In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Stephen Pair, CEO of crypto merchant platform BitPay, said that a “very big” component of bitcoin’s price represents investors’ speculation on future usage and adoption of blockchain technology.
Pair stated that a very large part of Bitcoin’s price is speculation, wherein those investing in the cryptocurrency are gambling on the future usage of the digital asset and the adoption of its related Blockchain technology. He said that only a small component of the crypto’s historic price highs was related to its current utility.
On whether a BTC ETF would be a “catalyst” for a new all-time high, Pair responded that there is scope for “many catalysts” not just an ETF; alluding to the idea that an ETF is not the be all or end all of the cryptocurrency, in his eyes.
Pair adds that further user adoption will push the prices higher and “if history is any guide” we’ll see new all-time high’s in regard to cryptocurrency prices.
Pair’s most significant comment was that he expected Blockchain technology to grow far beyond the cryptocurrency space. In fact, he believed that this technology would become accepted as the default database style for most industries.
Pair also stated that he believed that in the next 3 to 5 years, Blockchain based payments systems would be an everyday thing. He said that one would be able to walk into a restaurant or any retail establishment and expect to have support for making payments in cryptocurrencies.
