Forget the Noise, These Indicators Suggest 2020 Will Be the Year of Crypto

• On-chain data show surging new and active addresses in 2020.
• Twitter signals show growing interest in Bitcoin.
• Ethereum is also enjoying growing use among new users.

The third Bitcoin halving, only hours away, has generated a lot of noise. But fundamental indicators all point to 2020 being a big year for crypto.

Is 2020 The Year Crypto Goes Mainstream?

Bitcoin plunged over the weekend by $1,500 in a pre-halving sell-off during which BitMEX traders with long positions lost almost $250 million.

A short-term post-halving sell-off occurred after the second halving, so the weekend’s events may have been a pre-emptive move against that risk. Still, there are many differences in the crypto market compared to 2016.

The flash crash on Sunday came after legendary hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones expressed his intention to invest in Bitcoin futures last week.

While PTJ’s endorsement of Bitcoin as a valid asset vehicle bodes well, the famed investor reminded clients that he only intended to allocate a single-digit-percentage of his assets under management in Bitcoin futures. He manages $13 billion worth of assets.

The signal, even including its caveats, has stirred the Bitcoin bulls as of late. 

Long-time BTC enthusiast Mike Novogratz recently told CNBC that:

“Right now bitcoin feels a little frenzied, and we could see it surge up, but I think by the end of the year we certainly take out the old highs.”

Still, the bubbly headlines may be obscuring the hard data that reveals growing mainstream interest among the general public in the premier cryptocurrency. It is from this data that 2020 may become the year that crypto goes mainstream.

New Addresses in 2020, Active Users Hitting Year Highs

New addresses are an imperfect measure of new users, as current Bitcoin holders can create as many of  as they like. But they can be considered a rough proxy for new entrants into the market.

Data from Glassnode shows new Bitcoin addresses almost doubling since the start of the year before peaking on May 7 at almost half a million.