Crypto Fever: the Age of Digital Currency Is Upon us
By: Samuel Aigbotsua
Tags: Finance, Crypto, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Digital Money

Crypto Fever: the Age of Digital Currency Is Upon us

What’s happening with crypto hype?

Photo by André François McKenzie on Unsplash

At this time last year, cryptocurrency was on everyone’s shopping list: at least those who were aware. However, the price rose to about 12k dollars and fell to as low as $7k. Previously, I wrote a piece on “cryptocurrency: season fever” exploring the mass increase in interest in Bitcoin. The closing price around this time last year was about $7,251.28 compared to today’s current price of $18,980.98 at the time of writing, a significant increase in the price over the year.

As we approach the festive season once again, it is the curiosity that leads me down this path of the crypto-gold rush. What has happened since June is a phenomenon in online currency and trading. With rumors and comparison to the www bubble, many have happily boarded the ship, and it seems to be paying off.

The rise in the currency price is both an opportunity and a breaking period. Some ride the tide, others crash, and sink. So, why has crypto currency gained so much support, lost it, and gained it all over again?

Bitcoin is the most popular and is the father of all cryptocurrencies. I must admit that I rode the waves of the frenzy. I had just begun learning FX trading at the time Bitcoin became more popular among young people. As an individual of safety risks, I happily got involved and tested the waters. The main point of this post is to look at the difference in the price of the same period and possible factors that may have affected the price.

Image by Author from Trading View

Media Coverage

The likes of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Dash continue to gain extensive and broad news coverage. The co-founder and CEO of digital currency platform CryptoCompare (Charles Hayter) said at the time: “this broader news coverage has helped spur greater interest” (Forbes.com, Sept 2017). Also, most crypto start-ups harnessed the power of social media by taking to Facebook and Instagram to capture the interests of young people and a larger proportion of the population.

Increased interest and political events

Political turmoil, economic uncertainty, and events such as Brexit have provided the right environment for Bitcoin to gain interest. Bitcoin promises and appears to guarantee security and financial freedom. It is not a game for the faint-hearted, and the volatile price could cause more pain than comfort.

Pandemic

Jacob Eliosoff stated at the time that: “there is no question that the digital assets are experiencing growing interest, especially on the part of finance professionals and funds…” The pandemic and lockdown didn’t seem to have any impact until now. Bitcoin reached a new high since the last time it broke the previous record.

Speculation

2017 was full of speculations and investment banks joined the conversation. However, most focused on the technology behind cryptocurrency rather than on the coins themselves. The conversation grew on what limits blockchain could break and help in speeding up transactions and managing transaction history. Some of these speculations proved to be true whilst others are still in trying waters. Bitcoin today is worth over $18,000 and has been predicted to continue on its rise.

Photo by Nick Chong on Unsplash

In conclusion, cryptocurrency is showing much promise than it showed this time last year. Also, blockchain has a lot of potentials that we can look forward to in coming times. Crypto isn’t dead yet, and as the price continues to rise and be volatile, we can only watch to see what happens. Do we adopt digital currency, or do we keep pushing for cash?