Bitcoin Has Crossed $18k and Arya Stark Got on Board

See also: Is Bitcoin a Good Investment

(Spoiler Alert) At the end of Season 8, Episode 5 of Game of Thrones, Sandor “The Hound” Clegane took Arya Stark aside in the collapsing Red Keep and asked her his thematic question in their relationship, “Do you want to be like me?”

The viewers assumed this meant she should get out of the firey Keep and not waste her life on revenge.

But perhaps Sandor meant Arya should go buy Bitcoin, and not be among the millions of us (including me) who heard about Bitcoin when it was less than $.01 and now live with regret.

That would sound something like this…

SANDOR: For God’s sake, go buy Bitcoin girl…

ARYA: My father said Bitcoin is a trick by the Iron Bank…

SANDOR: F**k the Iron Bank. Westeros is at war, the crown is deeper in debt than it’s ever been, and everyone is starving. Gold Dragons aren’t going to be worth the gold they're minted in by next winter.

At least that’s how I imagine it. Just replace Gold Dragons (fiat currency of the Seven Kingdoms) with USD and replace Arya Stark with Maisie Williams.

53.4% of respondents said Maisie shouldn’t go long on Bitcoin? But she seems so nice? Fortunately, she didn’t listen to the naysayers.

Of course, Bitcoin’s meteoric rise which equaled and surpassed prices in 2017, was noticed by more than just charming young actors. At time of writing, Bitcoin prices settled at $17672.50 USD but it reached $18,349.80 last night at 11:50 PM EST on November 17.

Crypto enthusiasts and luminaries were understandably enthusiastic.

Bitcoin’s 150% jump in 2020 puts the digital coin’s price relative to gold at the highest in almost three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg show. The climb comes as investors search for portfolio buffers amid predictions the dollar could drop as much as 20% next year in the economic recovery from the pandemic.

“Bitcoin seems to be the hedge of choice against the U.S. dollar debasement that is looming, either through more Federal Reserve quantitative easing, higher government debt or a steepening yield curve — or all three,” Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst with Oanda Asia Pacific Pte said.

Increasingly, institutional investors are driving the price of Bitcoin and to a degree DeFi, treating top cryptocurrencies as deflationary assets to offset the economic hardships they are anticipating in 2021.

Though it’s long-term value as a store of wealth has yet to be proven, investors are treating Bitcoin as a deflationary asset. When the USD futures are looking bad, Bitcoin looks better than ever. Since March and throughout the bungled COVID-19 response, the US Federal Reserve has printed US Dollars at an unprecedented rate — and purchased more than $3.5 trillion in US securities with the newly minted dollars.

You don’t need to be an economist to see what that kind impact that reckless printing can have. It’s likely to lead to inflation, making the USD a less-stable store of value, and sending institutional investors looking for crypto alternatives.

But comparisons to the 2017 Bitcoin Bullrun are not entirely without trepidation. A furious run toward $20,000 in December 2017 was followed by a bust.

However, this rise in Bitcoin does not follow exactly the same pattern, as Twitter account Bitcoin pointed out.

Bitcoin has been winning throughout 2020. Where this Bullrun will end remains in question, though many are calling for Bitcoin rising to $200,000 by end of 2021. In fact, a leaked investor brief from Citibank called for BTC to surpass $300,000 in 2021.