Grayscale survey connects COVID-19 pandemic to new Bitcoin purchases

As Bitcoin (BTC) price rises toward $18,000 and traders attempt to secure a new all-time high, the surge of institutional investors jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon continues.

This time, institutional and retail investors are both keen to accumulate Bitcoin and data from crypto derivatives markets shows institutional investors are driving Bitcoin volumes to new highs.

BTC futures volume by exchange. Source: Digital Assets Data

According to research from Grayscale Investments, a digital asset management company that currently holds over $9.8 billion in assets under management, the coronavirus pandemic may be a primary driver of Bitcoin’s current rally.

According to the company’s yearly survey, 83% of all Bitcoin investors started in the last 12 months, a time when COVID-19 infections were minimal.

38% of all current Bitcoin investors interviewed joined in the last 4 months and, among these, 63% said that the economic disruption caused by COVID-19 positively influenced their decision to purchase BTC.

Bitcoin is becoming mainstream

Grayscale’s survey also shows that Bitcoin is becoming more mainstream with the general public and investor class. The outlook among those that have yet to invest in Bitcoin has changed considerably since 2019. In 2020, 55% of the investors interviewed expressed interest in acquiring Bitcoin, a substantial increase from 36% in 2019.

Nearly half of survey participants believed that cryptocurrencies will be regarded as mainstream mediums of exchange by the end of the decade.

The trend of investors being drawn to Bitcoin’s store of value narrative is likely to increase and it’s possible that mainstream adoption may come sooner than most pundits and investors expect. Minimal proof of this comes from a recent report from Citibank, in which the author estimates that Bitcoin price may reach $318,000 by December 2021.