However, with most investors still speculating on the future growth prospects of the assets, Tom Jessop thinks Bitcoin has the chance to become an alternative store of value.
Over a decade ago, Bitcoin developers released the initial whitepaper that has been a great foundation for many digital assets. Among the primary functions of Bitcoin highlighted by the developers in the whitepaper was to act as a store of value, with capabilities of easy transactions.
However, Tom Jessop, Head of Fidelity Digital Assets (FDAS), thinks the asset has some features that question its potential store of value. “We use the words ‘potential store of value’ as bitcoin is still extremely volatile, and by any standard perhaps would not achieve the mantle of a true store of value,” Jessop explained.
However, with most investors still speculating on the future growth prospects of the assets, Jessop thinks Bitcoin has the chance to become an alternative store of value.
Bitcoin as a Store of Value
Bitcoin as a store of value has been debated over the past decade, but intensified over the past few months, particularly at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The intrinsic value has been questioned and qualitatively analyzed by institutional investors seeking to venture into the industry.
Apparently, Bitcoin store of value has significantly shifted from its utility to a speculative asset since 2017. This is because it might be cheaper to send money through visa payment than Bitcoin due to high fees. Moreover, Bitcoin is not favorable for transactions during a high volatility market as the waiting time significantly increases.
A significant portion of investors is scared of investing in Bitcoin due to fear of market dumping from whale investors that would crash the price. This is opposite to Gold, as one is assured that it is accepted as an asset globally and its store of value has been tested over many years.
Whether one could exchange Bitcoin anywhere, anytime around the world, still remain under different regulations and its adoption. Scholars have argued that Bitcoin will remain to be the overall asset, however other digital assets will overhaul Bitcoin in their utility.
The disagreements have resulted in the forking as observed with Bitcoin Cash. Former US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) chairman, Jay Clayton, was quoted saying that Bitcoin is a payment mechanism and a “store of value.”
As the demand for Bitcoin and other digital assets increases by the day, fueled by institutional investors, the volatility is expected to rise even more. Bitcoin is trading less than 3% from its all-time high, thus high stakes on whether it will breakout or retrace before continuing with the rally. Therefore making the asset more volatile than ever before.
According to the metrics provided by CoinGecko, Bitcoin was trading around $19,370.13, up 0.7% in the past 24 hours. The asset has jumped over 38% in the last 30 days and is now up 13% in the last seven days.
A financial analyst who sees positive income in both directions of the market (bulls & bears). Bitcoin is my crypto safe haven, free from government conspiracies.
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