Jack Dorsey, the chief executive officer of Square, Inc. (NYSE:SQ) and Twitter Inc. (NYSE:TWTR), believes bitcoin can become the world’s single currency, but adds the largest digital currency is not yet at that dominant perch.
“Despite recent weakness in the value of bitcoin and concerns that it cannot currently process transactions fast or cheaply enough to act as a currency, Mr Dorsey, who is chief executive of both Twitter and the payments company Square, believes that bitcoin will overcome these obstacles and will be used to buy everyday items such as coffee,” reports The Times of London.
Bitcoin futures debuted on the Cboe in December, followed by a launch on the CME. Nasdaq Inc. is still considering entering the bitcoin futures competition. Market observers previously expected Nasdaq to launch futures on the digital currency this year, perhaps as early as the second quarter. However, margin requirements for bitcoin futures are high, potentially keeping many investors out of the bitcoin futures arena.
Additionally, data suggest the penetration of digital currencies in the investment community is low as only a small number of Americans are currently invested in this asset class. After bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrencies are Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. However, there is some appetite for digital currency investments.
Cryptocurrency Survey Finds People Like Idea of Bitcoin
In a survey with over 800 respondents deVere clients from the U.S, the UK, Australia, the UAE, Qatar, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Germany and South Africa revealed whether or not they would include cryptocurrency in their portfolio.
The survey showed that 6 out of 10 people with currently no exposure to cryptocurrencies would consider including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin into their investment portfolios and that 7 out of 10 people who do hold cryptocurrencies are planning to increase their exposure in the next 12 months.
“In less than a decade, bitcoin has rapidly evolved from being an object of fringe interest into a globally traded asset with a derivatives product on the world’s largest futures market. The cryptocurrency surged from less than $1,000 at the start of last year to a record above $19,000 in December. Bitcoin was trading just above $9,000 Wednesday morning,” according to CNBC.
For more information on the cryptocurrency, visit our Bitcoin category.