To Buy or Not to Buy Bitcoin, Mullings on the Cryptocurrency Markets

Billionaire investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet has always been vocal about how much he distrusts Bitcoin. In fact, one could surmise that he despises the general cryptocurrency market and the people who participates in the market. When Bitcoin was trading around $130 in 2013; he noted that “of our $49 billion, we haven’t moved any to bitcoin.” Bitcoin surged all the way to $19,000 by the end of 2017 but Buffet is still convinced that Bitcoin is on par with the Tulip craze.

Earlier this year, the famed investor called Bitcoin “rat poison squared” and his long-time deputy Charlie Munger noted that he had “no confidence whatsoever” in the cryptocurrency. In the year-to-date period, Bitcoin has suffered a massive decline of 54% and the market cap of the entire cryptocurrency market has been eroded by almost 60%. Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency industry is largely confident that the current weakness is a necessary process in the evolution of the market. 

Wall Street can only ignore cryptocurrencies for so long

Wall Street is still looking at Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under the clouded lens of skepticism, but the industry continues to forge ahead. To begin with, recent developments such as the introduction of Bitcoin Euro trading pair will drive increased capital inflow for the cryptocurrency from Europe. Bitcoin and Ethereum are the two major gateways to the general cryptocurrency market – most altcoins don’t have fiat trading pairs yet. However, the fact Bitcoin was only tradable against the USD limits the range of availability. Now, investors can explore new opportunities to profit in cryptocurrencies based on socioeconomic happenings in Europe.

Secondly, the SEC recently ruled that Bitcoin and Ether are not securities –a decision that clears off a monumental layer of uncertainty over the general cryptocurrency markets. The markets have been in turmoil since news started filtering out that the SEC was mulling a decision to classify Bitcoin and Ether as securities. SEC Director of Corporate Finance William Hinman notes that “Putting aside the fundraising that accompanied the creation of Ether, based on my understanding of the present state of Ether, the Ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of Ether are not securities transactions.”

Thirdly, many investors consider the current weakness in cryptocurrencies an ideal opportunity to buy on the dip. Traders are always looking for chances to buy low and sell high but buying the dip could the potentially dangerous when the asset is yet to find a bottom where its support will hold. However, once the cryptocurrency finds a bottom, investors are optimistic that there will be a fast-paced rally back to winning ways.

Investors are still planning to hold crypto for the long term

An interesting infographic from Raconteur provides interesting insights into why people are buying cryptocurrencies and for how long they plan to hold their investments. A massive 41% of people buying Bitcoin believes that it is a world changing technology and 22% of investors believe that the cryptocurrency is a long-term store of value like silver or gold. Only 14% of Bitcoin investors are holding the cryptocurrency because they are speculating that its price will go higher.

In another research report by Houbi Research, findings revealed that only 16% if people invested in Bitcoin are planning to sell the cryptocurrency within the next one year. As much as 40% of investors plan to hodl the cryptocurrency over the next 3 years, 22% of investors want to hold the cryptocurrency for the next 6 years, and 22% of investors are planning to hold the cryptocurrency for up to ten years and beyond. The survey conducted in a test group of about 1800 cryptocurrency enthusiasts shows that 77% of investors believe that the value of the general cryptocurrency markets will soar by more than 30% over the next three years.