фото показано с : zycrypto.com

Key takeaways

The year 2021 has been a great year for the world’s pioneer cryptocurrency Bitcoin. All through the year, Bitcoin has stayed above the $20,000 price range it reached in December of 2020, even hitting a new all-time high of $64,846.

A reflection on the journey of Bitcoin so far reveals that a lot of the price increase can be tied to relative stability in the market and massive adoption from different key market players.

A few of these market players are notable as they have contributed immensely to the growth of Bitcoin and their moves will likely have the effect of sending positive ripples into the future of Bitcoin thereby changing the course of the cryptocurrency’s history.

Worthy of mention is MicroStrategy, the first publicly traded company to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet. The words of Michael Saylor, the software company’s CEO, after the company made the move around a year ago were that the addition of Bitcoin to their balance sheet was not speculation nor a hedge, but a “deliberate corporate strategy to adopt the Bitcoin Standard.”

The company’s move has had the impact of changing the way other companies interact with Bitcoin for good. Since last year, MicroStrategy has acquired around 114,000 Bitcoins, spending around $3.16 billion for its stash.

Its Bitcoin holdings are currently valued at around $5.1 billion meaning it has made about 42% gains on its investment. MicroStrategy is however not relenting on its journey as it looks to even increase its exposure and bring as many more institutional investors on board by providing educational materials and guidance for them.

Similarly, Elon Musk’s Tesla also had a strong impact on the market with its addition of $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin to its balance sheet this year. Significantly, Tesla doesn’t hold bitcoin as a flight-to-safety asset, but because the CEO and Founder, Elon Musk, holds a personal belief that bitcoin is the future.

Despite having divorced Bitcoin for the time being due to concerns over its high energy usage, Tesla still holds its Bitcoin bag and intends to resume accepting it as payment when energy usage concerns are resolved.

Bitcoin also saw its adoption reach the level of national adoption this year when El Salvador made it legal tender. President Nayib Bukele’s reasoning behind the move was that by elevating Bitcoin to the level of legal tender, many Salvadorans that are currently un-banked can transition into the formal economy.

In particular, he expects this move to make it cheaper and quicker for citizens to receive remittances, which are an important source of income in the country – from abroad. Already, El Salvador has made other countries begin to give Bitcoin and digital currencies more serious consideration. 

The most recent market mover that is likely to also have a strong influence on Bitcoin is social media giant Twitter. Twitter just recently announced that its Bitcoin tipping feature was coming to every single one of its over 206 million global users. This is massive for adoption on the network.

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