Why 'Human Psychology' Could Drive Bitcoin to $50,000
*By Jacqueline Corba*
Bitcoin soared back above the [$8,000 mark this week for the first time since May](https://cheddar.com/videos/reddit-co-founder-on-the-state-of-cryptocurrency). The surge comes as more institutional investors look to grab a piece of the still-emerging crypto market.
"From a stored value perspective I'm a Bitcoin maximalist," [Fin co-CEO and co-Founder Sam Lessin](https://cheddar.com/videos/tech-entrepreneur-sam-lessin-authors-childrens-book-on-bitcoin) told Cheddar's Crypto Craze Thursday. "If you look at the broader blockchain and crypto ecosystem, I don't think people fully appreciate how deeply big a deal it is to have an immutable ledger globally."
Lessin, who served as a vice president of product management at Facebook from 2010 to 2014, joins fellow Facebook alum Anthony Pompliano in his bullish outlook on Bitcoin, the largest digital currency by market cap.
"I've got a high degree of confidence that at some point in the future its going to hit $50,000. And I've got some degree of confidence that it will be by the end of this year," Pompliano, who now runs Morgan Creek Digital Assets, told Cheddar.
The factors driving the value up? Human psychology, speculation around a [cryptocurrency ETF](https://www.coindesk.com/bitwise-proposes-etf-for-top-10-cryptos/), and growing institutional interest, said Pompliano.
Facebook itself even wants in on crypto. In May, [Cheddar reported Facebook is developing its own digital currency](https://cheddar.com/videos/facebook-plans-to-create-its-own-cryptocurrency-2).
"I have a lot of respect for the Facebook team," said Lessin. "What they have is a fundamental networkーthe biggest one ever in the history of the world connecting people." He called a Facebook move toward crypto an "obvious play."
For full interview, [click here] (https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjExNzY=).
Ellen Goodwin, Co-Founder and Chief Solutions Officer of Artifcts, joins ChedHER to discuss how she's creating a platform to preserve the history of your belongings, and her experience succeeding in male-dominated industries.
Google announced it will be updating its privacy restrictions that will limit tracking throughout apps on android devices. The update is similar to Apple's previous update, which ended up causing companies like Meta to lose billions of dollars on the market. Cheddar News was joined by David Trainer, CEO of New Constructs, to discuss the implications of the new privacy updates.
Global semiconductor sales topped $500 billion dollars for the first time in history in 2021. Demand for microchips has been at an all-time high amid a global shortage, but questions still remain about the future of semiconductor production. Cheddar News was joined by Tristan Gerra, Senior Research Analyst at Baird, to answer some of these questions and more.
Compass Inc. reported its Q4 earnings on Wednesday, noting a 31 percent surge in quarterly revenue year over year. The real estate brokerage platform allows agents to promote and market their properties online and saw a 90 percent agent retention rate as well. Compass CEO Robert Reffkin joined Cheddar News to discuss the company's earnings, what ongoing inflation means for the housing market and how they help agents directly. "Let me start by saying my mom is actually a real estate agent, has been the majority of my life. She's a real estate agent today at Compass, and so I built Compass with her in mind," Reffkin said. The goal for an agent is to grow their business and have a better quality of life, more income to support their family, more time to be with their family, and it's not just software. It's a platform of software and services."
