Real Traction with Bitcoin Will Come Soon, Says CoinShares’ Meltem Demirors

The chief strategy officer at digital asset manager CoinShares has said that the value of Bitcoin will come in time as it gains more traction and growth.

New Technologies Take Time to Understand

Bitcoin and its underlying technology, the blockchain, are often compared to the early days of the Internet. Back in the 90s, no one would have thought that the Internet would be like it is today. Now, though, we rely on the technology to such a degree that many of us can’t imagine a life without it.

For countless advocates of the blockchain and Bitcoin they believe that, with time, the cryptocurrency will become the Internet of the future. Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at CoinShares, is one such person. Speaking on CNBC’s Fast Money, she said that real traction will come in time for Bitcoin:

New technologies that shift the paradigm take a long time to really understand.

Since its inception, the number one crypto has gained in popularity. Compared to the early days, it’s now becoming considered a valuable asset to invest in. Interest in it has also risen. Mid-December its value was within touching distance of $20,000 for the first time. A boost in investor trading and the likes of several Bitcoin futures contracts saw new interest from various sectors.

Fast-forward to mid-August, though, and Bitcoin is trading at $6,078, according to CoinMarketCap. This represents a near 14 percent drop in seven days.

Is It a Replacement for Fiat?

It was reported that the Turkish lira hit an all-time low against the U.S. dollar yesterday. The news of this followed steep losses against the lira last Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was doubling metal tariffs on Turkey.

Interestingly, though, reports yesterday suggested that Turkish residents were flocking to Bitcoin as a result. In one instance, Koinin, the largest virtual currency exchange in the country, saw trading increase by 63 percent. Yet, while that may be the case, it doesn’t appear to have done much for Bitcoin’s price. In this type of situation, one would expect to see some sort of price rally.

In Demirors’ opinion, it is “the narrative around Bitcoin” that is “hard to grasp,” adding:

Really the only metric we have for most cryptocurrencies is the price, and price is such an imperfect metric. What does actual utilization look like? That’s really the struggle for crypto right now.

Further investments from institutional investors will help to push Bitcoin’s price up in the long-term. As Demirors said, it’s not known when its value will go up again. Progress will depend on what’s best for determining best practices for its growth:

We are starting to see real traction. A lot of it is really dependent on finding those data points, those metrics, that are going to drive that growth story.

Do you think institutional investors will boost Bitcoin’s traction? Let us know in the comments below.

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