Looking back at Bitcoin’s journey from its initial beginnings to becoming the face of the crypto sector, it is clear that it has not been an easy one. Specifically, the token has faced several hurdles in securing both institutional and regulatory support.
At a point in time, it was trendy for business leaders to publicly bash the token, and, every time there was a bear run, critics declared the market dead. In the last few years, however, Bitcoin has shown that it is a reliable and resilient asset and this has seen it gain more support from major corporations.
One of the newest developments in this regard comes from Metaplanet, a publicly-listed Japanese investment firm. The company recently announced that it has adopted Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset to protect both it and its investors from the volatility of the Japanese yen.
“The move is a direct response to sustained economic pressures in Japan, notably high government debt levels, prolonged periods of negative real interest rates, and the consequently weak yen," an official statement says.
It is worth noting that the Japanese yen has been in a difficult state in the last few months, even hitting a 34-year market low. While Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has said that action could be taken to rectify the situation, businesses in the country have been proactive in securing their assets.
In Metaplanet’s case, it has acquired 117.7 BTC since April alone and is turning more of its attention towards the asset. It had previously invested in the web3 space but now, Bitcoin is its focus.
It is rather interesting that mainstream financial institutions are turning towards cryptocurrency when the traditional financial system is in a rut. One of the major advantages of tokens like Bitcoin is that they can be a hedge against inflation and several countries like El Salvador have turned towards it for this reason.
This is also coming at an interesting time for the crypto sector as a whole. After a perilous crypto winter, major tokens are seeing price rallies across the board. Bitcoin also scored a major coup earlier this year when a spot Bitcoin ETF was approved in the United States.
In response, the entire crypto industry has seen a renewed wave of interest. As Hyunsoo Kim explains, consumers are looking into how to buy Memecoin, as well as ‘traditional’ cryptos like Bitcoin and Ether. On top of investing in cryptos speculatively, a token like Bitcoin can also be used on an anonymous casino, to pay for goods and services, and much more.
Between the last bull run and the ongoing one, the use cases for cryptos, both established and newer, have been further explored. This means that consumers and institutions are aware of their varied use cases and as such, are more likely to explore them.
This level of interest on both an institutional and individual level means that Bitcoin is on track to retain its value over the next few years, which is good news for investors. Metaplanet’s decision is also a public vote of confidence in Bitcoin, which is a departure from years ago when it was shunned by the business world.
When a leading fiat currency like the Yen is facing hardship and firms turn to crypto as a means of weathering the storm, it only speaks to the strength of the digital asset market. Depending on how this move goes, other firms could adopt the same strategy and this will only solidify Bitcoin and crypto’s place in the world of investing.
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