LONDON–The credit union community can only expect discussions around cryptocurrencies to increase, especially among commercial account and business members, according to one new forecast.
Despite the market volatility, cryptocurrency has gained traction among corporates over the last five years, according to GlobalData. The data and analytics company said its filing analytics database has found mentions of “crypto” and related keywords in company filings rose by over 125% in Q1 2021, compared to Q4 2020 – the sharpest increase since the peak in Q2 2018.
“It looks like crypto is back on the menu as companies are looking to expand their cryptocurrency portfolios,” said Rinaldo Pereira, business fundamentals analyst at GlobalData. “However, crypto-related discussions in company filings were mostly mixed, with some negative views also looming. The Chinese crackdown on crypto seems to have fueled a rise in negativity, which stood at nearly 25% in Q1 2021 versus 19% in Q4 2020.”
According to GlobalData, despite underlying risks, “Bitcoin” was the most mentioned cryptocurrency among corporates in 2020 and Q1 2021. “Ethereum” was also mentioned, but much less than Bitcoin. Compared to Q4 2020, Bitcoin mentions grew multifold in Q1 2021, yet the growth in Bitcoin discussions was relatively flat (compared to Q1 2020), GlobalData said.
Looking ‘Lucrative’
Cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoins are known as Altcoins, with Manish Dixit, principal disruptive tech analyst at GlobalData, observing, “Due to Bitcoin’s high price points, Altcoins look to be lucrative for investors and act as a smart contingency option if Bitcoin’s value falls. Given the transient nature of Bitcoins, the adoption of Altcoins is expected to accelerate. The surge in Altcoins is challenging Bitcoin’s market dominance, with Altcoins being considered as an alternative to springboard the next crypto surge.”