Bitcoin resumed its push higher Friday, on track to snap a two-week slide amid rising optimism of growing demand from institutional investors.
Eric Peters of One River Asset Management told Bloomberg that his hedge fund’s holdings of digital assets has exceeded US$1 billion ($1.33 billion), adding that institutional adoption of crypto assets -- which played a large role in Bitcoin’s rally this past year -- is only expanding. Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio called the coin “one hell of an invention,” adding that the firm is considering cryptocurrencies for two new funds.
The largest cryptocurrency rose as much as 3.4% and was trading at US$34,000 as of 11.10 am in Hong Kong. The coin is up about 7% this week, bouncing back from a 16% tumble over the previous two weeks after touching a record of almost US$42,000. Bitcoin has also dipped below US$30,000 multiple times this week, testing its 50-day moving average.
“US$30,000 is key support and there appears to be a rising wave of institutional interest buying all dips,” said Mike McGlone, Bloomberg Intelligence Commodity Strategist.
The wild swings come amid the turmoil seen in stocks such as GameStop Corp. that have become favourites of retail investors. Advocates have called the activity in the equity markets another sign of revolt against traditional structures and pointed out the advantages of the decentralized nature of crypto finance.
“Much of the work being done in the blockchain space has been inspired by these barriers,” said Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer with Bitfinex.
SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci said that the turmoil is an affirmation of financial decentralization, which has long been the guiding force behind Bitcoin. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, co-founders of Gemini Trust Co, told CNBC Thursday that there are common themes between traders on Reddit and those investing in cryptocurrencies.
