- Bitcoin has morphed from scam to financial safe haven for institutions in a matter of months
- This shift in attitude has been accelerated by worldwide fiscal stimulus programmes
- Institutions are finally taking the time to learn about Bitcoin rather than dismissing it
The past twelve months have been something of a whirlwind for cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin in particular. The entire ecosystem was mocked and belittled for the 2017 bubble and the scams that existed within it, some of which it deserved some of which it didn’t, but three years later we have the same banks, hedge funds, and influential individuals from the traditional finance world actively proselytizing Bitcoin. What has brought about this change in mindset?
Institutions Finally Learning About Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s propulsion from asset of ridicule to institutional safe haven has largely come about due to the actions of governments in engaging in rampant money printing as a reaction to the coronavirus pandemic. Their actions, which have the potential to further dilute the value of their respective fiat currencies, have caused financial institutions to run to alternative non-correlated assets such as silver and gold, only this time Bitcoin has joined them.
The reason why Bitcoin has suddenly been seen to mature into an in-demand asset alongside previous metals is because, after over a decade of ignoring or belittling it, institutions are for the first time actually learning about it. They have put their prejudices aside and actually taken the time to understand what it is that makes Bitcoin so different and so special and as a result they have decided what Satoshi Nakamoto knew all those years ago – that Bitcoin can act as the ultimate hedge to a collapsing fiat system.
New Technologies Take Time
It’s no surprise Bitcoin has taken so long to catch on. Any new technology undergoes a trial by fire on its release to see if it has legs or it’s just a flash in the pan – for every cell phone there’s a Segway. In 2008 Bitcoin was ushering in not just a new technological concept but a financial revolution at the same time, so it’s hardly a surprise that banks, or the average person on the street for that matter, were reluctant to look at it in any serious manner.
As animals we fear what we don’t understand, and Bitcoin and blockchain were so new and revolutionary that it’s no surprise that anyone other than enthusiasts were willing to engage and to learn about it. 12 years later and we finally seem to be making progress, with those who once spurned it now taking the time to look past the headlines and educate themselves on it.
Bitcoin’s Conversion Rate Bodes Well
It is no surprise that most of those who are now coming round to Bitcoin have done so because they have finally decided to educate themselves on its core principles and benefits rather than simply bashing it, with some admitting to have been openly oppositional in its early days. By just surviving for as long as it has Bitcoin has given itself a platform for greatness, which it finally seems to be building from, and it is finally being seen for what it is – a genuine financial revolution.
