ZB Academy：Citi says Bitcoin is at a “turning point”
According to The Block data, the total revenue of Bitcoin miners in February exceeded $1.36 billion, breaking the record high set in December 2017. Total mining revenue in February increased by 21.4% from January’s 1.12 billion U.S. dollars. Only a small part of February’s total revenue (186.4 million U.S. dollars, or 13.7%) came from transaction fees. In addition, the current price of Bitcoin is slowly recovering. According to ZB.com’s official market data, Bitcoin is currently reported at $49,352, a 24-hour increase of 6.81%, and the 24-hour price range is from $45,624 to $50,186.
On February 22, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made relevant arguments on Bitcoin. She believes that digital currency may lead to faster and lower-cost payments, but many issues need to be studied, including consumer protection and money laundering. Bitcoin is often used for illegal financing and is inefficient. Therefore, it is meaningful for the Federal Reserve to study the digital dollar currency. And she also believes that Bitcoin is highly speculative and people should be careful. This argument has aroused widespread concern and has also been opposed by some agencies and US government officials. Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of Ark Invest, stated that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen does not understand cryptocurrency and Bitcoin. Wood stated that Yellen has done everything possible to convey the speculative nature of Bitcoin, how it is not environmentally friendly or sustainable, and how it has helped illegal activities. “I’m not sure why she said that. All I know is that she doesn’t understand the cryptocurrency field, I just don’t think it is her duty.” In addition, Wood asserted that the energy consumed by Bitcoin is only a small part of the energy required to mine gold and maintain traditional financial infrastructure. Wood also disagrees with the idea that Bitcoin encourages criminal activity. She pointed out that the public blockchain actually makes it easy for law enforcement officers to track the flow of illegal funds. The Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, wants Miami to accept Bitcoin, rebutting the US Treasury Secretary Yellen’s call that Bitcoin is “extremely inefficient.” Francis Suarez said that the Secretary of Finance found that a decentralized potential currency is hostile to the currency under his control, which does not surprise me at all.
On March 1, Citi Bank released a report titled “Bitcoin Standing at the Tipping Point”. Citi Bank believes that within seven years, Bitcoin may become an option for currency used in international trade. The report mainly describes the development of Bitcoin from a payment method to a store of value. The author believes that in international trade, cryptocurrencies are more popular than existing currencies, but they also have potential risks. In addition, this report also mentioned that Bitcoin is at a “turning point.” It may either become everyone’s preferred currency for international trade or face a “speculative implosion.” According to the report, Bitcoin may be at the beginning of a major transformation into the mainstream after it has recently gained popularity from companies such as Tesla and Mastercard. In recent years, institutional investors have become more and more involved in Bitcoin. In the past decade, a large number of retail investors have mainly participated in Bitcoin transactions. If companies and individuals can obtain digital cash and so-called stablecoins that the central bank is planning through digital wallets, then Bitcoin’s global influence, traceability, and the potential for rapid settlement will greatly broaden its commercial applications.
MicroStrategy, a well-known business intelligence company that has reported many times before, announced that it has purchased 328 bitcoins again, with an average unit price of $45,710 and a total value of $15 million. According to previous purchase data, MicroStrategy currently holds 90,859 Bitcoins, with a total price of $2.186 billion and an average unit price of $24,063. And Jurrien Timmer, global macro director at Fidelity Investments, believes that given the current economic background, investors may want to start thinking about adding Bitcoin to their portfolio. Timmer stated that Bitcoin can be regarded as a kind of “digital gold” that can provide protection against inflation. Timmer also emphasized that, compared to gold, the limited supply of Bitcoin is its unique attribute.
About ZB Group
ZB Group was founded in 2012 with the goal of providing leadership to the blockchain development space and today manages a network that includes digital assets exchanges, wallets, capital ventures, research institutes, and media. The Group’s flagship platform is ZB.com, the industry leading digital asset exchange. The platform launched in early 2013 and boasts one of the world’s largest trading communities.
ZB Group also includes ZBG the innovative crypto trading platform, and BW.com, the world’s first mining-pool based exchange. Other holdings include wallet leader BitBank.
Industry intelligence and standards are headed by the recently launched ZB Nexus who embody the core values of ZB Group and open-source their reports and analysis for the public.
Learn more about ZB Group by visiting www.zb.com
