The bitcoin price, which has recently rallied to year-to-date highs, has been desperately seeking direction over recent months as the traditional finance industry, global tech giants, and the world's regulators mull how to proceed with bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies. Now, Spencer Bogart, an executive venture capital firm Blockchain Capital, has said the recent revelations about Facebook working on a bitcoin rival have "lit the fire in the pants of every major [financial technology] and financial institution in the U.S."Getty"We have seen public reports of what Facebook might be working on–most of that is pretty private,” Bogart told financial newswire Bloomberg. Bogart suggested that Facebook will be a catalyst for mainstream bitcoin and cryptocurrency adoption around the world, spurring other financial and technology companies to get into bitcoin and crypto. “Once [Facebook users] own [Facebook Coin], it will be like being on the internet so people can spin-out and start owning bitcoin, ethereum ... Bitcoin has gone from zero users ten years ago to somewhere between 30 million to 100 million–the estimates are tough. The project, which been trialed in India with its 200 million WhatsApp users, has run into regulatory and user problems allowing rivals to gain a foothold.

Source: Forbes May 08, 2019 09:53 UTC