If you don’t know what a Bitcoin is then surely you might be living under a rock. Bitcoin is a digital currency that was created in 2009 and is based on blockchain technology. It follows a set of ideas mentioned in a white paper created by an unknown individual who goes by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. There are no physical bitcoins, they are present only on a public ledger that everyone has transparent access to. It is not backed by any banks or government bodies therefore it is banned in India (not just Bitcoin but all cryptos are banned). But the rest of the world is pretty stocked about this new age currency.

In December 2017 Bitcoin truly broke into the scene. Even my parents who had no knowledge of cryptos started asking about this made-up currency and my relatives were asking me how could they buy it.

Now if you were following Bitcoin last year you will know that it was hovering about $10,000 and now in 2021, it is upwards of $35,000. So, has the world finally realized how wonderful cryptocurrency technology is, or is it just a bubble waiting to be popped just like last time?

Seemingly last time the regular retail investors and some wall street brokers (the big guys) jacked up the price hoping to make a quick buck. They weren’t in it for the long run and were primarily investing because of FOMO. But according to Bitcoin enthusiasts this time it's different.

This time, the rally seems to be driven (at least at some level) by participation from institutional investors  supposedly the more sophisticated kind. Such as the big guys at wall street and big asset management funds have developed instruments that allow entities to invest in Bitcoins.

A survey by Fidelity of 800 large institutional investors in the US and Europe found that more than a quarter of them owned Bitcoin. Fidelity, which manages $3.3 trillion in assets, said in August it was launching its first Bitcoin fund.

PayPal announced that it would allow customers in the US to buy and sell Bitcoin on its platform and let them purchase items using cryptocurrencies. 

Tesla has brought $1.5 Billion in bitcoin and is planning to take payments in bitcoin in exchange for the products it offers.

Pertaining to the recent development in the cryptocurrency field it is no longer viable to dismiss the idea of Bitcoin as a scam. There's definitely more to this asset than what meets the eye and as the institutions have started looking at it as a legit option, let's hope that we Indians can start trading in them soon.

Therefore the only question now is “ What is it really worth?”