Tom Lee Optimistic of Bitcoin Despite Wall Street Journal’s Price Manipulation Report

Wall Street bull Tom Lee said that he believes that Bitcoin is the best bet for investors in the cryptocurrency markets and believes there is a huge potential for it to grow despite the Wall Street Journal report on the “Pump and Dump” schemes that are currently existent in the cryptocurrency exchanges.

Tom Lee says that Bitcoin is gradually regaining market share

According to Tom Lee’s analysis that bitcoin is still dominant cryptocurrency as he explains at the start of 2017, bitcoin claimed about 80 percent of the overall cryptocurrency market. About a year later, by January, bitcoin’s market share has dropped to only about 36 percent. However, it went on to creep up for the rest of the year. In the past couple of weeks, bitcoin’s market share has soared to its highest level all year to around 48 percent.      

“I think bitcoin dominance is actually showing the market is reacting to what’s been taking place,” Lee said.

Apart from its dominance, Lee feels that the news around bitcoin being a commodity and not security as announced and the potential of an ETF is making investors decide that Bitcoin could be the best bet.

“The news that we have seen, from the SEC saying bitcoin’s a commodity, to … the potential for an [exchange-traded fund] is causing investors to decide that bitcoin is the best house in a tough market,” Lee,

who is Fundstrat Global Advisors’ managing partner, said on CNBC’s “Fast Money.” He was referring to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Also, read: If you Can’t Beat them, Join them – US Congress HODLing Cryptos

Wall Street Journal report on price manipulation in Bitcoin

The Wall Street Journal has claimed in its report that was published on August 5 the Cryptocurrency price manipulation is very much active and is largely conducted by organized “trading groups” using services such as Telegram. Publishing the results of research into cryptocurrency markets, the WSJ suggested that coordinated “pump and dump” schemes have seen traders inflate and crash the prices of various cryptocurrencies this year.

In the first six months of 2018 alone, trading groups generated revenues of $825 million.

The WSJ looked at 175 schemes trading 121 different coins, stating

“[m]any more such groups exist, potentially adding millions or tens of millions more inactivity,”

adding that these

“operate in private chat rooms, accessible only by invitation, generally overseen by an anonymous moderator.”

The claim of the Wall Street Journal has actually bought back the price manipulation ghost, and will definitely be considered when SEC announces the Van Eck ETF decision. But bullishness of Tom Lee is defiantly a soothing sight.

Will this report of price manipulation have an impact of SEC decision?