90% of Bitcoin Usage Is Speculation — 10% Transactions, Says Luno CEO

Marcus Swanepoel, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Luno, says that most of its users use Bitcoin (BTC) as an instrument for investing and speculating. Transacting, however, comprises a small share of the cryptocurrency’s use cases, he explains. 

Bitcoin usage: 90% digital gold, 10% digital cash

Swanepoel said during an interview with CNBC published on Aug. 26, that only a small portion of its users buy Bitcoin only then to use it for transactions. Meanwhile, nearly all are either investors or speculators. He explained: 

“Roughly about 90% I would put into the category of investments slash speculations, so it could be people who have a long term view on it, people who like to trade it and about 10% would be transactions.”

Portfolio managers should have some exposure

Swanepoel also suggests that — when managing investment portfolios — “it does make sense to put a tiny little bit of money into cryptocurrency.” The reason he provided is that, while risk is high, the potential returns are astronomical.

As Cointelegraph reported yesterday, head of over-the-counter sales at cryptocurrency exchange Kraken Nelson Minier has compared today’s cryptocurrency trading industry to his early days of Wall Street — adding that it is still too soon to call Bitcoin a safe haven for investors.

Nevertheless, Bitcoin is increasingly being mentioned alongside traditional safe haven assets, as Cointelegraph recently reported. With recent data showing that Bitcoin is the least correlated with traditional markets, investors are increasingly considering Bitcoin as a hedge, particularly as central banks around the globe are showing no signs of stopping their policy of monetary easing. 

"We are now at a point where I would argue that it is irresponsible for an investor to have 0% exposure to Bitcoin in their portfolio," Morgan Creek co-founder and Bitcoin permabull, Anthony Pompliano, stated earlier this month.