By now, everyone in the cryptocurrency fold has heard or read about the Bitcoin bull that took place in December last year. Those who adopted Bitcoin early and saw its potential have been waiting to see a year like last year for over a decade. Bitcoin’s recent rise in value might conjuncture up terrifying images of the crash that took place in 2017 and the decreasing of value that took place in March last year as a result of COVID-19. Even though Bitcoin has become the world’s most valuable digital currency, and shows a 225% increase year-on-year, the bull currently being experienced is nothing like what was seen in 2017, and here’s why.

Institutional Investors

Bitcoin is no longer just for the young and tech-savvy millennial anymore. Governments, major corporations, and central banks are no longer able to ignore its value in a world that is continuously becoming more digital. This is why a few noteworthy investments last year by major backers of Bitcoin dominated headlines in December and changed the game. A publically traded firm, called MicroStrategy, owns around 38,250 BTC which is worth almost $640 million. Besides the major investment trusts, no other corporation or company owns more Bitcoin than MicroStrategy. Another company, Square, has also invested around $50 million in digital currency. However, what is moreinteresting than the investment is the news that PayPal and Square have been purchasing around 70% of all the newly minted Bitcoin that are entering circulation. These two gateways are individually creating a massive windfall for Bitcoin capitalization.

Recognition from Central Banks and Governments

While investors, programmers, developers, and professors have all been investing in Bitcoin with platforms visit yuanpaygroup.org, entire countries have finally begun to decipher the writing on the wall. The European Union, Canada, China, and Russia are already hard at work on their central bank cryptocurrencies and have been publishing documents that outline their intentions to do so. The shift from conventional currencies such as cash and credit cards has been considered the next natural step for the world economy, especially as payment technologies continue to develop and advance. However, crypto enthusiasts are well aware that a digital currency that is built on a blockchain belonging to a central bank will not provide the same safety and anonymity that could be experienced with decentralized technology.

Investors in Developing Countries Expect Revolution

While online search engines are seeing a lot of traffic relating to Bitcoin, there are developing countries in the world that are counting on a BTC revolution. The two developing countries with the highest search volumes are currently South Africa and Nigeria. What might surprise many is that the increase in searches does not just lead to more research but also more capital eventually flowing into the space. There have even been indications that the purchase volumes in countries such as South Africa, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Indonesia have tripled among retail investors. Since investors can no longer rely on the economy, residents of these countries have decided to put their cash into a venture which promises a brighter future.