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- Bitcoin hit a low of around $5000 (R76735.75) in March and then gained $28,000
- Volatile market, increasing interest of institutional investors will see mayhem in the crypto market
- As bitcoin is showing the bullish trend, it continues to be volatile and bring good for the traders
Volatile market, cryptocurrency regulations being streamlined, and most importantly, institutional investors’ continued interest is most evident in cryptocurrency in 2021.
The prediction by Luno fibroblast year that Bitcoin will soon shine in the market without a hitch. Also, the industry has matured as institutional investors showed interest in the market. Last year was a litmus test for bitcoin as it hit a low of around $5000 (R76735.75) in March and then gained $28,000. Now 2021 is following suit, and the prices have already touched $40,000.
Institutional investors growing interest
The growing interest of institutional investors and many companies like MicroStrategy, Mode, Square, etc. moving high percentages of their cash reserves in bitcoin to hedge against the inflationary potential of fiat currency.
Small family businesses, corporations, institutional investors are all eyeing bitcoin to diversify their portfolios. While the number is smaller than the traditional market, it is evident that institutional investments will grow rapidly.
Although the price movement is quite significant, yet mainstream adoption will grow steadily in 2021. Many important players are increasing their investment and interest in cryptocurrency. The retail market will also show the signs of improvement vis-a-vis booming crypto assets, greater media attention, and easy access for everyone.
As the market shows a bullish trend, the institutional investors base also increases. They are moving closer to users’ critical mass for the crypto payments and other use cases to develop.
Diem Launch
Last year, Facebook announced that Libra is going to be the next level in the cryptocurrency market. It made a big buzz when it launched in 2019, but it was relatively low in 2020. Significant changes were made to its intended offering, including a rebranding to Diem.
This project is driven by some of the world’s major companies, namely Uber, Spotify, PayU, and Andreessen Horowitz. As it passes, Diem could attract another wave of large companies wanting to get into the market and issuing their coins.
US administration stance on crypto
Not only this, but the US government also seems to be positive about the crypto market. President Joe Biden’s administration has also shown interest in cryptocurrency, which is a positive side for the traders. Janey Yellen, Treasury Secretary from Biden’s administration, is not a fan of bitcoin. But given that institutional investors are investing huge money in the market, the legislation allowed banks to hold bitcoin on behalf of their clients in 2020. There is likely to be a pushback from Wall Street that may make any bearish position challenging to maintain.
Several senators from US states are optimistic about crypto and have their interest in the market. It will now be interesting to see if other countries will follow suit with the US market interest.
Regulations are important
As far as the regulations are concerned in cryptocurrency since the market is maturing, the regulators are also accelerating their efforts to regulate the cryptocurrencies. South African Reserve Bank has proposed the regulations and the FSCA announced the draft declaration of crypto assets as a financial product. The country is trying to make any person dealing intermediary services in crypto assets will be an authorized financial service provider.
The Luno predicts the guidelines will be amended or made internationally, which will come into effect in 2021. Most central banks have been looking to regularize the central bank’s digital currencies and talking with each other. Many of them are in the research phase or further along. Luno has been working closely with regulators globally and in South Africa since its inception.
A huge transition is seen in Ethereum. The first phase of Ethereum 2.0 launched in December 2020. This might have been a huge flux for Ethereum, but this will open opportunities for other currencies with the same offerings. This rapid transformation has helped the coin to become a globally usable ecosystem for companies in all sectors and industries.
Even though the pandemic had hit the economy hard, bitcoin performed very well in the market and outperformed gold and other stocks and shares. Bitcoin has recorded new all-time highs and weeks of growth, but the market has also hit hard in 2021. Luno has the opinion that bitcoin will play an important role and use the money judiciously in the future.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
