Bitcoin is here to stay as everyone from institutional asset managers to SMSFs invest in the crypto currency.
That’s the view of BTC Markets chief executive Caroline Bowler, who took part in FINSIA’s first podcast of 2021.
With Bitcoin and ethereum up by 300% and 450% respectively during 2020, InFinance talked to the CEO of Australia's largest cryptocurrency exchange, which has 300,000 users who have traded more than $12 billion since it was founded in 2013.
For Caroline, the trend is set to continue.
“Data has shown that 77% of mined Bitcoin is not moving. Investors are going out there, buying Bitcoin, and they're holding onto it,” she said
“They're viewing this as a longer-term investment strategy.”
While the stocks are still incredibly volatile, Caroline says an increasing amount of institutional inflow will stabilise the, as has been pointed out by Goldman Sachs.
“I think that's something that we're going to see more of through 2021 and beyond, that kind of increasing institutional inflow.
“It’s simply a matter of time. The infrastructure is being built up rapidly, we're seeing larger players leading into the market.
“Even just this week, BlackRock, the asset manager, holder of $7 trillion, has come out and said that they're looking to accrue BTC futures into funds that they're looking to roll out.
“When you've got asset managers of that size and that importance to the market coming out and indicating an interest in looking at exposure to the asset class, it goes back to the point of it's just a matter.”
Caroline also highlights the fact new US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says crypto can help the economy and that major insurer MassMutual had placed $100million in Bitcoin.
But who are the investors here in Australia?
"We're seeing that shift in demographic of what was once considered, I suppose, the Crypto Bro,” she said.
“These young men who are here were kind of just throwing cash around. That demographic is absolutely shifting as we're seeing an older investor coming in.
“We saw in 2020, a fivefold increase in the number of SMSFs that are coming on board through our exchange.
“That different type of investor profile either on the hunt for a return, or looking for risk exposure, or just trying to get a foot in perhaps to understand a bit more about the different types of coins and tokens that are available, and they're all coming into the market.”
Look out for the full podcast with Caroline coming soon.
