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With the price of bitcoin being on a tear since the Black Thursday crash, more retailers and institutions are adopting the number one crypto as a viable investment option.
Fear of Currency Devaluation Push Investors to Bitcoin
According to the Swiss publication Blick on Monday (Jan. 11, 2021), the recent spike in Bitcoin price comes as a result of growing interest from the institutional sector. Compared to previous years, more companies turn to the flagship cryptocurrency to serve as a hedge against inflation.
Following the Black Thursday crash that occurred on March 11, 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Bitcoin’s price has witnessed an upward trend. BTC first broke past its 2017 all-time high (ATH) figure to set a new ATH back in December 2017. Since then, the price of the crypto asset has been on the rise, recently reaching a new ATH above $40,000.
Meanwhile, there are a number of factors causing Bitcoin’s bull rally, with the major factor being institutional investment. Bitcoin has witnessed the influx of “big money”, with company behemoths such as Microstrategy, Guggenheim, Ruffer Investment, as well as wealthy individuals like Paul Tudor and Stanley Druckenmiller investing in BTC.
Also, the dovish policies adopted by world leaders have caused investors to seek better alternatives, according to Adriel Jost, managing director at investment advisor firm WPuls. Jost noted that investors are concerned about the continuous money printing by Central banks following the COVID-19 outbreak, which could cause a devaluation of the sovereign currencies.
The WPuls executive said:
“Skepticism about traditional currencies is growing worldwide…The governments finance the economy with the freshly squeezed money through the crisis.”
In order to protect against an economic crisis, investors seek options like bitcoin, because of its decentralized nature.
However, while cryptocurrency is becoming popular and socially acceptable among investors, fraudsters are also aiming to steal from unsuspecting victims. Governments and regulatory bodies globally have warned against putting their funds in investment schemes that advertise hyperbolic returns.
As earlier reported by BTCManager, the UK regulatory watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued such a warning. According to the FCA, customers should be mindful of firms that offer investment in cryptocurrency with high returns. Such investment was risky and could cause the customer to lose funds.