Pandemic Will Speed Bitcoin Adoption, Says DBS Bank Economist — CoinDesk
What Happened? The Managing Director of DBS Bank, Taimur Baig, a Singapore-based multinational bank with over $570 billion in AUM, reported to CoinDesk about the accelerating organic demand from institutional investors willing to get exposure to Bitcoin. These institutional investors usually, family offices and high-net-worth individuals not only in Singapore but also across Europe, have started to recognize the benefits of Bitcoin as a long-term growth investment and a hedge against currency debasement. |
Why Does It Matter? There are many reasons for the explosion in European interest in Bitcoin, but the primary reason is indisputably the fact that Bitcoin has been the best-performing asset of the last decade and since the start of the year. In addition, the community of European investors never had so many available choices in Europe to select the most cost-effective, regulated and centrally cleared crypto ETPs for their needs as the chart shows below. Noticeably with 21Shares alone issuing eleven exchange-traded (ETPs) that are available on five exchanges across Europe — Wiener Börse, Deutsche Börse, SIX Swiss Exchange, Börse Stuttgart, and BX Swiss. |
Bitcoin has returned 45.76% since the start of the year compared to 4.60% for the S&P 500, -12.10% for the EURO STOXX 50, and 26.07% for Gold. The outstanding performance of Bitcoin even just this year helps show how it serves as the ideal investment for investors seeking a high-growth asset, in a world where existing tech stocks are fully valued and interest rates on low-risk assets are zero.
Rates will remain at their present or lower levels, in other words potentially entering into negative territories, given the European Central Bank’s announcement last week. As the ECB continues its asset purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase program (PEPP) of € 1.3 trillion, at 21Shares, we anticipate a considerable amount of inflation across traditional assets like stocks in Europe which will contribute to strengthening the value of Bitcoin going forward.
