The crypto markets have seen a huge surge in value, and participants buying and trading coins, in the last few weeks. Most notably, Bitcoin (BTC) has broken its record high of $30,000. This bullish trend has been highly anticipated for months now, with online trading providers such in heated competition to draw in more traders. Popular on-chain analyst Willy Woo, previously stated that the price of Bitcoin hitting $1 million, is a possibility, and recently announced: “My Top Model suggesting $200K per BTC by end of 2021 looks conservative, $300K not out of the question.”
2020 has been the most pivotal year for BTC, with contract for difference (CFD) traders playing a large role in its upwards movement. What’s more, with its price currently hovering around the $23,000-mark, belief in BTC and the crypto market as a whole has grown to the point where it can now be considered an almost unstoppable force. Continue reading to see recent developments in the market, our crypto round up, and a look towards 2021 and beyond, to see what lies ahead.
Recent Developments in Crypto
One of the biggest changes for Bitcoin this year, is the rapid adoption of the currency by big institutions. Gone are the days where BTC is viewed as a speculative, small-time player in the financial community, as large investors are piling into the asset class, looking to diversify their risk away from traditional allocations.
An example of this is Mass Mutual, a 169-year-old life insurance fund, who have chosen to invest $100 million into Bitcoin. The amount invested is partly irrelevant, but the fact that this type of investor, who is typically tasked with capital preservation and steady growth, has chosen to invest regardless of the volatility of the crypto market, shows they are trying to match future liabilities with cash flows. It also shows that there is currently a global mass adoption of crypto currencies, even by massive insurance or pension funds.
Another worthy mention is that the company CoinBase is set to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This is essentially crowdsourcing the public for investments in order to expand. On 17th December, Coinbase announced that the firm has sent its draft registration for a public offering to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with the company stating that:
“The Form S1 is expected to become effective after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.”
This shows that they are setting themselves up for major growth in the next few months and years. This IPO will generate funds in order to help them to focus on business developments such as global expansion in the form of: listing of additional cryptocurrencies and application development.
A Look Towards the Future
Many investors and traders are viewing this recent bullish trend of BTC as only the beginning. There is speculation around the crypto market regarding how high the value of BTC can go, with some suggesting that it could skyrocket towards $100,000. It could be said, that given the extremely advancing market trend BTC has shown over the years, reaching this bench mark will take only a matter of time.
There has been a clear increase in market volatility, with a massive lean away from fiat currencies and traditional banking practices. And with this, financial regulators will look to further control the crypto markets with the enforcement of KYC validations for wallets, and further restrictions to manage the growth of the market. The next couple of years will be very important for cryptocurrencies to establish themselves as a viable alternative to fiat currencies – through crypto CFD trading – or linking alongside them, giving people more choice regarding their finances.
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