Is cryptocurrency here to stay? Many financial experts seem to think so. According to a new report, roughly 70 percent of executives in the finance industry think digital assets have left a permanent mark on the monetary space.
A Little Price History
Cryptocurrencies continue to be a serious topic of debate, both in and out of the financial arena. While entities like bitcoin have been around for roughly ten years, they are still considered birthing technologies, and are prone to serious price swings thanks to their vulnerability to outside news trends, market fluctuations and manipulation.
Survey of 141 financial executives regarding the future of cryptocurrency in the industry, Image from Forbes
Last December, bitcoin reached an all-time high of nearly $20,000 and left many early crypto investors feeling like they had made the right choice. The news surrounding the currency caused several members of the public to move hell and high water to enter the crypto space for fear of missing out on potential gains. As a result, exchanges like Coinbase saw their user base increase by hundreds of thousands of new accounts, and it seemed set in stone that bitcoin and competing tokens were the way to go.
Things Come Crashing Down
But then, something strange happened. Come January 2018, bitcoin began to experience heavy drops. The currency fell by $2,000, sometimes $3,000 at a time, and now, the once-so-prominent asset is trading for just over $6,000. That means the currency has fallen by nearly $14,000 in just under one year. It’s sad, it’s obnoxious, it’s downright depressing…
But more than anything, it’s scary. Many investors who rushed to the BTC space without doing their research learned the hard way that investing without proper knowledge and education is never a good idea. Recently, we published a story regarding what people have lost, and how much they’ve been affected. There are several people around the world that simply put too much, or in rare cases, all they had, into what they thought was the future of finance, and now, they have little to nothing to show for their efforts.
In addition, reports have been uncovered that suggest bitcoin was potentially tied to the stable coin Tether, which has often claimed to be tied to USD. It is alleged that Tether was often used to purchase bitcoin during 2017 whenever the price fell. This, in turn, tied bitcoin to Tether, and pushed its price further with every purchase. This has been classified as grade-A manipulation, and now organizations like the SEC are investigating the claims.
Crypto Still Remains Popular
As one can see, there’s a lot of concern surrounding the crypto market and how vulnerable it is, but many financial executives state digital money isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. A report issued by the consulting firm Greenwich Associates shows that approximately 70 percent of surveyed financial analysts believe cryptocurrency has a solid place in the finance industry. Approximately 141 institutional investment executives took part in the study, and well over 100 agree that cryptocurrency will never disappear.
If anything, they all agree that a regulatory framework regarding how bitcoin and cryptocurrencies should be used and monitored needs to be developed as soon as possible. However, they state that the cryptocurrency market is swelling with innovation, which in turn will just lead to more growth. Once this occurs, such a framework is as good as built.
What About the Rest of the Participants?
Ten percent of those surveyed believe certain currencies possess more stamina and prowess than others. They expect that several smaller altcoins will disappear over time, while a small handful will thrive and eventually become global currencies utilized by people everywhere.
Another ten percent expect cryptocurrencies to remain what they call “fringe assets.” In other words, they’ll never become mainstream, but people will continue to view them as money-making opportunities, while a final ten percent of executives believe regulation will put a stop to the market altogether.
1 Comment
Rather than:
“Crypto Not Going Anywhere soon”
I think you probably mean:
“Crypto Not Going Away anytime soon”.