One of the biggest obstacles bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is penetration among long-term investors. For myriad reasons, ownership of digital currencies is nowhere close to ownership of stocks and bonds, particularly among long-term investors.
Recent data indicate bitcoin ownership is increasingly evenly split among short-term speculators and market participants willing to hold the largest digital currency for long periods of time.
“Since December 2017, the amount of Bitcoin held by day traders has risen to 5.1 mln BTC, almost equaling the amount held by long-term investors — those who have held the coins for more than a year — which equals about 6 mln BTC, in what has been called Bitcoin’s ‘liquidity event,’” reports CoinTelegraph.
The all-time high for bitcoin is around $20,000, which was seen in December 2017. In recent weeks, there have been plenty of calls for the cryptocurrency to return to those record highs and beyond. Still, bitcoin has some technical issues to deal with. A move below $7,000 could send bitcoin to $5,000. Bitcoin was trading around $6,744 on Monday.
Where’s The Interest?
Last week, several media reports highlighted dropping Internet searches for bitcoin and other cryptocurrency terms. Those declines correspond with price declines as do volumes across some major crypto exchanges. Another issue is that a significant chunk of bitcoin is owned by a small number of investors.
“Of the roughly 17 mln Bitcoin available, the data shows that, as of April 2018, around 1,600 Bitcoin wallets hold at least 1,000 bitcoins each, equalling almost 5 mln BTC and accounting for almost a third of all Bitcoin in circulation,” according to CoinTelegraph.
Bitcoin does not lack for supporters as there have been plenty of bullish calls on the cryptocurrency in recent weeks. Some crypto market observers have opined bitcoin could reach new highs this year, but those are just projections.
“The data from Chainalysis raises questions concerning manipulation of crypto markets by a small number of investors. While institutions have begun carving out a share of the market, many believe that the future of Bitcoin will depend on which approach regulators take,” reports CoinTelegraph.
For more information on the cryptocurrency market, visit our Bitcoin category.