Bigger than the banks: The cryptocurrency market soars in value

December 19, 2017

So many people are dismissive about cryptocurrency, and are waiting for the day when the bubble bursts and they can say “I told you so”. Except, that looks to be a long way from happening – if at all – when you take recent statistics into account regarding digital currency’s social impact, popularity and growth in overall value.

For instance, the explosion in the cryptocurrency market has seen digital currencies collectively surpass some of the largest banks in existence in value. At the start of December 2017, the total value of all digital currencies in existence (thanks mostly to a large surge in the price of bitcoin) surpassed $370billion.

That’s significant because, at that point in time, cryptocurrency’s value surpassed that of one of the largest banks in the United States. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has a stellar reputation worldwide and was valued at $367 billion. So, what does digital currency surpassing a major bank’s value mean for the future?

The cryptocurrency market simply can’t be ignored

Two things: One; though it’s an incredibly impressive milestone and one that few would have predicted a few short years ago, it doesn’t mean the end of traditional banks. Far from it. Two; what it does mean though is that there’s a serious social sea-change in the way cryptocurrency is viewed in the eyes of investors and the public alike, and can no longer be ignored.

Because so many like to dismiss cryptocurrency as though it’s a flash in the pan. December 2017 also saw the launch of the first ever bitcoin futures market, making its debut on the Chicago Board Options Exchange; to ignore it displays not just a lack of understanding in digital currencies themselves, but also in the potential rewards that the alternative investment sector has to offer.

The attraction of bitcoin and other digital currencies go well beyond its value. People are attracted to its transparency, to its accessibility, to the control it provides investors and many other factors besides. Digital currency isn’t just an investment opportunity. It represents a chance for them to have total control over their money.

Digital currency offers investors numerous options

Coming back to banks and many believe that the advance of bitcoin and other digital currencies offers serious competition against traditional ways of doing things.

Reddit user Klutzkerfuffle recently told the Financial Times“Bitcoin is a central bank. However, it’s the people’s central bank with sound money. It is a direct competitor to the [Federal Reserve] and all the central banks. We are not here to make profit in fiat [traditional currencies]. We want a slice of the future settlement layer. The internet has finally come to money.”

The biggest problem that businesses and brokers have at the moment though is breaking through to those traditional markets and getting the benefits of cryptocurrency across to the people that matter to them most.

Fibonatix is a reputable payment services provider with experience in the digital currency sector, working with digital currency brokers and businesses to help them build a stronger reputation amongst customers, discover new ones, help them with matters regarding financial compliance and much more besides.

Find out more by contact to Fibonatix and speaking to one of our digital currency experts today.