Messari analyst Ryan Watkins expressed the opinion that institutional investors will start buying ether alongside Bitcoin in 2021.
Watkins wrote about this on the social network Twitter. He explained that as the adoption of Bitcoin and the realization that the first cryptocurrency is indeed a valuable asset, leaders of organizations will become more open to other cryptocurrencies. Those who have already invested in bitcoin will find it much easier to invest in ether, which is the second largest by market capitalization.
In the second half of this year, many large firms have invested in bitcoin. So, in August, MicroStrategy invested $ 250 million in bitcoin, after which it acquired BTC for another $ 175 million. Square, created by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, also did not stand aside – in October the company announced the purchase of 4,709 BTC for $ 50 million
Watkins also mentioned the recent announcement by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) to start trading ETH futures in early February. According to the analyst, CME would not launch such products if there was no demand for them. When CME added bitcoin futures, institutional investors did not yet have a complete understanding of the cryptocurrency and its value.
Many firms now view Bitcoin as a capital preservation tool in times of economic crisis. Watkins believes that along with this, companies are developing a more loyal attitude towards ETH, given the upcoming update, which developers have been working on for several years.
This weekend, bitcoin reached a record high in its entire history – $ 28,420, but has now rolled back to $ 26,900. The ether rate has also renewed its maximum, breaking through the $ 700 mark. The price of ETH almost coincided with the expectations of traders, who “predicted” that by the end of this year, Ether will cost $ 790.
