Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas claims that Bitcoin (BTC) is now in a similar acceptance phase that took Facebook from 1 billion to 3 billion users.
According to this comparison, the disappearance of BTC's countercultural appeal indicates maturation, not weakening, and spot ETFs act as a catalyst for mainstream market entry.
The ETF expert compares bitcoin to Facebook's unfashionable phase; is there a bullish sentiment?
Balchunas, who is the leading ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence and the host of the Trillions podcast, compares Bitcoin's current situation to the moment when the older generation joined Facebook.
“Bitcoin feels now like it did when your parents joined Facebook. On one hand, it’s not as ‘cool’ anymore because of boomers, but on the other hand, Facebook’s user count grew from about one billion to three billion after coolness faded, so…,” wrote Balchunas.
Follow us on X for the latest news in real time
Facebook reached the milestone of 1 billion monthly active users in 2012, according to Meta data. By the end of 2023, the number was 3.07 billion.
The annual growth rate fell below 10 percent after 2013, but still the absolute number of users nearly tripled during that 'boring' period.
Balchunas also requested accurate statistics on the growth of Bitcoin wallet owners over 3, 5, and 10 years. He mentioned that BlackRock reported about a million people bought iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in its very first year of operation.
Current estimates suggest that there are about 106 million Bitcoin owners in the world, up from just 30-50 million in 2021.
IBIT now owns 782 180 BTC, which is about 3.9% of the total available amount.
At the same time, some macro analysts note that Bitcoin's opponents declare the cryptocurrency dead, even though its development is just beginning.
When an asset loses its identity-based appeal and begins to attract broad, passive capital, this change often signals the beginning of the strongest growth phase, not the end.
Could the number of Bitcoin owners follow Facebook's trajectory from one billion to three billion? After ETF approval, the trend seems to suggest this direction.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see expert comments from leaders and editors