Crypto could be the future of currency. What you need to know before the future is today.
So you’re interested in Bitcoin. Seems reasonable, as it’s been nearly impossible to go a day without seeing some pretty impressive headlines regarding the once-obscure digital currencies’ performance in the last few years. Despite the popularity, most people still hesitate to jump in, largely because Bitcoin can get a bit dicey to pick apart the nuances of risk and reward. But, lucky you— it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s not only a number of easy ways to buy Bitcoin but there are also some pretty great (and fully reliable) reports that can help you brush up on your Bitcoin know-how.
Two of our favorites are easily Bitvavo’s newbie-friendly exchange and Bloomberg’s Galaxy Crypto Index. The latter publication is put out on the regular and is packed with important, but easy to understand, information on the subject. Regardless of your level of technological literacy, Bitcoin could be the investment you’re missing out on for no good reason at all.
The Depth of Bitcoin
Understanding crypto breaks down trade barriers, but it can also serve to help you better understand market behavior and the realm of finance at large. It’s no secret that the retail investor has been flexing their monetary muscles lately— bringing about some big changes as far as the investment world is concerned. The best way to get in on this underground revolution? Through Bitcoin and crypto, of course.
Cryptocurrencies are more than just speculative assets and digital currencies. Many of them represent hugely disruptive technologies that are actively shaping the future of financial systems all over the world. Their decentralized nature means that more people have access to this particular realm of finance, no longer relegated to just the elite. Moreover, cryptos also represent different types of technologies that exist outside the financial realm, as far-reaching as data management systems and the Internet of Things.
Which, if most experts are to be believed, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies should be the internet of future technologies, where adoption will be near-ubiquitous worldwide by 2030. This “hockey stick” style adoption graph is expected to be similar to the adoption graph that was seen by the internet, where initial adoption was slow, but absolutely skyrocketed by 2000– and is now present in nearly every home around the world.
Crypto Index
This is why it’s important to understand how these tokens work now. Not just from a financial point of view, but also from a functional one. Using a crypto index does more than just give an investor insight into the behavior of the market, but instead also helps to demystify the functionality of digital currency. The applications of cryptocurrencies are exceptionally widespread, more than just money, these tokens can be used to denote value to any number of items. Things like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and wrapped bitcoin are both prime examples of how digital tokens can come to mean more to our economy than just a way to move around cash.
Using a crypto index to navigate the space gives insight into these types of crypto by comparing them to Bitcoin. In the latest issue of Bloomberg’s Index, the publication discusses Bitcoin’s performance when weighted against Ethereum— another important platform for any crypto-aficionado to be aware of. This is large because Ethereum not only correlates strongly with the more publically popular Bitcoin, but it also provides much of the functional support for financial tools and Defi (Decentralized Finance).
The latest index suggests that Bitcoin investors should still maintain a bullish outlook in the future, as volatility and retraction patterns still closely mimic those of Bitcoins past. Which could suggest that the coin could approach $400,000 in years to come. Should these patterns persist, and we continue to see Bitcoin functioning similarly to gold in traditional markets, it could signal a maturation of the entire crypto market. With safe-haven investments like Bitcoin backing more novel technology investments like Ethereum and Ripple.
Investing Better
With a number of traditional investment firms— like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Fidelity— beginning to open up investment channels in crypto, coupled with payment and remittance systems getting on board as well, crypto is posited to seamlessly transition into the commonality and legacy convention nicely. As these institutional investors pave the on-ramps for retail investors and everyday users, burgeoning technologies and new-purpose-built Altcoins are creating a space for general use cases.
Coins like Tether represent crypto that could genuinely be used as currency, as its value— like other stable coins— is “tethered” to an existing currency. Making it simpler to use cryptos for microtransactions and day-to-day payments. As you can see, the entire crypto market as a whole is rapidly evolving to resemble legacy financial systems— only without costly transaction and conversion fees, and in all reality, much safer than the institutions we’re used to.
Because of this growing pattern curiously similar to the systems we’re all used to, it is easy to see why cryptocurrencies are in such high demand. It’s also apparent that they are, without question, carving out a spot as the future of currency as we know it. This is exactly why it’s important to familiarize yourself with the functionality of this new technology now— whether you plan on being an early adopter or not.
