It has been an incredible run for the world’s flagship cryptocurrency. While a horrible bearish run of 2018 still in the rear view, accompanied by some serious backlash against crypto, it’s safe to say 2019 is turning out to be a great year for bitcoin. The past six months alone have seen the price per single unit of bitcoin more than double.
The $10,000 mark is now within range for the first time since 2017. Investors are now asking how far the Bull Run will go. Many also want to know if it’s a good time to invest.
From 0 To 100 And Back
In the world of crypto, the only certainty is uncertainty. You cannot underestimate the volatility of the crypto prices. Fortunes are created overnight, and crashes are more severe and sudden than you can imagine. For instance, in 2017, bitcoin prices went from $1000 to $20000 over the year. And by the end of 2018, they plummeted to over $3000.
Bitcoin As A Store Of Value
Virtual currency trade is very speculative and still relies on some vague assumptions. Barely anyone uses bitcoin as a currency, even after its recent rally. A study by Chainalaysis, a blockchain research firm based in New York has established that less than 2% of blockchain activity is from merchant transactions.
It has been ten years with a few bull markets in between since bitcoin was marketed as a medium of payment. It may be time to embrace the notion that it is not. Rather, Bitcoin serves well as a store of value. Bitcoin is the digital version of gold as a long term buy and hold investment.
Bitcoin And Gold Similarities
When you use gold as the benchmark, it could help investors judge the true potential of bitcoin. Gold has a global market estimation of $3 trillion. This is larger than the British stock market and Canada’s economy. Bitcoin trades at under 4.7% of gold’s market value, which means there is plenty of room for growth.
Bitcoin like gold has a cottage industry of independent miners globally. HIVE blockchain technology is one of the companies and is listed in Canada.
The company operates two server farms that power the underlying network bitcoin. The two server farms in Iceland and Sweden solve complex mathematical puzzles to verify transactions flowing through the network. The award is freshly minted bitcoins. Part of the portions of the newly created bitcoin goes to proceeds in server expansions, the rest to diversified portfolio crypto.
As per HIVE’s latest filings, crypto reserves are worth more than $3.75 million and most were held in the second largest crypto- Ethereum (ETH). Since the publication, the value of Ethereum has doubled. Hence it’s fair to say HIVE has $7.5 million on liquid assets.
The reserve and mining model is a better way for investors to get rich quick. In case the worst happens, and the market crumbles, then at least HIVE is worth more than $0 in liquidation. But when cryptocurrencies explode, then HIVE could be essentially a millionaire maker.
Bitcoin as aforementioned had plenty of room to grow and create value. HIVE as a listed and regulated stock is the best proxy for investors who don’t want to invest in cryptocurrencies directly.