Undoubtedly, Bitcoin has gone through several ups and downs in the year 2021. From the point where Bitcoin witnessed record-breaking prices to the point where this cryptocurrency experienced a severe downfall, everything proved challenging for investors and enthusiasts. As a result, the elongated lists of Bitcoin’s stories and events have made it the most popular asset globally.
List Of Bitcoin Stories in 2021
Hefty Investment by Elon Musk
In the year 2021, CEO Elon Musk made the biggest investment of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. Additionally, the company was also observed filing with US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for accelerating its plan to accept digital currency as a payment alternative.
Guess what, with this announcement from Tesla, the price of Bitcoin reached its highest valuation of $44,000 for the first time. While refining the statement in the later Tweet the CEO has confirmed that companies intend to use Bitcoin for transactions once the mining transitions to sustainable energy requirements.
Addition of Bitcoin to Reserves
While addressing the potential of Bitcoin for over the decade and widespread institutional adoption of the cryptocurrency, the global companies have taken a step forward towards welcoming Bitcoin into their ecosystem. Recently, MasterCard and Bank of New York Mellon have shown green flags for validating digital assets.
On the other hand, the NASDAQ-listed Marathon Patent Group has also initiated buying $150 million worth of Bitcoin for the company’s treasury reserves. Besides this, companies like WeWork, Substack, AXA, etc have begun accepting Bitcoin as the mode of payment.
Regulations for Bitcoin
Lawmakers and regulators across the globe have been sincerely scrutinizing the possibilities and problems with Bitcoin and other digital assets. The countries like China, Iraq, Algeria, and Egypt ended up banning Bitcoin whereas the other countries like the US; India, Paraguay, Canada, etc have shown hopeful signs toward crypto regulation.
Thus, the crypto regulatory framework has become the hottest debate across the globe for which the fundamental structure is believed to be furnished in the upcoming year, 2022. But so far several banks in the US have already allowed customers to buy, hold, and sell Bitcoin through the existing accounts, says crypto custody firm, NYDIG.
Bitcoin over Gold
According to the reports of Chain analysis, India has observed the greatest in its investment taste, from Gold to Bitcoin. On average, Indian households own more than 25,000 tones of gold, but the investment in crypto grew from $ 200 million to $ 40 billion in merely a year. Another report from Crypto Research and Intelligence Business (CREBACO) suggests that to date 15 million Indians have adopted crypto and invested closely 10 billion dollars in the Crypto assets. As a result, the reports suggest that Bitcoin is seen as equivalent to digital gold among the breed of the world’s biggest holders of precious metal.
El Salvador makes Bitcoin legal
While the big cities and countries still find it challenging to address the full potential of Bitcoin, the smallest coastal country in Central America has made it legal. Yes, El Salvador has announced Bitcoin as legal tender along with the launch of the Chivo wallet to increase financial inclusion in the country.
Since 70% of the population of the country still relies on an informal economy and does not have bank accounts, this step can certainly accelerate their financial journey. Furthermore, El Salvador plans to build an entire city based on Bitcoin near Conchagua Volcano to make efficient use of geothermal energy for both cryptocurrency mining and powering the city too. There are several other such Bitcoin mining pilot programs running across the country keeping in mind the foreign investment in mind.
Approval for Bitcoin’s ETFs
In 2017, Bitcoin’s bull market gave rise to the launch of Bitcoin futures contracts from CBOE and CME. The events brought new exposure to the digital asset by paving the way toward institutional adoption of the cryptocurrency. As a result, today investors are able to buy, sell, or hold Bitcoin through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
During the first quarter of 2021, Canada observed the debut of two known funds – Purpose Bitcoin ETF and Evolve ETF. The former accumulated more than $1.3 billion in less than two months whereas the latter stands in its evolving phase. Not just this, Fidelity Canada has also brought spot Bitcoin ETF to life for attracting more investors to the digital assets market.
Final Words
With the lot happening in the Bitcoin world with the healthy association of large corporations, venture capital, and institutional adoption, Bitcoin seems to rule future finances. Yet the regulations are awaited to create a transparent impression of Bitcoin, its scope, and its utilities.
