Bitcoin price hits new all-time high above $24,000 as institutions drive up demand
This week CryptoCompare data shows the price of Bitcoin (BTC) moved up from around $19,1000 at the start of the week to hit a new all-time high above $24,150 before enduring a correction that saw the flagship cryptocurrency’s price dip to $22,800 at press time.
Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, moved from $580 to a 4670 yearly high, far from its previous all-time high seen in January 2018 close to the $1,400 mark per token. As BTC’s price fell, so did that of ETH, which is now trading at $615, CryptoCompare data shows.
This week was marked by institutions moving into the cryptocurrency space and driving up demand, with U.K.-based Ruffer Investment confirming its exposure to bitcoin was £550 billion, equivalent to 2.7% of the firm’s assets under management. Based on rates at the time Ruffer confirmed its investment, its investment is worth nearly $744 million or roughly 45,000 BTC.
The firm’s investment was “primarily a protective move for portfolios” to “act as a hedge” against risks associated with a “fragile monetary system and distorted financial markets.”
One River Asset Management, a hedge fund specializing in volatility bets, has invested over $600 million into bitcoin, and committed to holding over $1 billion in both BTC and ETH by early 2021. The firm’s CEO, Eric Peters, said the firm is looking to seize on the growing interest in crypto among institutional investors.
One River reportedly bought bitcoin while wary of triggering a surge in the cryptocurrency’s price. It executed trades “as inconspicuously as possible” to build up its $600 million position in November, below $16,000 per BTC.
MicroStrategy, the Nasdaq-listed business intelligence firm that has invested over $475 million to buy 40,824 BTC, raised $650 million through the sale of convertible senior notes to keep on investing in bitcoin.
While institutional players keep entering the cryptocurrency space, San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase revealed it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO).
Coinbase is a leading cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2012 and it revealed it submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) The form will be made public after the SEC reviews and approves it. The IPO announcement did not reveal how the firm is looking to structure its offering
Coinbase is believed to be a profitable business despite the pressures of the turbulent cryptocurrency market. Data shows it raised over $540 million from venture capitalists, institutions, and prominent individuals, and was last valued at $8 billion.
Bitcoin Design and User Experience Receive Support
Square Crypto, the cryptocurrency-focused division of Square, has issued its 20th grant, supporting Portuguese software engineer Patricia Estevão, who works on BTC’s user experience. The designer is set to use the funding to research how people use Bitcoin and what hurdles may obstruct their use.
Estevão has been working on Bitcoin-related design since 2016. Her work, once concluded, will be moved to the Bitcoin Design Guide, an open-source community project that includes user experience and user interface design notes for developers, businesses, and anyone building on Bitcoin.
While the development of Bitcoin carries on, cryptocurrency investors have revealed they remain bullish. In a survey conducted by Genesis Mining, 17% of investors revealed they see BTC trade above $50,000 by 2030, while around 50% believe it will be above $20,000.
Most bullish investors said they expect the price of BTC to rise because of declining trust in alternative currencies, a major economic depression, or growing adoption. Those who felt Bitcoin’s price was going to drop based their answer on potential government-issued bans, or hype in the space potentially dying out.
As for ETH, over $1 billion worth of the cryptocurrency are now locked in the Ethereum 2.0 staking contract. The contract triggered the launch of the Beacon Chain, the first phase of development for Ethereum 2.0. Those with a minimum of 32 ETH can stake their funds to receive rewards for validating transactions on the network.
The Beacon Chain is a separate Ethereum network for now, and various cryptocurrency exchanges have already launched services letting users stake their ETH directly from their platforms.
Crypto AM: Market View in association with Ziglu
