Ballet CEO Bobby Lee says that the digital asset markets appear to have entered a new “spring” season after being battered by a long bear market.
In a new interview with Bloomberg Television, the crypto veteran says that Bitcoin (BTC) is likely set to continue following its typical four-year market cycles.
The next halving event is expected in April 2024, when mining rewards are reduced, limiting newly issued BTC supply.
“We’re finally seeing the signs of, potentially, a spring and getting out of the winter. It’s been a long time. Crypto has these four-year cycles of bull market [and] bear market. And for a good part of last year, we’ve seen the bear market take Bitcoin down to as low as $16,000. And now we’ve almost recovered a little bit, it’s almost doubled and recently peaked out at $31,000, so it’s quite exciting.”
Lee says that the recent US banking crisis has helped the narrative surrounding crypto, turning the asset class into more of a safe haven from the pitfalls of the traditional financial system.
“[Crypto] should be considered a safe haven in the sense that cryptocurrency is very different from the traditional fiat money, the fractional reserve banking. From the banking crisis, people are starting to realize that when their money is in the bank, it’s actually not always there, necessarily, because the money’s being lent out to other businesses and other firms. And that’s why banks always only have a portion of the money in the bank, and no bank is actually immune to a bank run.
With cryptocurrency you have the concept of self-custody, you actually can be your own bank and you can hold it yourself without having third-party or counter-party risk. And that’s what makes cryptocurrency like Bitcoin very, very special.”
Lee also says that sales at Ballet, which manufactures non-electronic cold storage cryptocurrency wallets, have soared in the last several weeks as skepticism of the banking system mounts.
While the US may be dealing with regulatory issues in the industry, Lee says that Hong Kong’s recent moves into the crypto space could open the door for increased digital asset adoption throughout Asia.
“I think it’s a bit late compared to other regions, but I think it’s great that we see Hong Kong and sort of the endorsement of mainland China to allow Hong Kong to do this. I think this summer we’re going to see the regulators here in Hong Kong formally license exchanges to do business in Hong Kong and this is the potential opening for greater China and certainly for all of Asia.”
Bitcoin is trading for $29,419 at time of writing, down 2.9% in the past 24 hours.