What Is Behind The Bitcoin Hype?

Twelve years ago, Bitcoin only existed as a philosophical research paper that detailed the workings of a new type of digital currency. In fact, until only a few years ago, most people outside the immediate tech sphere had only heard its name in passing. And those that had any familiarity would often dismiss the technology, claiming it was “internet money” for geeks or those looking to employ get-rich-quick schemes.

However, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies for that matter, have come a long way since then. It has been the hot topic of discussion for quite some time now, making headlines every other day. You’ll find stories on the crypto market in almost every major finance or tech publication today.

Experts are curious. They can’t seem to stop talking about Bitcoin and the potential future of the crypto market and they’re not wrong as the sentiment seems to have surrounded potential investors, traders, skeptics, and speculators.

Bitcoin has been successful in garnering tremendous enthusiasm over the last year recording record growth. But many still seem confused by this sudden rise in popularity and value of this cryptocurrency.

The Crypto Buzz 

The crypto space is mostly unregulated which may have turned many away from dealing in these virtual currencies. But at the same time, its unregulated nature has also allowed investors to deal in and trade as they wish with cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, and other coins, enjoy a decentralized network for the operation which essentially means that no third parties such as banks and government, can interfere with transactions. This also leads to lower transaction costs. Such qualities have made Bitcoin quite popular in recent years.

Another appeal among crypto fans is the idea of Bitcoin potentially being a hedge against inflation. Other currencies suffer when, for example, more money is printed, diluting the pool and weakening its value. Bitcoin gets around the inflation problem by capping its supply at 21 million coins. At the moment, roughly 18 million Bitcoins are already in circulation. However, there are a million few missing as their owners no longer have access to them as they have lost their private keys.

Due to the scarce nature of Bitcoin and the process of halving, it is able to retain its value despite the economic conditions. Bitcoin’s price surge over the last year, while the values of other assets plunged as the pandemic hit, has helped push this narrative further with many corporate and financial profiles getting in on the action. Other than Bitcoin, a number of other cryptocurrencies have observed a surge in value as well.

It took a while but many institutional investors seem to be on board with the idea of adding this risky asset to their portfolios. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, is at the forefront of this crypto battle ever since he declared plans of his company taking up $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin back in February. Recently, Tesla has also allowed its customers to use Bitcoins as a payment method for any of its cars.

Many financial behemoths such as PayPal, Square, and MasterCard have also announced plans to allow their users to deal in cryptocurrency. By making such decisions, they have greatly helped validate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies which have only helped fuel the crypto frenzy further.

BNY Mellon, which is America’s oldest bank, has also stepped up with plans of dabbling into Bitcoin. Not only has that but the $8 trillion asset manager, BlackRock, also dipped its toes into the crypto sea, allowing two of its funds to invest in Bitcoin futures. Another major firm, MicroStrategy that is a business analytics and mobility platform, has also taken major steps in the crypto space by actively $425 million worth of Bitcoins.

Such developments in Bitcoin adoption have created waves in the crypto space sparked widespread speculation and discussion over the mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin. This has also pushed many other major companies and investors, that were once skeptical, to jump aboard the crypto bandwagon.

Moreover, the availability of crypto trading platforms and tools has also greatly attracted the attention of many small-scale and novice investors looking to win big. Tools, such as bitql, offering auto-trading services have proved to be a safe haven for many new traders. These make use of powerful technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning (DL) that take relevant decisions on your behalf so you don’t have to spend countless hours analyzing the markets.

Together, all these factors, have been pushing both the popularity as well the value of Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies to all-time highs. Currently, Bitcoin stands over $60,000 and analysts predict it is only expected to rise higher in the coming months as the speculative rally gathers further strength.