2017 and 2021 – both have been momentous years for bitcoin investors worldwide. Reaching the all-time peak of $41,500 on 8th January, the cryptocurrency has once again strengthened the trust of investors, and the wave has become so strong to reach the gallery of regulators and legislators demanding a formal regulation.
PCEX Member, the leading crypto exchange platform, outlines the difference between the two bull runs of the highly valued cryptocurrency.
Gambling Vs Decent Investment Idea
In 2017, the bull run of bitcoin from a value below USD1000 to USD17000 was historic, but at that time the masses had little trust in its framework and classes maintained a distance from it. The capital in bitcoin was believed to be pumped by gamblers, drug peddlers, or similar people who were involved in illicit trades. They just found bitcoin as a way to blind the regulators to run their trades surreptitiously. The common people who thought of bitcoin investment were only interested in its short-term gain as they wanted to become overnight millionaires. There was no faith in bitcoin’s favor as a long-term investment instrument.
2021 saw a phenomenal change! Now masses and classes both have started to take bitcoin seriously as a professional investment instrument. Despite COVID-19 and the resulting economic crisis, bitcoin didn’t lose its charm. According to Bitcoin, the number of bitcoin wallet users increased from below 46.415 million (March 09 2016) to 69.204 million. In just one year, the number of addresses on the bitcoin increased from 508 million (April 2016) to 806 million. The curiosity and excitement of investors have become part of social media as well. The number of bitcoin-related groups on Reddit has seen a consistent rise in the number of members.
Retail Vs Institutional
In 2017, bitcoin, primarily, has retail investors as its takers. Institutional investors were not doing it as confidently and openly as they do it today.
The 2021 bull run is driven by institutional investors. You will be surprised to know that around 36% of the crypto asset is held by just 800 institutional investors, according to Fidelity. From MicroStrategy and Grayscale to JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Tesla, and Evertas, the list of institutional bitcoin investors is growing like anything. Messari, a leading crypto research firm, claims that more than 81,000 BTC belongs to “the treasuries of publicly traded companies.”
The number of institutional investors in cryptocurrency is expected to reach $1 million by 2025, and it’s beyond doubt, what would be their preferred coin. It doesn’t need an answer as of now.
Virtual to Real-World Transaction
In 2017, the thought of ordering a burger or pizza was purely supernatural. The trading was confined to the digital world only, and there were no use-cases in the real world. Things have changed nowadays. You can use bitcoin as a payment option to not just order food and beverages but also an electric car. Spendabit lists millions of products, all available for purchase with bitcoins. BitcoinWide.com also lists businesses, organizations or individuals who accept bitcoin or altcoin. The announcement of the top electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla, of accepting bitcoin as a payment method for its products, has given a fresh impetus to the bitcoin endeavor. All these are likely to take bitcoin to the next height. Cheers!
Best crypto exchanges to invest in BTC in India
BTC is the dominant cryptocurrency of all exchanges. From PCEX Member to Bybit, to Kraken, Bitfinex, and KuCoin, everywhere you can buy and sell BTC. However, the selection of a trading platform based on the assessment of its pros and cons is crucial.
If you are in India and want to build a healthy investment portfolio with bitcoin trading, PCEX Member could be the best option because of its lowest transaction fee. It levies a flat transaction fee of 0.3% for Spot and Futures Trading. Unlike others, it doesn’t have any maker and taker fee. The platform has a smaller lot size, that said, the lot fills faster and you do not have to wait long. The exchange keeps a strong vigil on spoofing or price manipulation to safeguard your investment from fake traders.