A survey carried out by ( JPMorgan Click here ) suggested that cryptocurrency assets are not just a bubble but something that will be around for the long term. In all the surveyed firms, around 11 percent of them traded or invested in cryptocurrency assets.
There was increased confidence in crypto investments among the survey respondents, with approximately 7 percent of them saying that crypto is set to become one of the biggest assets in the coming years.
Various industries are already embracing cryptocurrency as a payment mode of convenience. The casino industry, one of the fastest-growing industries in the world today, is unveiling new crypto casinos. As time goes by, BTC crypto gambling is getting into the mainstream, and most gamblers appreciate the benefits that come with it.
Around 3,400 investors drawn from 1,500 institutions were surveyed by JPMorgan. The figures do not favour crypto just yet, as 89 percent of the respondents said that their firms did not support the cryptocurrency market, but more than 22 percent of them pointed out that their respective companies were looking into venturing into crypto assets in future.
Digital currencies are currently capped at almost $2 trillion, representing almost a double surge since the turn of the year. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, is valued at upwards of $50,000, enjoying a market cap of $930 billion, or 60 percent of the total market cap of all crypto assets.
Is Cryptocurrency a Good Investment?
You can make a lot of money from crypto investments, but you can lose all the money at the same time. The truth of the matter is, like many other investments, there are vast potential rewards and risks involved.
If you want to be exposed directly to the demand for digital currency and the supported projects, then cryptocurrency is a viable investment.
Safety of cryptocurrency as an investment
The crypto market is associated with certain risks that may not be prevalent in other traditional asset markets like stocks and bonds. They have been subject to criticism following high profile hacks and other criminal activities. Breaches in security have caused investors huge losses through digital currencies getting stolen for good.
As it stands, it is difficult to store cryptocurrencies as they are in bonds or store stocks. Popular exchanges like Coinbase make it easy for investors to buy or sell crypto assets in the form of bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital currencies, but still, many people are reluctant to keep their assets due to the risks of theft and cyber-attack.
Some prefer hardware or paper wallets, also known as "cold storage", to store their digital assets. However, this system presents its own challenges – you risk losing your private keys, making it impossible to access your digital money.
Additionally, competition is fierce, and the risk of cryptocurrency investment not succeeding is also a threat. Currently, there are so many blockchain projects, and there are ever-increasing chances that regulators could strike and crackdown on the blossoming industry. With some governments already viewing cryptocurrency as a threat to existing investments rather than an innovative technology, we could be set for more challenging times.
On the flip side, the blockchain industry is stabilizing every day. Stakeholders are building financial infrastructures such as futures markets and institutional-grade custody services. That gives individual investors and other professionals the essential tools for managing and safeguarding their crypto assets. Big brands like PayPal have opened up for crypto investment and have facilitated buying and selling cryptocurrency on their platform.
MicroStrategy and Square, some of the world's biggest corporations, have invested huge sums of money in digital assets. Only recently, Tesla bought bitcoin worth $1.5 billion and announced plans to accept bitcoin as payment for electric cars. That means these companies are clear about cryptocurrency's potential and are confident that committing billions of dollars in crypto assets is a safe investment.
Investing in crypto assets for the long-term
Achieving wide-scale adoption will be the ultimate measure of whether cryptocurrency asset investment is a viable option.
At the moment, bitcoin is viewed as one of the most profitable investments. Unlike fiat currencies that can be printed and generated at will, bitcoin has a limited supply of not more than 21 million coins. Capping supply makes it a scarce asset that can only appreciate as fiat currencies depreciate. There is also a widespread belief that bitcoin could eventually become an extensive digital form of cash. Others dare suggest that it could potentially become the first global currency.
Meanwhile, Ethereum comes with another promise – to serve as a global computing platform. It presents the epitome of decentralization, where no single organization reserves the right of control. It allows the use of smart contracts, where terms are written directly into a generated code and can be executed automatically.
If the aims of bitcoin and Ethereum can be achieved globally, then investing in crypto assets could be the investment of the future. That does not disregard the presence of other projects currently competing with cryptocurrencies, and there are no guarantees of success by any means.