Why $55k an obstacle for the retail adoption of Bitcoin

“What’s really interesting about cryptocurrency and Bitcoin is that it’s a very global type of movement”

Drawing comparisons between the world’s largest cryptocurrency and conventional finance, Traidman said, “Wall Street is sleeping every night, but Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency markets are still trading.”

However, amid Bitcoin’s embrace of mainstream finance, Traidman noted that while mainstream crypto adoption is on the rise, there is also a lot of trepidation from investors about emerging asset groups, such as cryptocurrency.

“We’re used to dealing with banks, we’re not used to dealing with mobile apps to invest”, comments Traidman who says that putting tens of thousands of dollars into an investment through your phone is not something that has historically been well accepted. He went on to highlight the challenges the crypto industry had had to face with regard to adoption and stated that,

“Part of the challenge for the cryptocurrency industry has been making investing in Bitcoin easy, accessible, and to sort of engender a feeling of trust and safety for these new investors.”

At a price of over $55,000, Bitcoin might be the most popular cryptocurrency, but even purchasing a small percentage of it seems pricey to the typical retail investor.

This may not be the case for institutions and, as shown in the past year, they have continued to show an avid interest in cryptocurrencies as a growing asset class.

Morgan Stanley’s Chief Global Strategist, Ruchir Sharma, recently published a study on why crypto is coming out of the shadows, underlining that,

“We see fundamental reasons to believe that— regardless of where the price of Bitcoin goes next— cryptocurrencies are here to stay as a serious asset class.”

If more entities provide custody and help for cryptocurrencies, consumer interest around these digital assets may continue to flourish – even if Bitcoin is too costly for the typical retail investor.