Despite going through a very rough period between early 2018 and early 2020, the so-called “crypto winter” has seemingly come to an end. Bitcoin and alternative markets are showing signs of life in terms of price discovery. Combined with the rise in attention for DeFi projects, the second half of this year - as well as the years to come - offer a lot of potential. More and more companies are paying attention to Bitcoin. As Binance CEO Changzeng Zhao states, it is a sign of stimulus money flowing from Wall Street into Bitcoin.

As the total crypto market cap approaches the $360 billion range again, there is a genuine excitement in the industry. Together with the help of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, we were able to discuss previous, current, and possible future trends. There is a lot to look forward to, but never any guarantee of success.

A Cryptocurrency “Revival” of Sorts

It is evident that actions by central banks and the coronavirus pandemic may be two crucial catalysts driving this renewed interest in cryptocurrency. There is also a chance that some currencies may decouple from Bitcoin, at least in the price department. This can only happen if alternative projects continue to build, evolve, and adapt.

Another crucial topic is the DeFi industry. A lot of growth has been noted in this department, although this industry is still in the very early stages of development. Binance is a proponent of the decentralized finance concept. Moreover, its in-house developed Binance Smart chain mainnet will launch later this year, which may shake things up moving forward.

Looking at 2020 And Beyond

Several trends have come and gone in the cryptocurrency world over the years. Some have disappeared, whereas others are only now hitting their stride. Blockchain has come a very long way, yet there are still plenty of improvements to be made. It may prove to be an integral part of the cryptocurrency industry in post-2020.

Andrey Sergeenkov**: **The year 2020 has rekindled interest in the cryptocurrency industry, judging by the current market sentiment. Is this merely due to the coronavirus, or do you think other factors may be at play?

Changpeng Zhao**: **There are always many factors affecting prices, in a marketing driven price discovery system.

The QE policies and stimulus packages enforced by the governments lead to inflation of their local fiat currencies, driving investors to look for alternative investments assets. It has been one of drivers for a growing number of retail and institutional investors in the past few months. As a matter of fact, Bitcoin was specifically created in 2009 for handling situations like this.

While the pandemic may serve as the catalyst to the market, there are other drivers behind it.

• In the last 11 years, the industry has been continuing to scale, both by number of users and market cap. The market is still at its very early stage, accounting for only 0.1% of the market cap of traditional markets. It’s at the start of an exponential growth.

• The third Bitcoin halving. After the third Bitcoin halving, new Bitcoins produced every 10 minutes are reduced by 50%. So the supply side is decreasing while the demand side is uptrending, which adds to the intrinsic value of Bitcoin. After the first two halvings, there’s a psychological element at play. If you refer to the historical records of how the Bitcoin price moved after the first two halvings, you will see there has been a very positive impact, which in turn attracted more attention and drove more users to the industry.

• DeFi boom. DeFi is a hot topic of the year 2020. In general, DeFi products provide investors single digit to double digit annualized return rates while traditional banking is utilising the “zero interest rate policy”, which aggravates the situation of depreciating fiat currencies and drives investors to harvesting high yields in crypto space.

• More institutional investors and traditional financial institutions are entering or showing interest in the space. Big hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones said his Tudor BVI fund may hold as much as a low single-digit percentage of its assets in Bitcoin futures. JP Morgan has started to provide banking services to crypto exchanges while its rival Goldman Sachs said it is exploring the viability of its own digital token. Institutional interest cast a positive vote for the industry, encouraging more retail investors to enter.

• Central banks are researching and working on their own digital currencies, which helps spread the influence of the blockchain industry to a broader audience.

• Favorable policies. As the market matures gradually, we’ve seen some favorable regulations being rolled out. For example, US national banks are allowed to provide custodial services for crypto. The NYDFS greenlight allows coins to be listed or used by licensed virtual currency businesses without further approval.

In conclusion, there are many factors contributing to the momentum of the crypto industry.

**Andrey Sergeenkov: **For years, there have been rumors a

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