Excerpt:<p>SegWit2x Cancelled, No Short-Term Uncertainty<p>...the cancellation of the SegWit2x hard fork eliminated any uncertainty surrounding the mid-term performance of bitcoin and most importantly, eliminated the possibility of a split chain by the end of 2017. As such, many analysts including Mayer, Max Keiser, and Tom Lee have predicted the bitcoin price to achieve the $8,000 mark by the end of this year.<p>According to a report by Nikkei, 4,500 large-scale stores and merchants already accept bitcoin as a payment method in Japan, including leading retailers, airlines, hotels, and even restaurants. That number is expected to increase by five-fold, to 25,000, by the end of 2017.