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The domain of cryptocurrencies has often been an elusive concept for most people, including investors and market speculators. No amount of predictions, calculations or educated guesses could foretell how a certain cryptocurrency would fare in the near future. However, all that said, investors still put their faith in these digital currencies because of their potential and promises of a bright parallel financial universe. Cryptocurrencies have gained a lot of traction and momentum ever since the first currency was launched about two decades ago. However, they have also seen major fluctuations in their values and market share.
Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency to be launched, has always enjoyed massive popularity among investors and market experts, and has paved the way for the introduction of several other cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Ethereum. However, even with a hoard of new cryptocurrencies on the market, Bitcoin still enjoys immense popularity among investors and speculators. In fact, the pandemic has shown how much hold Bitcoin still has on the financial market. This digital currency has reached new all-time highs, though the rise was not always very steady. Having said that, let us now check and investigate where exactly we are headed with cryptocurrencies. However, before we get into that discussion, here are a few things that you must know about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Some Key Takeaways
In this section of the article, we shall discuss a few takeaways of all that we have learned about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies so that we could go into the next sections of the article with better understanding and knowledge.
- All these different cryptocurrencies have become a new class of assets and have been promising high returns on investment since the last decade.
- The market shares of Bitcoin rose to about $20,000 in the first half of 2018 and then fell to $3,000 with the rest of the cryptocurrency market.
- However, the years 2019-2020 proved themselves to be brilliant years for cryptocurrencies as they enjoyed a high recovery rate. Bitcoin strengthened and rose above $15,000.
- 2020 has also witnessed several new developments in regards to the usage of cryptocurrency in the domains of ETF and institutional interest.
- The usage of cryptocurrencies has also increased manifold in the online gaming industry ever since people found themselves in a lockdown situation. For instance, online gambling sites are now more open and flexible to transacting in different cryptocurrencies.
Now that we have spoken about the different ways in which cryptocurrencies have penetrated almost every sector of our lives, let us look at a few developments in the crypto space and try to understand where we are headed with these digital currencies.
More Institutional Investors Have Jumped on the Crypto Bandwagon
As we already mentioned earlier in the article, investors have a lot of faith in the domain of cryptocurrencies. This is because though the market for cryptocurrencies is quite volatile, there is always immense opportunity to enjoy the myriad benefits of investing in this space. Plus, institutional investors make room for large trading volumes as compared to individual investors. To break it down into simpler words, even if there are a few trading partners, institutional trading can help the industry stay afloat. In fact, there are several projects lined up for the upcoming years that make generous use of cryptocurrencies. These projects could be the game changers of the crypto market, and bring in more investors to invest in this rising and popular domain.
Online Gaming Websites Are Now More Open to Cryptocurrency Transactions
More and more gaming websites are now accepting cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency gaming and gambling sites allow players to log in from any corner of the world, and any time they deem fit. However, this is true for other online gaming sites as well. The catch here is that playing on the crypto gambling and gaming sites is safer because of the transparency in the transactions. These sites run on the principles of blockchain technology that make it easy to keep a record of every transaction. Plus, the transactions being anonymous and immutable, playing on these sites is safer than the other traditional gaming sites. Also, the transactions are super quick since there are no third parties intervening to oversee the transactions. These are a few reasons why online gaming and gambling sites like https://www.slotsformoney.com/casinos/us/virginia/ have started resorting to these currencies.
Approval of Cryptocurrencies a Mainstream Bitcoin ETF Might Be Underway
Crypto enthusiasts have always waited for the day when a digital currency ETF would be made available to investors. However, due to several factors and lack thereof, the idea could never take off and materialize into reality. Investors and market experts believe that the approval of the Bitcoin ETF could provide a major thrust to the domain of digital currency. This is because mainstream Bitcoin ETF could allow more investors to buy and sell these digital tokens without running significant risks. Though we are yet to see how much of this idea would materialize into reality, it can be stated with some assurance that Bitcoin ETF might set several projects rolling in 2021 and transform the face of the cryptocurrency space.
Stablecoins Might Lead the Cryptocurrencies Industry in 2021:
Another development that we are expected to witness this year is that of Stablecoins taking the lead. These are digital tokens that fill in as hedging mechanisms and are pegged to a fiat currency. This hedging mechanism act as a cushion against the decline in the collateral prices of the underlying cryptocurrencies. There are two main reasons why Stablecoins might witness a sharp growth—the first being a result of the instability that rises from non-centralized tokens, and the second being, the potential dethroning of Tether. A hoard of Stablecoins has also been introduced in the industry, which is all set to wrench away the hold that Tether had over the industry.
FAQ:
1. What is cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is a digital currency secured by cryptography, independent of central control. Bitcoin is the most well-known example.
2. How does cryptocurrency work?
Transactions are recorded on a public ledger called the blockchain through encryption techniques. Coins are earned through mining or purchased.
3. What are the most popular cryptocurrencies?
In addition to Bitcoin, others include Ethereum, Tether, BNB, USD Coin, Solana, Cardano, XRP, and Terra.
4. How do you buy and sell cryptocurrency?
Through crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, or brokerages. Many support credit card/bank purchases.
5. What are the potential uses of cryptocurrency?
As an investment/store of value for payments in decentralized applications, smart contracts, supply chain management, and more.
Summing Up
While one cannot say which digital currencies shall enjoy a decent market share or rise in their values, it can be asserted that cryptocurrencies are here to stay. The points that we discussed in this article are a few of the many trends that we might observe this year. 2021 looks like the perfect year to invest in cryptocurrencies. Therefore, you might as well watch out for these trends and invest wisely!
