Bitcoin hits a new annual high! Surging to $12,468, surpassing the market value of U.S. banks and the New Zealand dollar.

What would be the result of comparing the market value of Bitcoin with traditional financial assets and fiat currencies? With a recent surge in the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin seems to have firmly established itself above the $12,000 mark, with a market capitalization reaching $227.7 billion before the deadline, surpassing the New Zealand fiat currency and ranking 34th in the global fiat currency market value.

Bitcoin Surpasses New Zealand Dollar in Market Cap

Bitcoin hit a new high for the year at $12,468 on the 17th, slightly trailing behind the Czech Koruna (CZK) and ahead of the New Zealand Dollar (NZD), ranking 34th according to fiat market cap data platform FiatMarketCap. The top three in market cap are the Chinese Yuan, US Dollar, and Euro, while the New Taiwan Dollar ranks 11th.

Market Cap Closing in on PayPal

Aside from comparing with fiat currencies, data from market cap tracking platform AssetDash shows that Bitcoin's market cap has surpassed that of the Bank of America Corp (BAC) by approximately $3 billion and is trailing behind payment giant PayPal.

As of the deadline, Bitcoin's market cap is $227.7 billion (CoinMarketCap), with a 4.15% increase in the past 24 hours. In comparison, Bank of America's market cap has dropped by over 2.15%, while the top market cap stocks are tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

Financial Experts Advocate for Bitcoin

With the global financial system facing challenges this year due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have implemented controversial fiscal policies like zero interest rates and printing money to stimulate the economy after lockdowns, shutdowns, and the historical stock market crash in March. Similar to Bitcoin's emergence during the 2008 financial crisis, this year's circumstances seem to pave the way for Bitcoin's rise.

Several influential figures in traditional finance have publicly supported Bitcoin, including "Rich Dad Poor Dad" author Robert Kiyosaki, hedge fund founder Paul Jones, former Prudential CEO George Ball, and legendary fund manager Bill Miller.

Most recently, George Ball stated in an interview with Reuters that governments cannot indefinitely stimulate financial markets, and the liquidity surplus will eventually end, with countries having to bear the consequences of these stimulus measures, financial deficits, and seemingly wise subsidies.

Bitcoin has been around for a decade, and despite the current situation of governments printing money extensively echoing that of 2008, aligning with the reasons for Bitcoin's existence, everything seems to be preparing for Bitcoin's rise. However, Bitcoin still faces a 55% drop from its historical high in December 2017 and remains correlated with traditional financial assets. The crypto community and Bitcoin enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the moment when it decouples from traditional assets and truly demonstrates its hedging properties.