Saudi stocks fall; oil prices down again: Opening bell

RAYANA ALQUBALI

RIYADH: As crypto continues to galvanise attention from both the authorities and investors, a number of analysts are suggesting bitcoin could become legal tender in many countries.

Anthony Scaramucci, founder of investment management firm Skybridge Capital, expects more countries to adopt bitcoin alongside their domestic and international currencies.

“I think bitcoin will be used by many Latin American countries as legal tender over time, not just El Salvador, but other countries,” Scaramucci said.

El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar in September last year.

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, predicted in January that two more countries would launch a legal tender for bitcoin this year, Bitcoin.com reported.

The CEO of Devere Group, Nigel Green, also predicted in January that three countries would adopt bitcoin as legal tender this year.

Meanwhile, the CEO of crypto derivatives trading platform Bitmex, Alex Hoeptner, said in October last year that five countries will accept bitcoin as legal tender by the end of 2022.

Scaramucci also believes that the crypto currency could reach $500K a coin in the long term, according to Bitcoin.com.

In addition, he expects more than a billion wallets to hold bitcoin by the end of 2025, and the number of its users to reach 2.5 to 3 billion over the next decade.

“When it gets there, then I think as a mature asset, we could have a conversation about whether or not it operates as an inflation hedge,” he said.

Daily trading

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency internationally, traded lower on Tuesday, falling by 1.18 percent to $38,362 at 10:32 a.m. Riyadh time.

Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at $2,527, down by 1.97 percent, according to data from Coindesk.