5 crucial bitcoin predictions for 2021, from a fintech expert

5 crucial bitcoin predictions for 2021, from a fintech expert

This year has been a wild ride for anyone invested in, or even just watching, the bitcoin market. The world's most valuable virtual currency in December traded at more than $23,000. When the U.S. first began grappling with Covid-19 in early March, Bitcoin was below $4,000. For owners or sellers, it's a gut-twisting source of gains and losses. For those (like me) on the sidelines, it's an entertaining market show, with tinges of jealousy and dizziness. Despite that tremendous bitcoin price fluctuation — in a generally upward direction — 2020 was also a year of relative maturity for a currency that, after all, has only been trading for a decade. From my perch as editor of FIN, a fintech newsletter, here are what I see as the crucial bitcoin trends in 2021:1. More mainstream acceptanceBitcoin's use in everyday life has always had a chicken-egg problem: Very few use or accept it because … for one thing, very few use or accept it. But 2020 saw a striking evolution in bitcoin adaptation. Prominent fintech companies, from Square's investment of $50 million in bitcoin to PayPal allowing its users to buy and sell bitcoin, gave it a stamp of approval.In 2021, we'll likely