blog image

Invest in Bitcoin? This billionaire says yes! Here's why

Region: Europe
May 5, 2017, 6:35:37 PM Published By Wirex Team
The world's movers and shakers have taken notice of Bitcoin and its possible uses. Like any new technology, it has taken time for people to become familiar with its use in everyday life, business, and economic paradigms. Now, some of the wealthiest people are turning to Bitcoin as a vehicle for investment. Bitcoin enthusiast and billionaire Michael Novogratz was recently interviewed when attending an event held by the Harvard Business School Club, and he said that fully ten percent of his wealth is invested in Bitcoin and in Ether. This is significant when you consider that Novogratz is worth an estimated $2.3 billion. Novogratz also went on the record saying that Bitcoin was the best investment of his life. He quipped that in 2013 he had spoken to its investment potential and that people had laughed at him. He now predicts that the currency will trade at $2,000. It is currently valued at $1,200.

Bitcoin's potential for explosive growth

Given Bitcoin price fluctuations, Novogratz advises others to diversify their holdings. He also clearly takes the long-view approach to increasing his assets through investing. Key to his belief in Bitcoin as a growing market is its burgeoning growth in third world nations. In Zimbabwe, where the currency has suffered from hyperinflation, economists have suggested Bitcoin as a viable alternative. This is because the country has adopted a system that involves multiple currencies, creating massive confusion and fees for transferring funds back and forth. As confidence in the banking system drops to an all-time low, consumers have expressed a greater faith in the Bitcoin blockchain system than in other solutions. In addition, they save a tremendous amount of money when sending and receiving funds. The transfers take place quickly, and people do not need to stand in long lines waiting for banks to process their transactions. In Nigeria, it has been reported by the nonprofit organisation supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access, that just 36% of people have access to a bank or the services that it would offer. The people often use what are called micro-finance institutions or MFIs to move money from one place to another. During a six-month period in 2014, it was found that over 17 million transactions took place this way, and Bill Gates has spoken about the currency's value in helping underdeveloped nations to thrive. He has referred to Bitcoin as a 'technological tour de force', and he has also gone on the record as saying that, 'Bitcoin technology is key'.

Bitcoin's uses are still growing

Bitcoin can be transferred on a peer-to-peer basis, person to person without going through traditional banks, while also being secure and transferable to someone living in a different country. It is affordable, and the world market is just awakening to its uses. The sheer number of people that could be easily connected to the global economy through an internet connection is staggering. This is why billionaire Michael Novogratz is putting his money in Bitcoin. Wirex makes the quick transfer of Bitcoin easy and inexpensive and can be a force for good in developing nations that are looking for currency solutions. With just an internet connection, people can use Wirex and trade with people all over the world. Bitcoin is still in its early stages as a currency, and it is continually seeing new uses. Recent innovations include an entrepreneur who is working on creating the very first Bitcoin cash machines that are due to open in Cypress and in Los Angeles, and it has revolutionised the world of online gambling, both of which can work only to increase its value. The cryptocurrency's proclivity as an investment tool is not simply limited to those in the upper echelons of the business world. Put simply, the fact that the very wealthy have taken to using the currency as a way of storing wealth bodes well for those who have some extra money and who like to think ahead, no matter what their current economic situation is.
share