Bitcoin investing offers exposure to the new asset class known as cryptocurrencies. Based on blockchain technology, the digital currency has many advantages as an investment, owing to its hyper-portable and decentralized profile.
The best known of the crypto assets, bitcoin isn’t a fiat currency stored in banks — many believe that gives the cryptocurrency leverage because it isn’t beholden to the vulnerabilities of national currencies. Furthermore, international transactions with digital currencies can be completed quickly and cheaply compared to traditional currency transactions.
While not quite on par with gold, some analysts have posited bitcoin investment as an emerging safe-haven asset — a more secure place for investors to park their wealth in the midst of an economic storm. Bitcoin’s popularity soared from 2016 to 2017, when its price skyrocketed from around US$570 in August 2016 to about US$4,765 in August 2017.
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In 2020, the digital currency’s price rose by about 300 percent over 12-month-period, closing out the year at just over US$29,000. The bitcoin price continued its bull run into 2021, reaching its highest point for the year so far in April, hitting US$64,863.
But others are hesitant to give bitcoin safe-haven status given the digital currency’s vulnerability to scams and deep price plunges, most recently alongside sliding stocks in 2020.
Given these factors, why invest in bitcoin? Here the Investing News Network breaks down the essentials, including what the market currently looks like and its future outlook.
Why invest in bitcoin?: The regulatory landscape
While bitcoin’s safe-haven status is still up for debate, its high-risk potential is not. In the early days of bitcoin trading, the alternative currency faced resistance from governments around the world. In 2014, the US Internal Revenue Service took action to discourage the use of bitcoin, ruling that “general tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency.” Ultimately, the fluctuating value of bitcoin could trigger capital gains tax for consumers.
As bitcoin has gained popularity with investors, government regulatory agencies such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have made moves to curb that propensity for risk. In July 2017, the SEC ruled that initial coin offerings should be regulated and subject to federal laws.
In early August 2021, the SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said the agency will regulate cryptocurrency markets to the maximum extent possible under its current authority. Gensler also called on Congress to grant the SEC more scope and resources to oversee this market. “We just don’t have enough investor protection in crypto. Frankly, at this time, it’s more like the Wild West,” he said.
Other US government agencies — including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Federal Trade Commission — have weighed in on cryptocurrencies, but few formal regulations have been enacted. According to Global Legal Insights:
“Generally speaking, Federal agencies and policymakers have praised the technology as being an important part of the U.S.’s future infrastructure and the need for the U.S. to maintain a leading role in its development. While there are still some skeptical of the technology’s promise, many policymakers have publicly acknowledged the risk of over-regulation. Others have cautioned lawmakers from passing legislation that would drive investment in the technology overseas.”
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At the state level in the US, the government approach to regulating cryptocurrencies is mixed. Some state legislators have taken a pro-crypto stance. For example, Wyoming, which has gained notoriety as “the most crypto-friendly jurisdiction in the country,” has exempted digital assets from property taxation, while in 2018 Ohio became the first state to allow its citizens to pay their taxes in bitcoin.
On the flip side, Global Legal Insights reports that states such as California and New Mexico have warned against cryptocurrency investing, with New York going so far as to pass highly restrictive laws that resulted in some crypto companies bailing on the state.
China’s response to bitcoin and other digital assets as alternative currencies has been to outright ban initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency exchanges, though it is still not illegal to hold, buy or sell cryptocurrencies. In stark contrast to China, Japan officially recognized bitcoin as a method of payment in April 2017, pushing the digital currency’s valuation up over the US$1 billion mark. However, the Japanese government recently instituted changes to tighten its regulations. Statistics from seventeen cryptocurrency exchanges released in July 2021 has shown that there are upwards of 3.5 million active digital currency investors in Japan.
How the regulatory landscape for bitcoin will be shaped in the future remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure. “Crypto and regulation are strange bedfellows,” said Daniel Masters, chairman of CoinShares, a digital asset investment firm, and former global head of energy trading for JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM). “To get anything regulated in crypto, you have to push a very heavy ball up a very tall hill.”
The US Congress is considering taking on that feat with the consideration of cryptocurrency tax as part of the infrastructure bill.
Why invest in bitcoin?: Price activity
Bitcoin reached its first all-time high on November 29, 2013, when it was valued at US$1,137. Since then, it has experienced various highs and lows. In 2017, bitcoin’s price rose more than fivefold, jumping from US$997 in January to US$5,013 by September 1.
If you’re still asking yourself, “Why invest in bitcoin?” perhaps consider this — as the cryptocurrency’s price has risen over the last couple of years, bitcoin has begun rivaling traditional safe-haven assets such as gold and silver. Bitcoin first surged ahead of the gold price for the first time ever in March 2017, trading at US$1,268, while the precious metal‘s price was US$1,233 an ounce.
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In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, after starting 2020 at US$1,519 per ounce, gold had its biggest safe-haven moment in years, breaking all-time highs by trading up over the US$2,000 level. The bitcoin price was up over US$11,200 at that time after trading at US$7,152 at the start of the year. When the price of Bitcoin zoomed past the US$64,000 level in April 2021, gold was down about US$270 from its most recent record high.
No wonder there are analysts who think the fundamentals are bullishly in favor of stronger bitcoin prices in the months and years ahead.
Why invest in bitcoin?: Market outlook
Moving forward, there are certainly a growing number of opportunities in bitcoin. There are those who genuinely believe in the potential of bitcoin to become a major currency or an inflation hedge.
Capital.com reports that the outlook for the Bitcoin market remains bullish, citing information from Fidelity Digital Assets, Wallet Investor and Digitalcoin. In its 2021 Institutional Investor Digital Assets Study, Fidelity Digital Assets found that 71 percent of institutional investors “expect to buy or invest in digital assets in the future,” while more than 90 percent of that group “expect to have an allocation in their institution’s or clients’ portfolios within the next five years.”
Wallet Investor forecasts the bitcoin price will average US$52,322.10 by the end of 2021 and rising further in 2022 to pass its record high and reach US$79,090 by the end of 2022. The algorithm-based site also sees bitcoin prices averaging US$171,665 in five years. For its part, Digitalcoin forecasts an average price of US$62,351.23 in 2021 and US$80,860.00 in 2023, before rallying to US$122,201.98 by 2025 and US$184,933.09 by 2028.
But bitcoin is not without its naysayers. One of the most influential is Warren Buffet, who has repeatedly flat out said he would never own one single bitcoin. Most recently, the Oracle of Omaha said buying bitcoin “is not investing,” but rather “speculating.”
The Investing News Network is interested in hearing your opinion on bitcoin investing, as well as whether or not you’re ready to invest in bitcoin. Let us know in the comments.
This is an updated version of an article originally published on the Investing News Network in 2015.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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