Bitcoin Before and After Headlines by Major Companies

The leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), faced several criticisms and condemning statements, especially from major financial companies, during its early stage. Fast forward to the present: the story has changed.

Many companies now support Bitcoin, to the extent that some have announced their intentions to debut Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investment services for their clients. This follows the massive rise in price, demand, and popularity in digital currencies over recent years.

More Financial Companies Now Believe in BTC

Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Visa, PayPal and others, all had an opposing view about the leading cryptocurrency.

Back in December 2017, James Faucette, an analyst from Morgan Stanley (a leading US investment bank), said in a document that “the value of Bitcoin could actually be…zero” because it’s not a real currency, besides other reasons. However, the bank is currently counted as one of the companies pushing crypto adoption. Recently, Morgan Stanley introduced Bitcoin funds to its wealthy clients.

Jamie Dimon, the CEO at JPMorgan Chase, argued in September 2017 that the leading cryptocurrency “is a fraud” and “eventually it will be closed”. Recently, JPMorgan looked closer at cryptos, considering different USD prices Bitcoin might reach.

Goldman Sachs had outlined five reasons why Bitcoin was neither an asset nor suitable for investment in May 2020. Almost a year later, the company informed it has plans for crypto offering, following the boom in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

The former CEO of PayPal also argued in 2018 that BTC will fall because “there’s just no value there”. He added that the cryptocurrency was useless as a payment mechanism and ridiculous as a store of value. Last year however, the company launched crypto services that allow its customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. 

Visa CEO Alfred Kelly said in 2018 that they wouldn’t process BTC transactions because it isn’t a payment system. Visa now accepts USDC as a settlement currency. Recently, they also announced plans to enable Bitcoin purchases.

Bitcoin Isn’t Dead

It’s interesting to see the opposing perspective of these companies changed about Bitcoin. It indicates that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are going mainstream and gradually becoming a widely accepted payment and asset class. The value of Bitcoin has more than doubled since those comments were made. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $63,097 USD on CoinMarketCap.