safeway, a major grocery chain with operates 894 locations across 17 American states, has just announced a partnership that will have them giving 3.5% cashback in Bitcoin to their customers. The partnership is with a rewards shopping app called and Loli that has also partnered with Hotels.com recently. 

The idea is that earning Bitcoin is one of the best ways to get more people using the cryptocurrency. Once people are in possession of it, they would naturally look for ways to spend it, and this would create an inherent demand for retailers to start offering methods of paying with crypto.

The other advantage this loyalty program has over regular programs is that Bitcoin is not deflationary like points are. Arbitrary points being given out are great in the short-term, but lose value over time. Bitcoin however, is designed to be scarce and tends to gain value over time. 

Hedge Fund Success

All of this comes at a time where it has been announced that a hedge fund that incorporated Bitcoin into its holdings has posted some record-breaking returns. With 46% returns so far this year, Bill Miller’s bullish investment in Bitcoin has paid off significantly. Known for investing in beaten down securities that are trading at discounts to their intrinsic value, it looks like Bitcoin was a big part of the solid returns he has earned since opening the fund. 

Although delivering volatile returns of 182% in the first year and -34% in its second year, the fund has still done extremely well. It also consists of stocks like Amazon and Avon Products Inc., but these 3-year returns are largely being credited to Bitcoin. The added legitimacy this will bring to Bitcoin is just another brick in the wall for bullish investors. 

Macroeconomic Pressures

With Bitcoin heading into even stronger expectations of a bull market now that the European Central Bank is planning to turn dovish again, many in the crypto world are getting excited for what this could mean. 

One of Bitcoin’s main advantages over fiat currency is the way monetary policy is defined. Unlike with fiat currency where rates can be cut and money supply increased, Bitcoin (and most altcoins) have a pre-set quantity that will be released. This helps avoid the type of devaluation that occurs when central banks decide to intervene and put their own policies into place. 

So with Bitcoin already receiving lots more attention than it was getting in Q4 2018 and Q1 2019, as well as a Bitcoin reward halving coming up, these new quantitative easing measures will just prove to push more investors to buy Bitcoin.