Bitcoin has had to overcome many significant obstacles to become the trillion-dollar asset it is today. However, due to a perfect storm of a changing financial world, more leniency from traditional financial circles, and a genuine appetite from retail traders and investors to seek out something new, it’s become one of the most promising financial innovations ever designed.
One of the most significant driving forces behind Bitcoin’s mass adoption has been its use cases in recognizable crossover markets, like casino gaming markets, and in prominent economies like the US.
Gambling in the US is going through a boom period at the moment, and as of Q4 2024, cryptocurrency is in the same boat. It was almost inevitable that the two worlds would collide. The online gambling USA customers undertake mirrors the markets across the rest of the West, which has been ahead of the curve in many respects.
However, now that cryptocurrency is fuelling the appetite for a new market, it’s injected a new lease of life into the gambling industry, too, which has been posting record profits over the last couple of years, particularly in the US.
While traditional investment tools like ETF obviously bring in the lion’s share of interest, fresh investment, and the subsequent price action that follows it, it would be unwise to ignore some of these other markets that contribute to the mass adoption occurring in crypto.
Changing Cultural & Financial Ideas
One of the most significant issues cryptocurrency has faced over the last decade is legitimacy in the eyes of the traditional financial world. A couple of decades from now, Bitcoin could be one of the leading currencies in the world, and there are early examples from the timeline that will go down in history as seminal moments. El Salvador became the first country to allow it as a digital currency, a move considered an enormous risk back in 2021.
However, the country has stuck to its word, continually buying dips in the price and mining over 450 BTC using green energy methods in the subsequent three years since it announced it would become legal tender. Not bad for a currency that, less than a decade early, had nearly 70% of its transactions occurring through Mt Gox – which collapsed.
Luckily, investors who lodged their claim and had enough evidence benefitted significantly when creditors approved a $9 billion repayment plan in 2024. Thanks to these stories, it became more evident to a broader traditional group of traders and markets that Bitcoin was here to stay.
The Value Of Bitcoin In Modern Trading & Investing
Those who trade stocks, forex, and other more traditional markets became increasingly keen to explore the idea of having crypto in their portfolio. During the last bull run, crypto lacked the financial clarity it now has. However, multiple traditional trading and investing platforms now allow smooth access to the market—it’s not just BlackRock but other big trading platforms, too.
Bitcoin now draws comparisons with gold as a store of value—a digital, 21st-century store of value. The way the gold price hedged against inflation and other issues that can arise from fiat currencies, the whole idea, which is engrained into the mechanics of BTC, is that it acts as an inflation hedge.
Due to its cryptography and design, BTC’s finite supply mirrors how gold was used as an inflation hedge, particularly in the 1970s, when some Western countries, mainly the UK, had severe issues with inflation. This is why traders who offset their investments against the volatility of stocks and forex are beginning to trade BTC and gold, as they can see similarities between both assets.
Final Say
BlackRock’s ETF changed Bitcoin because it meant that it wasn’t just a prominent institution taking an interest in the asset; it was the world’s most prominent institution, period. While Bitcoin had been marketed as this anti-establishment asset and the way to remove yourself from the ideals and framework of traditional banking and mammoth institutions, BlackRock purchasing and owning billions of dollars now directly contradicts this initial belief.
Although this was a belief held by a few maximalists, for Bitcoin to become the new world currency that many have predicted since the early 2010s, it required a company the size of BlackRock to get on board with the idea that it would become mass-adopted. No longer was it pitted as an alternate asset against the establishment and the destruction of 2008; it had essentially become the establishment.
While it generated mixed feelings for hardcore cryptocurrency users and enthusiasts, seeing an eventuality where a centralized entity would actively work against it became far more challenging. It was no longer an outside bet; the juggernauts entered the equation, and although it’s not all plain sailing when such a colossal entity joins the conversation, the injection of enormous retail and institutional capital can’t be seen as a bad thing.
