Bitcoin’s 2020 Rally; Financial Advisors Opening Clients’ Doors To Crypto

Story by: Crypto Confidential

CRYPTO MARKETS

Bitcoin reached its highest level in more than two months this week, climbing to $8,848 on Tuesday. By Wednesday, the price had risen to $8,897. The digital asset has been following a broad, upward trend all week, pushing higher after reaching a 2020 low of $6,852 on January 3.

Some market observers have cited hopes the cryptocurrency will enjoy greater adoption in 2020 when explaining these gains. Others have pointed to anticipation surrounding the upcoming halving, scheduled to take place in May, as another factor in bitcoin’s recent push higher.

Plus, why is bitcoin driving altcoins higher? The short answer: beta. Read more here.

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FINANCIAL ADVISORS CONSIDER CRYPTO

According to a new survey of more than 400 financial advisors conducted by cryptocurrency investment firms Bitwise and ETF Trends, 13% of advisors are now allocating crypto for their clients. That’s more than double the 6% of advisors that were allocating crypto in 2019.

PROMOTED

The number one factor driving that uptick? Crypto returns. Of the financial advisors polled, 54% cited that as the reason to allocate more investment dollars to digital currency.

According to Bitwise managing director and head of research Matt Hougan, financial advisors are opening their clients’ doors to crypto by either acting in an advisory role—showing clients how to purchase crypto in a secure and safe environment—investing in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which trades over-the-counter, or purchasing shares in private funds that provide access to cryptocurrency.

GRAYSCALE’S RECORD YEAR

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale revealed inflows of $600 million in 2019, more than 2013 through 2018 combined, after its best quarter on record. $147 million of last year’s investments came from new clients—24% of the total.

“If the persistent question is ‘where are the institutional investors in crypto?’ the answer is that they’re here and showing up in a meaningful size,” Michael Sonnenshein, managing director at Grayscale, said on the sidelines of the Crypto Finance Conference in Switzerland.

“With 71% of assets raised in Grayscale products during 2019 coming from institutions, we now have empirical data that this is part of a longer term trend—one that we have no reason to believe won’t be sustained into 2020.”

GEMINI’S INSURANCE BET

Gemini, the regulated cryptocurrency exchange founded by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has launched its own captive insurance company called Nakamoto. Theft of crypto assets reached $480 million in the first half of last year, and Nakamoto will provide Gemini Custody (the exchange’s cold storage service) with $200 million in coverage, which is the largest limit purchased by any crypto custodian in the world for offline and segregated custody.

Original story: https://tinyurl.com/yx8yndze

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