A few years ago, most people you asked didn't even know what cryptocurrency was. Today the original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is now becoming one of the most popular investment assets in America.
In recent times, Bitcoin has overtaken gold as the most common safe haven asset and store of value among not only experts and individual traders, but institutions like the Fortune 500 US company.
Microstrategy, an early adopter, put millions into its own BTC reserves, triggering headlines that acted as a further catalyst for buy-in sentiments.
Bitcoin is popular on the American Main street, too, as shown in a recent study by bitflyer where researchers found that 82% of Americans have investments in financial assets, and 76% have a positive view of Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
It’s clear that, with so many Bitcoin millionaires and billionaires already on record, the average American is looking more seriously at getting into the game.
Even the oracle of Omaha himself, who has been cool on crypto in the past, has seen his analysts at Berkshire Hathaway suggest some crypto-related asset holdings to combine with his massive portfolio of equities like Coca-cola and Apple.
Bitcoin Values
One of the biggest reasons for the common Americans hunger for Bitcoin is simple – it's directly tied to the actual value of the coins themselves.
As the grand scheme of anonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi unraveled over the years, with Blockchain miner reward halvings and more, Bitcoin's value kept climbing.
It hit a peak of $20,000 in 2017, but then deflated back to much lower values. However, late in 2020, the coin’s value started to spiral up.
A few months ago, analysts were seeing Bitcoin untethered from the equities market, and there was some sentiment that it might remain tied to the price of gold per ounce.
Today, with Bitcoin's price towering above what it used to be, there's the widespread sentiment that the coin only gains from fears about the equities market and the downsides of investing in precious metals, for example, lack of convenient storage (or, alternately, the derivative nature of metals ETFs.)
On-Ramps and Infrastructure
At the same time, it's never been easier for Americans to own Bitcoin in various forms. Bitcoin ATMs are common on American streets. Companies like Grayscale are offering accessible Bitcoin-backed financial brokerage assets.
PayPal has even integrated Bitcoin buying into its platform. It's that easy for Americans to get access to what has become a super-popular financial investment with some big returns in the past.
The bitflyer study reveals more about the American psychology on Bitcoin and how it differs from that of investors in Japan, where high net worth individuals tend to be more risk-averse and more likely to hold onto the Japanese yen, rather than convert it into cryptocurrencies.
It's an interesting look into the rationale of the American investor and how they feel about the proliferation of cryptocurrencies as they become assimilated into the world economy. It’s likely that we’ll see a lot more BTC enthusiasm stateside through this year and beyond.
