Australia’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges have made noteworthy statements, indicating that they believe the market has already entered the first stage of a major rally and expect an acceleration in the increase of cryptocurrency buyers early next year. Here’s what the CEOs, general managers, and other prominent figures of Australia’s top crypto exchanges have said about Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins in light of the current market conditions and their expectations.
“Buckle Up”
Adrian Przelozny, the CEO of Independent Reserve, a cryptocurrency exchange, stated in an interview with Cointelegraph that he expects a significant increase in market activity at the beginning of 2024 and that they are hiring to build infrastructure before this happens. Przelozny said, “We are doing everything we can to prepare for the bull market because we know it happens very quickly when it arrives. You need to ensure that your processes, employees, and infrastructure are in place so that you can handle the increase in workload overnight.” He added, “I think the next two years will be good. Buckle up.”
Caroline Bowler, the CEO of BTC Markets, stated that she expects market conditions to further improve throughout the year with a general recovery that began in January. Bowler added that while the trajectory of market gains is not exactly linear, there are reasons to be confident in the growth of both asset prices and industry-wide technological applications. She said, “The clearing of the market dust, the influx of new users, and the increase in trading volumes support our assessment that we are in the early stages of a bull market.”
Tommy Honan, the Head of Product Strategy at Swyftx, mentioned that they have started to see an increase in purchasing activity on their cryptocurrency exchange and are quickly moving to support the automatic payment feature. Honan also highlighted the issues facing the cryptocurrency market in Australia due to some of the country’s major banks restricting or completely banning deposits to certain cryptocurrency exchanges.
Furthermore, Honan emphasized that the increase in activity is not driven by the fear of missing out (FOMO), but rather because the market fundamentals have become more attractive to investors who withdrew during the bear market. He said, “Currently, all our indicators are flashing green. We see a significant number of customers returning to the market after being inactive during the bear market. The market is awakening, but the truth is that nobody knows where we are in the cycle.”
Jonathon Miller, the General Manager of Kraken’s Australian branch, emphasized the importance of caution and mentioned that it can be difficult to determine the stage of the market. He said, “There is a common misconception that the crypto market is either in a bull market or a bear market. In reality, we are in a wide gray area between the two.”
Miller pointed out that there are many reasons to be optimistic compared to this time last year, especially with the upcoming Bitcoin block reward halving and the growing interest from institutional and individual investors in Ethereum’s London hard fork. He stated, “The increasing appetite for crypto investments by institutions is often overlooked. Yes, the markets are currently focused on ETF applications for Bitcoin and Ethereum, but we saw a resurgence of interest from many institutional clients who wanted to invest in this emerging asset class last year.”
FOMO Warning from Binance’s Australian Branch
Ben Rose, the General Manager of Binance‘s Australian branch, refrained from making a statement about whether the bull market has arrived, but he noted that new registrations and trading activity have increased in Binance’s Australian branch in recent months. Rose stated that Binance Australia is focused on educating users and ensuring they avoid FOMO purchases before a potential rally. He said, “We asked many customers who came from Binance about their reasons for entering the crypto market, and one-fourth of them said that their main reason was seeing others succeed in the crypto market. This is the biggest driving force. So, FOMO is a real thing in crypto.”
Rose emphasized that the key to retaining users during the expected next market movement across the market is to ensure that people are not overwhelmed during a market frenzy. He said, “Price is something that brings attention, but you want people to participate sustainably and responsibly so that it’s not just a one-time thing. While price can be the initial reason for looking at cryptocurrencies, ultimately people are there because they understand the benefits and it becomes part of how they manage their financial situations.”
