Bitcoin has had a strong start to 2017 with the trend looking strong enough to break the all-time high set in 2013. 2016 has been a positive year for the cryptocurrency with the currency showing an increase of $460 during the year. Most investors have resorted to use this digital asset as a portfolio diversifier and it has proved out to be a winning gamble. Fundamentally this was a well thought out move and it payed off with good dividends. But the question lingering in the minds of many Bitcoin enthusiasts and investors is how these strategies and Bitcoin would fare in 2017. Let’s look into few reasons why we believe Bitcoin would continue to weather the terrain to outperform assets:
China and the East step up the game:
China has always been a major price and volume driver for Bitcoin. The Yuan trading volumes observed a major uptick towards the year end owing to the Chinese Government’s announcement of imposing capital controls over Bitcoin. While this might happen sometime late this year, people are now actively moving funds out of the country at a very quick pace. This avalanche might last for a good amount of time into 2017.
With Japan abolishing sales tax on Bitcoin, South Korea encouraging Bitcoin and Blockchain accelerators and India’s demonization prompting for a cashless Indian society, the contributing prospects from the east only look stronger.
Eurozone’s loss would be Bitcoin’s gain:
The staggering effect of Brexit this year was evident when the European markets collapsed while Bitcoin soared mid-year to trigger a bull run. This quick transfer of funds into a digital unrelated asset has been the defining aspect of 2016’s Bitcoin Bull Run. In the face of Geo-Political crisis Bitcoin has replaced Gold as the safe hedge. With Eurozone still wobbly with impending debt and banking bail outs, cryptocurrencies seem to be a safer option for investing and hedging.
With Italian banking bail outs, Spain’s growing recession, ongoing crisis in Greece and post effects of Brexit, 2017 would see heavy activity in Bitcoin owing to the European continent.
USA’s growing adoption levels and the Trump factor:
The regulation of cryptocurrencies has been a hot topic in the US senate in 2016 and has seen some implementation in major states. With Trump’s policies aligned with major changes required to accelerate Fintech industry, adoption might reach higher levels in 2017. With thoughtful regulation and strong backing, mainstream adoption looks very viable in USA which would drive prices significantly in 2017.
Summing up, 2017 looks very positive for Bitcoin and Blockchain with the cryptocurrency all set to reach new levels of penetration.