Bitcoin could reach new highs this year: Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly, BK Asset Management, joins ‘Fast Money’ to talk bitcoin’s rally and what the year ahead looks like for crypto.

HOUSE TODAY. ALL WITH NICE GAINS. >>> AND BITCOIN KICKING OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH A ROBUST RALLY. THE CURRENCY HITTING THE 45,000 MARK EARLIER TODAY. ABOUT A MONTH AGO, OUR NEXT GUEST CORRECTLY PREDICTED THAT BITCOIN WAS IN THE EARLY STAGES OF A BULL MARKET.

LET’S BRING IN BRIAN KELLY. HAPPY NEW YEAR. >> YEAH, RIGHT BACK AT YOU, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL. >> ALL RIGHT. SO, WHY SHOULDN’T WE BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE BITCOIN ETF APPROVAL ISN’T A SELL THE NEWS EVENT. IT SEEMS LIKE THERE’S SO MUCH

RIDING ON THIS APPROVAL. SO MUCH OF THE RALLY PREDICATED ON THAT, THAT WHEN IT HAPPENS, YOU KNOW, WHAT NEXT? >> YEAH, RIGHT, I MEAN, LISTEN, AS A TRADER, MY GUT ALWAYS TELLS ME THINGS GO HIGHER, I GET A LITTLE BIT SCARED, RIGHT?

SO, I DO THINK A LOT OF THE SPECULATIVE FEVER AROUND THE ETF IS PROBABLY REACHING A CRESCENDO THIS WEEK. SO, YEAH, COULD WE GET A SELLOFF, SURE. BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE A SELLOFF, YOU KNOW, A DIP TO BUY, BECAUSE REMEMBER, THERE ARE

STILL A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO BUY BITCOIN FOR THEIR PORTFOLIO. SO, EVEN A 1%, 2%, 5% ALLOCATION IN I.R.A.s, FROM PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGERS, THEY’RE GOING TO BE BUYING THE ETF OVER THE YEAR. AND IT WILL SERVE ON THE FOUR ON

THE FLOOR DRUM BEAT FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR. >> THANK YOU, B.K. LET ME COME RIGHT BACK AT YOU. BEFORE YOU EAVE, MAKE SURE YOU WISH GUY A HAPPY NEW YEAR. I KNOW YOU ARE ALSO SOMEWHAT ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT WHAT COULD HAPPEN WITH ETHEREUM AND A LAG EFFECT HERE.

I CARE MORE ABOUT YOUR VIEW ABOUT THE BROADENING OF THE ENTIRE CRYPTO SPACE. POLKA DOT OR SOME OF THESE OTHER NAMES, ARE THEY GOING HIGHER, ARE YOU VINNESTING THERE? BECAUSE THAT, TO ME, IS A LOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT BITCOIN DOES FROM HERE.

>> YEAH, I THINK THAT’S A GREAT POINT, TIM. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT STOCKS, WE TALK ABOUT THE BREADTH OF THE MARKET AND THE BREADTH WIDENING OUT, AND THAT’S USUALLY THE SIGN OF A HEALTHY BULL MARKET. WE’RE SEEING THAT IN CRYPTO RIGHT NOW.

YOU BRING UP NAMES LIKE POLKA DOT, OR EVEN SOLANO, OR SOME OF THOSE — THOSE AREN’T SECOND TIER, THOSE ARE HIGHER IN THE FIRST TIER, BUT YOU’RE STARTING TO SEE THE RALLY BROADEN OUT AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, YOU’RE ACTUALLY SEEING FROM SOME OF THESE CRYPTO-CURRENCIES ACTUAL

THINGS BEING BUILT ON THEM. WE’RE SEEING DECENTRALIZED EXCHANGES GETTING A LOT OF ACTIVITY. WE’RE SEEING DECENTRALIZED LENDING AND PLACES IN THE DEFI SPACE STARTING TO GET A LOT OF LOANS GOING OUT THERE. AND A LOT OF TOTAL VALUE LOCKS. SO, ALL THE INDICATORS ARE

TELLING ME THAT THE BULL MARKET IS BROADENING. THE FUNDAMENTALS ARE SUPPORTIVE, AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK, AGAIN, I THINK WE’RE PROBABLY IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS 12 TO 18-MONTH BULL MARKET, WHICH SHOULD SPREAD TO THE REST OF THE CURRENCIES. AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION

DIRECTLY, I AM INVESTING IN ALL OF THOSES. >> YOU JUST MENTIONED HOW RETAIL IS BUY INTO THEIR I.R.S.A.s, WH ABOUT INSTITUTIONS? YOU’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS WALL OF INSTITUTIONAL MONEY FOR YEARS AND YEARS. AND WHEN I THINK ABOUT FUTURES WERE LISTED ON THE CME BACK IN

2017, COULD THIS BE A BIG BOOM FOR SOME OF THE EXCHANGES, TOO? IF LARGE INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS ARE GOING TO TAKE CHUNKY POSITIONS IN THE ETFs, THERE’S GOING TO BE OPTIONS CREATED ON THEM, TALK TO US ABOUT THAT SORT OF ACTIVITY. >> YEAH, I THINK THAT’S A REALLY

INTERESTING POINT, BECAUSE WHAT WE’VE SEEN IN OTHER TRADITIONAL MARKETS IS THE ACTIVITY STARTS IN THE SPOT MARKET, BUT THEN ONCE THE INSTITUTIONS ARRIVE, IT IS QUICKLY ECLIPSED BY THE DER RIVERTY MARKET. AND MOST COMMODITY MARKETS, THE FUTURES AND OPTIONS MARKETS ARE MULTIPLE THE SIZE.

I WOULD EXPECT ACTIVITY THERE. THE OTHER INTERESTING PART OF THAT IS, YOU ACTUALLY MIGHT TAMP DOWN A BIT OF VOLATILITY IN THE CRYPTO-CURRENCY MARKET AND BITCOIN BECAUSE YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE MULTIPLE PLAYERS, SOME PEOPLE HEDGING, SOME PEOPLE DOING BASIS TRADES, SOME PEOPLE JUST DOING OPTIONS STRATEGY.

SO, YO