According to a report by Markets And Markets, the cryptocurrency market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.18 percent during 2019–2024, from $1.03 billion in 2019 to $1.40 billion in 2024. Additionally, bitcoin will probably hold the largest market share during the forecast period. The growth is attributed to high remittances in developing countries, transparency of distributed ledger technology, fluctuations in monetary regulations and growth in venture capital investments.
Cryptocurrency is a hot currency for investors, start-ups and established companies across the globe. Ever since the Supreme Court of India quashed 2018 circular that imposed a ban on banks from providing services to individuals and entities trading cryptocurrency, it brought various opportunities for overall cryptocurrency ecosystem in India and a subsequent increase in the volume of cryptocurrency transactions.
The Rapidly Popularizing Technology
Cryptocurrency started bcoming popular since the creation of bitcoin in 2009 but gained significant investor attention in 2013 when one bitcoin was trading at around $1,124 in November, according to Statista. Ever since then, the future of cryptocurrencies in general and bitcoin, in particular, has been a debatable topic. Though it has become a global phenomenon, much is still to be explored about this evolving technology. There are many concerns revolving around the technology and its potential to disrupt traditional financial systems. Will it eventually supersede conventional currencies and become as pervasive as Euros and Dollars someday? Or they will flame out before long?
How has Pandemic Impacted Crypto Currency?
The pandemic has shaken financial markets and economy all over the world, and cryptocurrencies are no exception. It has had a huge effect on its nascent industry which was already dealing with various issues, like liquidity and regulations. In late 2017, bitcoin experienced a meteoric rise and reached record highs when a single bitcoin was trading at approximately $20,000. However, prices soon started to drop and stabilise over next few years. In early 2020, the pandemic and instability in the financial markets pushed the price of bitcoin to $3,000 range.
While this did worse the situation in the initial months of its outbreak although the situation didn’t last too long and by this mid-November the bitcoin is being traded at around $16000 as many investors eventually found refuge in virtual currencies as traditional assets and share markets continue to experience upheaval because of the pandemic.
According to Statista, there were around 18.5 million bitcoins in circulation worldwide and its market capitalisation was approximately $200 billion in the third quarter of 2020. Crypto enthusiasts and investors continue to have different opinions on whether it is smart to invest in bitcoin after the pandemic as it is almost like a new start. There is a lot of ambiguity surrounding bitcoin even today.
What is foreseen?
Crypto coins’ future outlook remains ambigious. While some see the limitless potential, others see nothing but risk. However, there are several prominent applications where cryptocurrency is a viable solution. This includes cross-border payments, payments without third-party, advertising insights, cryptocurrency exchange, voting mechanism, original content creation, real estate processing platform, personal identity security, secure sharing of medical data, real-time IoT operating systems, supply chain and logistics monitoring, and anti-money laundering tracking system.
While crypto-evangelists rule over the financial media, Harvard University Professor of Economics and Public Policy and IMF’s chief economist from 2001–03, Kenneth Rogoff revealed in his 2018 The Guardian article that the “overwhelming sentiment” among crypto advocates is that the market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies could explode over the next five years, rising to $5–10tn.
Summing Up!
The crypto market is recovering and performing. While payment gateway companies are looking for integration with exchanges as they hope to drive volumes, exchanges are also looking for payment gateways to offer settlements via cards, net banking, wallets, and other digital payment modes.
Predicting the future of cryptocurrency is neither easy nor what interests investors more. What most investors want to know about is the right time to invest in crypto. Though there are different opinions on it, it is important to note that more than 99 percent of the investments into bitcoin in its time line of existence are in green.
This article was originally published at https://www.ceoinsightsindia.com/ceo-talks/how-investors-are-seeing-future-growth-in-the-trading-of-crypto-coins-nwid-4174.html on 01 December 2020.
