The year 2020 turned out to be exceptional in more ways than one. The breakout of the pandemic, bushfires in Australia, restrictions on global travel, and the novel concept of quarantine and lockdown – we have seen them all in 2020. The economic meltdown across the globe was also one of the significant aspects that started in 2020 and continuing this year unabatedly.
However, there is a glimmer of hope coming in the form of the rising value of digital assets. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has achieved new scales of growth in 2021, with the month of March witnessing Bitcoin breaking through $61k – which is its all-time high value since inception. Subsequently, price correction took place, and the coin is hovering around $56k as of the press time.
According to cryptocurrency experts, the value of Bitcoin could reach the level of $100k by the end of this year. Although the digital coin has to break through the resistance level to achieve such a rare feat, given the conditions of economic uncertainty, debasement of fiat currencies, and fear of inflation, this can help Bitcoin keep on with its ascent. With many large corporate houses such as Tesla, Microsoft, and AT&T, pledging support for the coin is also likely to help Bitcoin prices in the coming months.
In the latest wave of support, Goldman Sachs has now come up with a trading option for investors in which non-deliverable forwards can be used for the trading process. This derivative is specifically tied to the price of Bitcoin. To protect itself from the digital asset’s volatility, Goldman Sachs will transact Bitcoin futures on CME Group Inc. These transactions will be done in blocks, and this facility was introduced by the bank to investors in April last month.
As far as the sentiments of investors towards Bitcoin are concerned, these are largely positive in nature. Most investors believe that economic uncertainty unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic will continue to wreak havoc on businesses. In such a situation, Bitcoin and other digital currencies are their best bet to hedge against any devaluation of their investment. Barring few skeptics, the growth and momentum seem positive and is expected to benefit Bitcoin and other digital coins in the coming months.
That said, the concerns about the regulation and protection of investors involved in the trading of Bitcoin and other digital currencies are also very significant. Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a regulatory body in the US, Gary Gensler, submitted to the lawmakers that there was a lack of provisions that could protect the interest of investors when it comes to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Without getting into the issue of whether the regulatory agency is mulling to approve Bitcoin as an exchange-traded fund or not, Gary emphasized that more provisions are needed to protect investors’ interest in investing in digital currencies.
Overall, Bitcoin is likely to continue its march forward and is expected to remain the preferred choice of investors worldwide.
