Cody McGrath 
As Bitcoin struggles to keep its $40,000 price level more countries are looking to adopt the leading cryptocurrency
Bitcoin Struggles To Keep Its $40,000 Price Level
Sustained rallies have been hard to come by in recent weeks, as Bitcoin struggles to keep its $40,000 price level. The traditional stock market indexes are still being battered by inflation fears, which is translating into a weakness in the crypto markets.
BTC, in particular, has been following the S&P 500’s downward trend this year. So far in 2022, BTC is down 16 percent, while the S&P 500 is down just under 12 percent.
More Countries Are Looking To Adopt Bitcoin
As evidenced by recent market movements, more countries are looking to adopt the leading cryptocurrency. According to Coinscreed, countries in Africa, South America, and Central America are increasingly adopting Bitcoin.
It’s providing a backdrop for more usage, whether its adoption as legal tender or government regulations to help keep the industry in check. BTC rose above $40,000 in the last week before falling back as investor sentiment in the stock market deteriorated due to rising inflation.
“Despite a slew of positive news on the asset, such as potential sovereign adoption in Africa, Cuba’s approval of licensed exchanges, and Mexico’s gradual move toward greater adoption in general, Bitcoin remains in a fairly tight range,” says Jason Deane, market analyst at Quantum Economics.
Large Investors Continue to Hold
Meanwhile, large investors continue to believe in Bitcoin. Despite the high volatility in the crypto markets this year, they are still holding.
“Bitcoin continues to look bullish from an on-chain perspective as whale holdings have risen to their highest since September last year,” writes Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at the U.K.-based digital-asset broker GlobalBlock. “When whale [large] holdings increased dramatically last September, it led to a significant increase in prices in November.”
Investors can also look at the ProShares Bitcoin ETF to err on the side of bullishness via a traditional market exchange (BITO). Rather than investing directly in the cryptocurrency, another way to gain exposure is to bet on its future price increases.
The fund has been tracking BTC’s price in lockstep, providing investors with correlated exposure to the leading cryptocurrency. Investors who are interested in crypto but are hesitant to invest in a digital exchange can use BITO to gain exposure through a regulated exchange.
