Digital assets aren't going anywhere

In 2014, I went live on Fox Business and said this:

Bitcoin is there for the taking... I've become a believer... I believe that it could be a viable currency someday.

At the time, a single bitcoin was trading at about $640.

There weren't a lot of analysts who believed in the digital currency – especially not on financial news channels. My colleagues on Fox Business argued with me, and one even asked what exactly I believe in.

But who's laughing now?

For years, I have seen the opportunity in bitcoin as a digital form of money beyond government and central bank control. I believe it's a currency that could rival even the bellwether that is gold.

And not long after I made that bold prediction on Fox Business, bitcoin hit $69,000... and became the first 100X winner of my career.

But I think bitcoin will go even higher.

Bitcoin burst onto the scene in January 2009 as a revolutionary new approach to money. It doesn't rely on a group of bankers in financial centres making decisions about the money supply. Instead, bitcoin could be the answer to both a store of value, thanks to its fixed supply, and as a simple means of exchange, thanks to its decentralised payment protocol on the blockchain.

In the simplest terms, the blockchain is a decentralised ledger of transactions, kind of like a fancy Excel spreadsheet that everyone can read but whose past contents can never be erased or altered. It allows users to reach an agreement about a common digital history without having to trust a middleman.

In other words - transactions cannot be faked.

The blockchain will revolutionise the world as we know it. In the future, all transactions will be backed by the technology – everything from the financial industry and real estate to the way we vote and purchase goods and services will be affected.

Bitcoin is by far the most common and well-known cryptocurrency – and for good reason. It was the first one ever created. But there are so many different applications for blockchain technology that there is no question it will transform nearly every aspect of our lives.

The blockchain is the key here. It's a revolutionary technology that bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies – known as "altcoins" – run on.

Massive market potential

Interest in the cryptocurrency space has been rising rapidly in recent years.

According to a study from crypto investing firm Grayscale released in October 2021, the percentage of respondents who expressed interest in bitcoin investing increased from 36% in 2019 to 59% in 2021, and of those who did invest, over half had made their investments within the last year.

Based on those results, Grayscale estimated that the market of potential bitcoin investors had grown from 21 million to 32 million.

That's huge. And I suspect it will only keep growing.

This is partly because younger generations – millennials and those younger now account for more than half of the U.S. population – are much more likely to invest in cryptos than their parents.

According to market researcher Cerulli Associates, as much as $68 trillion will change hands between 2019 and 2044. That's a whole lot of money moving into the younger generations' pockets, and I don't expect they're looking to park that cash in traditional banks.

Instead, they'll look at the crypto market.

There is currently $11.5 trillion invested in gold – and only $1.3 trillion invested in cryptos.

So with $68 trillion flowing into young folks' hands and a massive discrepancy between the amount of money invested in gold versus cryptos, you can see the massive upside potential here.

Bitcoin is becoming more mainstream. It's experienced a huge rally in recent years, and the recent sell-off is creating an opportunity we may never see again. Because I assure you, this is only the beginning of what's to come.

Ask yourself this: Five or 10 years from now, will more folks around the world be using bitcoin, altcoins, and other blockchain technologies - or fewer?

My bet is more - a lot more.

I believe that cryptocurrencies can officially be called a true asset class. They're here to stay, but keep in mind that there are literally thousands of cryptos out there right now. Not all of them are going to be around 10 years from now. In fact, most will fail.

But the ones that succeed will do very, very well. They'll do so well that I believe everyone should have at least some exposure to cryptocurrencies in their portfolio.

Follow Matt McCall on Twitter at @MatthewMcCall. Read Matt's free daily insight at TheMcCallDaily.com. And discover investment research solutions for financial professionals at StansberryAdvisorySolutions.com.

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