Bitcoin side projects could speed up Bitcoin ETF, according to Samson Mow, the CSO of Blockstream.
In a recent interview, Samson spoke about the general state of Bitcoin, while also providing price predictions and his thoughts on a potential timeline for Bitcoin ETF approval.
Samson took the viewpoint that investors tend to look at Bitcoin from the perspective of the consumer – essentially, as an asset to buy or sell. However, he believes that Bitcoin should be viewed as more of a “communication protocol” in the vein of TCP/IP which is currently used by the internet, adding that there were a lot of possibilities for Bitcoin when viewed in this manner.
Layer-2 solution
Discussing the “main blockchain” limitations, Samson spoke about how the Lightning Network could be the perfect layer-2 solution for Bitcoin, which circumvents these limitations. He believes that Bitcoin is the only blockchain which can deliver the best value in the fastest possible time – meaning that Bitcoin is still much more useful than other, newer blockchains.
Future pricing
Samson stated that Bitcoin is unlikely to sit between $100,000 and $200,000 within the next half-decade – believing that prices will be dictated by the level of adoption by the general public.
Bitcoin ETF
While the US Securities & Exchanges Commission has been unpredictable on the approval of an exchange-trade fund based on Bitcoin, Samson believes that more liquidity is required before this happens – and a Bitcoin sidechain project could be just the ticket to speed up the trading of Bitcoin between exchanges. With improved trading, this would indirectly improve the liquidity of Bitcoin and therefore go some way towards convincing officials to approve the launch of Bitcoin ETF.
For most speculators, the approval of Bitcoin ETF is not a matter of ‘if’, but a matter of ‘when’ – could 2018 or 2019 be the year?
