There’s already been a major breakthrough on this front, with the first Bitcoin ETF recently making its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The development represents a new and more conventional way to invest in crypto. The BITO Bitcoin ETF allows investors to buy in on cryptocurrency directly from traditional investment brokerages they may already have accounts with, like Fidelity or Vanguard.
However, while there are some organisations that accept it as currency, others shy away due to Bitcoin’s dramatic price swings. Driven largely by speculation, the price per Bitcoin rose sharply from $1,151 in January 2017, to an all-time high of $19,783 in December the same year.* It then dropped to below $7,000 by February 2018 and rallied again to around $11,000 over a matter of days, before plunging once more to trade below $4,000. Subsequently, one of the key characteristics of Bitcoin that traders should understand is its potential for extreme volatility.

Crypto market capital shoots to $2.34 trillion with Ethereum occupying 20% of crypto economy
Cryptocurrency markets move according to supply and demand. However, as they are decentralised, they tend to remain free from many of the economic and political concerns that affect traditional currencies. While there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies, the following factors can have a significant impact on their prices: Supply: the total number of coins and the rate at which they are released, destroyed or lost Market capitalisation: the value of all the coins in existence and how users perceive this to be developing Press: the way the cryptocurrency is portrayed in the media and how much coverage it is getting Integration: the extent to which the cryptocurrency easily integrates into existing infrastructure such as e-commerce payment systems Key events: major events such as regulatory updates, security breaches and economic setbacks