Bitcoin topped $23,000 per token on Thursday, having only surpassed the $20,000 milestone for the first time on Wednesday. This is mainly due to numerous global renowned investors, institutions putting their weight behind Bitcoin, say experts. In INR terms, players in India believe the bitcoin price may go upto ₹1 crore in the short term. “In the short term, for the year 202 the price range could be between ₹50 lakh- ₹1 crore owing to the Bitcoin halving and growing global institutional demand,” says Sumit Gupta, CEO and co-founder of CoinDCX.
"$100k is a ridiculously low target at the current trajectory," onchain analyst Willy Woo said. #Bitcoin #Crypto https://t.co/fANI2G3dJI
— Bitcoin.com News (@BTCTN) December 17, 2020
Crypto retail investors' portfolio is performing better than traditional financial investors.#TryCrypto
— Sumit Gupta (CoinDCX) (@smtgpt) December 17, 2020
It took roughly three long years to break and reach higher highs for Bitcoin. Those who hold their beliefs and their conviction in #Bitcoin and continue to either build crypto space or even HODL throughout.
You are the real hero. #TryCrypto
— Sumit Gupta (CoinDCX) (@smtgpt) December 17, 2020
Tumbling records come after a storming rally that began in late October. Bitcoin has rallied over 100% since the start of October and is up around 180% across 2020.
“In a period where bonds are yielding negative rates, big banks having the audacity to pay negligible interest and charge for even basic bank accounts it is no wonder more and more people are looking to store some of their money in cryptocurrencies,” said Yang Li, chief growth officer of crypto company Ziglu.
The rally has coincided with increased institutional interest in the cryptocurrency.
Square (SQ), Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s payment company, invested $50m in bitcoin in October. That same month rival PayPal (PYPL) said it would allow customers to buy and hold crypto through its app. Square has let people buy crypto through its Cash app since 2018 and said last month 80% of Cash’s third quarter revenue came from bitcoin trading.
Traditional finance players have been getting into the market alongside tech companies. High profile hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones bought bitcoin in May as a hedge against inflation. It marked one of the highest-profile endorsements of bitcoin from a traditional money manager
Others have followed since then. A fund manager survey by Bank of America, published this week, found that going long bitcoin was one of the most crowded trades in finance. 15% of fund managers who responded to the survey had taken this position, making it the third most popular trade.
“While a lot of scepticism still surrounds cryptocurrencies, some in the investment community appear to have warmed to them,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. “This appears to be what is helping to drive the current move higher.”
The latest institution to climb on the bitcoin train is London-based Ruffer Investment Management, which has £20bn of assets under management. The firm on Wednesday said its Multi-Strategies Fund had put 2.5% of its assets in bitcoin.
“We see this as a small but potent insurance policy against the continuing devaluation of the world’s major currencies,” management said in a statement.
