From the first transaction with bitcoin, converted into fiat money, to the present day, the appreciation of the cryptocurrency has been impressive. In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 bitcoins for the purchase and delivery of two pizzas in Jacksonville, USA (a transaction that at the time amounted to $25). Today, the same amount of bitcoins corresponds to US$ 590 million.
This intense appreciation has attracted the interest of institutional investors and investment funds. Companies like Tesla, a major enthusiast of the cryptocurrency market, are just examples of companies that believe in the power of cryptos. Other corporations, such as MicroStrategy, have also made significant contributions. In addition, means of payment such PayPal and Visa also began to accept cryptocurrency transactions.
Today, any investor can find cryptocurrency investment options in fund managers. The companies BLP and Hashdex are examples of managers that bet on cryptoactive assets. Since mid-2017, the CME Group, of Chicago futures exchange, has also offered the possibility of investing in bitcoin derivatives, and large corporations, such as Fidelity group, have maintained custodial services for digital assets since 2018.
800% appreciation
According to data from Coinbase, within one year (between March 2020 and March 2021, in the middle of a pandemic period) bitcoin jumped from US$ 6,500 to US$ 59,000, which represents the astonishing valuation of 800%.
Undoubtedly, this rise reflects the recent institutional interest. More companies have started to invest in digital assets, in addition to investment funds, which has contributed to stimulating market growth and also to the appreciation of cryptocurrency.
BLP, which was one of the pioneers to offer investment funds with digital assets in Brazil, has three funds, all launched in 2018. The first, called Crypto Assets FIM, has accumulated yield of 66.51% in 2021 (till the end of February). In 2020, BLP’s portfolio generated yields of of 343.51%.
On the other hand, Hashdex maintains five funds, three of which have exposure to the Nasdaq Crypto Index, in percentages ranging from 20% to 100%. A fourth wallet is 100% based on bitcoin and a fifth uses both bitcoin and gold. The Hashdex Bitcoin Full 100 FIC FIM multimarket accumulated profitability of 124.87% in the year to March 29.
In turn, BTG Pactual is also setting up its own cryptoasset strategy, with the launch of the first local bitcoin investment fund. The minimum input will be R$ 1. The wallet invests 20% in bitcoins and the rest in fixed income in Brazil.
