2021 is shaping up to be the year of Bitcoin, say experts 

Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, has witnessed a sharp rise and fall over a couple of days. On Monday, it fell sharply, losing ground from a record high of $34,800 to almost $30,000, with traders citing volatility in the highly leveraged futures markets.

Earlier, the world's most well-known cryptocurrency smashed through $34,000 for the first time ever in its entire history of 12 years on Sunday.

The latest gains come two days after bitcoin closed out a year in which the cryptocurrency rose more than 300 per cent, with an almost 50 per cent gain in December alone. Despite ups and downs, this year is already shaping up to be the Year of Bitcoin (BTC).

Last year already witnessed a ground-breaking evolution in BTC adaptation. According to JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bitcoin has the potential to reach $146,000 in the long term.

"Global GDP is about $80 to $82 trillion and if 2.5 per cent of world GDP is involved in currency hedging, for sake of argument, then Bitcoin could easily take a share of that space because it is proving itself to be a store of value that investors can hold over a one to two year period," reports Forbes.

Bitcoin has seen an unprecedented rise this year, with its value witnessing a 240 per cent jump in 2020.

According to Vladimir Signorelli, founder of Bretton Woods Research in Long Valley, New Jersey these valuations are being driven by the pandemic.

"But every major central bank in the world is signalling they're going to print as much money as necessary so as a finite store of value, Bitcoin can rise against every major currency because there is a finite amount of Bitcoin in the world," the report quoted Signorelli as saying.

Buyers are aggressively accumulating more and more Bitcoin. This is the driving factor that has propelled the price growth of BTC towards this new all-time high value.

The market capitalisation of Bitcoin has also skyrocketed above the $600 billion marks.

A major jump in Bitcoin price -- from $5,000 to $25,000 -- was seen after PayPal - the online payment major - announced in March that it will enable its account holders to use Bitcoin.

A debate on whether Bitcoin should be seen as a form of money, an asset, or a commodity has been raging on since the cryptocurrency was launched in 2009.

After the unit crossed $1,000 for the first time in 2013, it has been increasingly attracting the attention of financial institutions.

*Edited from an IANS report