Analysis of data compiled by ETC Group shows pension funds in the US and Canada pushing into crypto market aided by supportive regulators, as China slams the door on mining
London, UK - 2 Feb 2022. ETC Group (etc-group.com) has released its latest research on Bitcoin and Ethereum as part of its regular series of market reports. The research, available on its website show
- The Houston Firefighters Relief and Retirement Fund and CDPQ, the second-largest public pension plan in Canada, lead the way with the first US and Canadian public pension fund investments with $25 and $400m invested in crypto assets respectively.
- China’s share of global Bitcoin mining dropped from 75.6% in September 2019 to 0% in August 2021; the US was the biggest beneficiary of displaced miners, with Foundry USA growing its share from 7.7% to 16.5% since October 2021.
- Institutions including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan reaffirmed their confidence in Bitcoin market growth in 2022 as TP ICAP started trading cryptocurrency derivatives for the first time in January 2022.
- Ethereum NFT sales rocketed by 15,000% while Ethereum DeFi jumped 764% to over $150bn TVL.
The latest research by ETC Group analyses the market performance of Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as providing commentary and analysis on market and technical developments.
Bradley Duke, CEO of ETC Group comments:
In these times of rampant inflation the search for an inflationary hedge has become even more important. Even stable Western economies have joined the likes of Turkey in seeing increasing inflation while Gold, traditionally the go-to store of value in times of economic troubles, has failed not only to attract new investors, but even to maintain its store of value losing around 4% of its value in 2021. As a result we’re seeing more institutions, including pension funds and others pushing into the crypto markets to try to increase their value over the long term. Meanwhile market infrastructure is expanded and strengthened by the involvement of players like TP ICAP. Despite the current leaning bearish market, digital assets are clearly here to stay.
Other highlights from the reports:
- Eastern European and South American governments were the most forward leaning on Bitcoin holding and use; Georgia, Bulgaria and Finland are in the top 5 crypto holding governments while El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender and Brazil is discussing similar legislation.
- NFT sales on Ethereum have skyrocketed by 15,000% year on year. Marketplace Opensea is estimated to control 97% of the NFT market with $14bn of trading volume in 2021.
- US regulators are continuing to grapple with digital assets. In September 2021, Texas became the third state — after Wyoming and Rhode Island — to recognise cryptocurrency under commercial law, while the US federal government continues its discussions of how to regulate the assets.
- The world’s richest asset managers continue to invest heavily in Bitcoin mining, too. $9trn asset manager BlackRock joined Fidelity and Vanguard by taking significant stakes worth a total of $382m in Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA) and Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT), two of the largest publicly-traded mining companies.
The full reports, including notes on the research, are available at etc-group.com where anyone can also register to receive future reports as well as ETC Group’s regular market-update #CryptoMinutes.
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