This blog is fast evolving from being a blog about side hustles and FIRE to bitcoin, although they are still tangentially related. After all, with the price action that we’re witnessing on a weekly level, how can we not keep writing about it?
Bitcoin started December 2020 riding off a new ATH since December 2017, and opened at $19,300. It was floating for roughly 2 weeks, and then got reeeaally excited for Christmas. It started rising from 16th December, and by 31st December, it closed at a whopping $28,817!
That is a 49% increase in the space of a month!
Bitcoin heads into January 2021 roaring
As if that wasn’t enough, Bitcoin started the new year exactly as it ended the previous year, high on its own potential to be the global reserve currency.
Bitcoin started the year at $28,810, and as of the writing of this post, it is sitting pretty at $32,710, with an all time high touching $34,500! That is an already impressive 13.5% increase in the first 5 days of the new year. Even if Bitcoin does nothing for the rest of the year and remains at 13.5% gains, that in itself is already a pretty good gain, if you’re looking at other assets on an annual performance basis.
However, that said, I personally would be deeply disappointed by this if it were true. I have high hopes for Bitcoin’s performance this year, and it should minimally maintain 2020’s 300% growth. In fact, with institutions pouring into this still nascent asset class, by all calculations, this year should see a much more exponential growth than the one we had in 2020.
OCC says stablecoins are legit for payments
And, hot off the press, the US OCC (Office of Comptroller of the Currency) just released a statement essentially saying that banks may use decentralised stablecoins for payment activities.
Our letter removes any legal uncertainty about the authority of banks to connect to blockchains as validator nodes and thereby transact stablecoin payments on behalf of customers who are increasingly demanding the speed, efficiency, interoperability, and low cost associated with these products.
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian P. Brooks
Think about proper storage of your crypto
As we celebrate a bumber 2020 and look forward to an even more exciting year ahead in 2021 for bitcoin and major altcoins, it’s super important to also be aware of how you manage and store your assets.
As your asset grows sizeable, you should really consider moving the bulk of it from exchanges (if you haven’t already) to a hardware wallet like a ledger for security purposes. I have done a comparison between the ledger models so you can see which model will suit your needs better.
You can also purchase a ledger from the official ledger site.