Why has Bitcoin increased in value so much?
Bitcoin has always been an interesting currency. Ever since its inception, it has raised so many questions regarding this digital-only coin, and generally, these questions have always been negative in their approach, as the skepticism towards this currency is quite large. Ever since 2017, it has been gathering steam, only to drop off last year. It was making a slow resurgence before the covid outbreak halted the progress and stopped it dead.
Surprisingly, Bitcoin managed to make huge rises since its yearly lowest in March hitting the value of $4000 and is now making large strides to almost beat it’s all-time high of $19783. It has in fact beaten this value on Monday 30th November, reaching the incredible amount of $19864. A staggering part of this rise in value is attributed to October; and here are some reasons as to why this makes sense.
Bitcoin can now be bought on PayPal. The world’s most popular e-wallet service, serving over 300 million accounts worldwide, can now be used to buy Bitcoin.
In a statement made on October 21st, a mere month ago, PayPal announced that all eligible accounts in the US can now purchase, sell and hold this currency directly with the e-wallet website. This will drive prices of Bitcoin upwards because of three factors.
The first one is obviously that Bitcoin is much more accessible now. PayPal has become a daily part of many lives now, with people making purchases and transfers through the website as much as their internet banking. With the current pandemic PayPal is also the safest option as remote transfers are even recommended in this situation.
Another factor stemming from Bitcoin being available on PayPal is the fear of missing out. Many people will see bitcoin’s rise in value as too appealing to give up in fear of seeing the currency reaching new heights in the new year, so they will rush to their e-wallet and purchase some stock in Bitcoin.
This will not necessarily mean that the people investing will get their return back, but what is sure is that Bitcoin will grow stronger. This will lead to the third factor of this price rise, which is increased demand.
Seeing how many people will now be willing to purchase bitcoin will make sellers raise their price and in turn the whole of bitcoin will be valued higher. This causes an upwards spiral which rises quickly in the beginning but begins to stagnate and reach a peak to this growth.
Another potential reason for this sudden rise is the institutional interest. Many big institutions are considering buying into Bitcoin because of this steady rise since March, and with forecasts predicting it breaking the $20,000 very soon, it is a no-brainer that large companies will be more willing to invest in this currency.
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the first publicly quoted bitcoin investment vehicle, is attracting interest mainly also because investors are testing the possibility of bitcoin actually being an alternative to investing in gold.
This would have incredible results on the rise of bitcoin, as this will surely drive price upwards, and not by a small amount. Having bitcoin as backup instead of gold is by no means appealing to everyone, as a digital currency based on nothing but a computer and trust will still bring doubts in people’s minds, but similarly to PayPal and online wallet services, the money being transferred is still digital and intangible, much like bitcoin.
The final reason why Bitcoin is doing so well? More and more businesses are accepting it as a form of currency to purchase their goods. You can even use sportsbooks to cash out your earnings in BTC, meaning not only do you get to jump in on the currency trend, but your winnings could go up after cashing out if the value of the cryptocurrency rises thereafter.
And that is why more and more companies are dealing with it, because what you may pay one day for a certain product, the value that you have handed over to them could be worth $1000 more in a matter of months down the line. It really is a sound investment. Although, there is always the risk its value could go down too.
Bitcoin has taken the world by storm when it first surfaced, and many people were unsure of what it would turn out to be. It disappeared a little from the radar when it stabilized in value, but now that it is soaring so high, it is back in people’s minds. It is definitely worth taking notice of Bitcoin, and maybe even investing in it.
