5 months ago • 2 mins
What’s going on here?
Bitcoin stirred up some serious excitement last week, and hungry investors sent the crypto’s price above $30,000 for the first time since April.
What does this mean?Deciphering the whys and wherefores of crypto price movements can feel a bit like trying to read tea leaves sometimes. But last week a few key events might have sparked a fresh love affair with the OG cryptocurrency. First off, BlackRock – the world’s biggest investment manager – sought regulators’ approval to launch an exchange-traded fund tracking bitcoin’s current price (as opposed to its future price). And there was another juicy move: the uber-powerful trio of Charles Schwab, investment firm Fidelity, and hedge fund Citadel unveiled a new crypto exchange, designed to serve big institutions rather than everyday retail investors.
Why should I care?
For markets: Bitcoin’s making good on a long-promised boon.
The idea of high-rolling firms embracing bitcoin has always been a key part of its investor appeal. You see, if these heavy-hitters start pouring billions into bitcoin, demand could spike and trigger a price hike for the crypto’s limited supply of 21 million coins. That kind of prospect becomes even more important when you consider recent research showing that bitcoin isn’t really used for day-to-day transactions – which could mean that big firms will play an even greater role in shoring up the market.
The bigger picture: Bidding adieu to anonymity.
Sure, the old guard of finance wading into crypto waters could spur broader adoption and give prices a boost. But remember, these traditional players are bound by tighter rules than many digital newcomers – and that might force them to centralize and strip anonymity from transactions, flying in the face of core crypto beliefs. And with crypto natives Binance and Coinbase in regulators’ crosshairs now, the former financial Wild West could soon seem a whole lot tamer.
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