A “litany” of institutions have changed their minds on bitcoin and are chasing it, Novogratz adds.

Speaking Tuesday on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, said large investors appeared to be switching their gold holdings to bitcoin, judging from the outflows seen recently in the yellow metal. Meanwhile, the leading cryptocurrency touched an all-time high on Tuesday. (COIN TELEGRAPH)

The real story, however

However, Novogratz clarified that in his view, bitcoin’s rally was based on rising adoption, particularly by institutions, who had so far been sitting on the fence.

“The real story is the adoption of bitcoin, adoption of crypto, across a vast variety of accounts,” he said.

Guggenheim’s recent filing showed it intended to pick up $500 million of BTC.

“It’s just a litany of institutional investors that are changing their mind, or realizing that now is the time, there’s enough liquidity for bitcoin to be part of it,” said Novogratz.

Other indicators of rising BTC adoption

Sure, institutions, corporates, and fund managers are lately showing a fondness for cryptos, particularly bitcoin.

But there are other, interesting nuggets of information that show the rising acceptance of b the cryptocurrency.

Paypal usage

A report by Mizuho Securities showed that nearly a fifth of all PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) users had already traded bitcoin using the company’s app. (Coin Desk)

Moreover, Mizuho surveyed 380 PayPal users and found that about 65% would use the leading crypto as a mode of payment at PayPal’s merchants.

A new credit card will pay rewards in BTC

Visa (NYSE: V) and BlockFi, a crypto startup, have tied up to launch a new credit card that will reward purchases with bitcoin instead of airline miles or cashbacks. (COIN TELEGRAPH)

Cardholders will receive 1.5% of their purchases in bitcoin.

To be available in early 2021, the card will carry a $200 annual fee.

Visa previously partnered with Fold, a digital startup, to launch a debit card that paid rewards in cryptos.

Bitcoin active users at a record

Coin Desk also said that new price highs in bitcoin appear to have triggered massive user activity.

Blockchain analytics firm Glassnode reported that as of Tuesday, active entities (wallet clusters controlled by a single participant that transacted funds in a 24-hour period) touched a new record of 432,451. The previous best reading was 410,972, clocked on December 9, 2017.

According to analysts, the rise in the number of active entities shows an increase in network adoption by participants. That, in turn, suggests that the current rally is sustainable.

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