Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is one of a small group of famous worldwide figures that support Bitcoin and its future potential, despite the fact that he has yet to invest in the cryptocurrency. Wozniak described Bitcoin as a “unique mathematical formula” and a “miracle of technology” during a recent technology event in Mexico called Talent Land Digital 2021. Wozniak claimed that Bitcoin is better than gold, according to the local news outlet El Sol de Mexico. “Gold is limited and you have to look for it; Bitcoin is the most amazing mathematical miracle. I do not invest in Bitcoin, but I believe in it for the future.”
Bitcoin is often referred to as “digital gold” for reasons other than its scarcity and limited availability. The total number of bitcoins available is restricted to 21 million. Furthermore, neither has a central authority to issue them, such as a bank or a government, and both have extremely liquid marketplaces to be traded for fiat money. It is now one of the fastest rising technologies, where more and more industries continue to readily accept it as a mode of payment. In online casinos, for example, Bitcoin gambling is one of the hottest topics, as solutions to existing gambling challenges look to have finally been resolved by the parent blockchain technology.
Wozniak founded Efforce, a blockchain-based firm in the energy efficiency area, in December of last year, his second company after Apple. Efforce, according to a company statement, is a marketplace that allows businesses to perform energy efficiency measures for free so they may invest their cash in more important activities. In order to securitize energy savings, the firm also established its own cryptocurrency, WOZX. Wozniak told CNBC in 2018 that he hopes Bitcoin will become the one world currency. “Bitcoin is mathematically defined, there is a certain quantity of bitcoin, there’s a way it’s distributed… and it’s pure and there’s no human running, there’s no company running and it’s just… growing and growing… and surviving, that to me says something that is natural and nature is more important than all our human conventions.” He said.
Apple might be one of a growing number of major corporations who are experimenting with cryptocurrency. The iPhone manufacturer hinted at its interest in crypto in a job posting titled “Business Development Manager – Alternative Payments” in May of this year. Apple Wallets, Payments, and Commerce (WPC), the company’s payment vertical, was looking for a business development manager to lead its “Alternative Payments Partnerships,” with over five years of experience with alternative payment providers such as cryptocurrency aside from digital wallets, buy now pay later programs, and so on, according to the job posting.
In June of this year, one of Mexico’s wealthiest entrepreneurs, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who owns one of the country’s major banks, Banco Azteca, tweeted that he is trying to make it the country’s first Bitcoin-accepting bank. Pliego, who is a huge supporter of Bitcoin, had previously tweeted, “#Bitcoin is the new gold, but too much more portable, transport #Bitcoin is so much easier than having your gold bars in pockets … and I know that I’m going to be attacked by gold lovers.”
Despite the uncertainties surrounding Bitcoin’s price recovery, institutional investors and fund managers are expected to increase their exposure to cryptocurrencies between now and 2023. According to a survey conducted between May and June by Nickel Digital Asset Management, a UK-based investment manager focused on the digital assets market, 82% of institutional investors and fund managers from the US, UK, France, Germany, and the UAE expect to increase their crypto exposure between now and 2023. In fact, 40% of respondents stated they want to significantly expand their crypto holdings.
“Institutional money will flow in crypto from all over the world in the near future because we do have a strong case of another market crash due to rising inflation in major economies. Bitcoin performed better than gold as a hedge against inflation in the past two years and continues to do so. I believe institutions are looking at Bitcoin as a safe hedge against rising inflation, and that’s why they can allocate more capital to it in the near future,” said Hitesh Malviya, Founder of itsblockchain.com.
The long-term capital growth possibilities of cryptocurrencies and digital assets were identified by 58 percent of respondents as the key rationale for increasing crypto investments. 38% indicated that having some exposure to crypto-assets has made them feel more comfortable and secure about owning the asset class. Greater major corporations and fund managers investing in crypto assets, according to 37% of respondents, is also a factor, since it gives them more confidence. Another 34% cited a better regulatory environment as a major reason in their decision to expand their crypto holdings.
Bitcoin’s price has dropped by half from its peak of nearly $64,000 in mid-April. The digital currency was yet to reclaim its April highs and break over the $34,000 barrier, where it had been trading since May last week. According to the most recent statistics from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin’s share of the overall crypto market worth has decreased from nearly 70% in January this year to 44% now. Multiple reasons have contributed to the downturn, including China’s ban on cryptocurrency usage and mining, Elon Musk’s remarks, and increasing regulatory scrutiny of digital currency by US politicians.
