MassMutual’s Bitcoin Buy May Presage $600B Institutional Flood: JPMorgan

JPM
14 December 2020

JPMorgan analysts have said the recent bitcoin purchases by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. are a sign of growing mainstream acceptance for the cryptocurrency.

  • “MassMutual’s bitcoin purchases represent another milestone in the bitcoin adoption by institutional investors,” JPMorgan's strategists said, according to Bloomberg on Monday.
  • “One can see the potential demand that could arise over the coming years as other insurance companies and pension funds follow MassMutual’s example,” they added.
  • On Thursday, the 169-year old insurance firm announced bitcoin purchases worth $100 million, as well as a $5 million equity stake in NYDIG – a financial services firm focused on bitcoin with $2.3 billion in the asset under management.
  • MassMutual's move suggests insurance firms and pension funds are beginning to look at bitcoin as an investment/reserve asset alongside increased demand from wealthy investors and family offices.
  • According to JPMorgan, bitcoin may find an additional demand of $600 billion if pensions insurance firms in the U.S., European Union, U.K. and Japan allocate 1% of assets to the top cryptocurrency.
  • Regulatory hurdles, however, may complicate matters for such firms, limiting their participation in the bitcoin market, the strategists said.

Also read: Bitcoin’s Rising Popularity With Investors Means Gold Will ‘Suffer’: JPMorgan

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