Grayscale investigation links COVID-19 pandemic to new Bitcoin purchases



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As the price of Bitcoin rises towards $ 18,000 and traders attempt to set a new all-time high, the wave of institutional investors jumping on the Bitcoin (BTC) bandwagon continues.

This time around, institutional and retail investors are both keen to rack up Bitcoin, and data from crypto derivatives markets shows institutional investors are pushing Bitcoin volumes to new highs.

Volume of BTC futures contracts per exchange. Source: digital asset data

According to research from Grayscale Investments, a digital asset management company that currently has more than $ 9.8 billion in assets under management, the coronavirus pandemic could be a major driver of the current Bitcoin rally.

According to the company’s annual survey, 83% of all Bitcoin investors started in the past 12 months, a time when COVID-19 infections were minimal.

38% of all current Bitcoin investors surveyed have joined in the past four months, and of these, 63% say the economic disruption caused by COVID-19 has positively influenced their decision to buy BTC.

Bitcoin becomes mainstream

Grayscale’s survey also shows that Bitcoin is increasingly common among the general public and the investor class. The outlook for those who have not yet invested in Bitcoin has changed significantly since 2019. In 2020, 55% of investors surveyed expressed interest in acquiring Bitcoin, a substantial increase from 36% in 2019.

Almost half of survey participants believe cryptocurrencies will be considered a mainstream medium of exchange by the end of the decade.

The trend for investors to be drawn to Bitcoin’s store of value narrative is likely to increase, and mainstream adoption may occur sooner than most pundits and investors expect. . Minimal evidence of this comes from a recent report from Citibank, in which the author estimates that the price of Bitcoin could reach $ 318,000 by December 2021.