Wedbush analyst: Bitcoin mania is "not a passing fad"

Wedbush Securities, a prominent Los Angeles-based wealth management firm, believes that Bitcoin ( BTC ) is on its way to becoming a permanent fixture in global financial markets.

Managing Director Dan Ives told clients on Wednesday that corporate adoption of bitcoin is far more important than simply predicting the digital currency's future price.

“We believe that a much more profound theme than investing in Bitcoin and predicting its future price is the potential impact that cryptocurrency , blockchain and Bitcoin could have on the technology and corporate worlds over the next decade,” he said in a note obtained by CNBC.

He also explained why the so-called Bitcoin craze is not just a passing fad:

“From PayPal and Square to Nvidia, Tesla, IBM, Visa, Mastercard and many other companies across verticals, we believe the trend of trading, Bitcoin investment and blockchain-driven initiatives is likely to accelerate in the coming years. In our view, Bitcoin mania is not a passing fad, but the beginning of a new era in the digital currency space.”

Wedbush Securities has been at the forefront of bitcoin adoption since at least 2014. The following year, Wedbush released a report calling bitcoin a potential disruptor of existing financial infrastructure that would boost its value over time.

Bitcoin adoption accelerated last year after major institutions and companies sought to invest in the cryptocurrency, a trend that appears to be strengthening after Tesla confirmed it had invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin.

Although Bitcoin is known for its wild volatility, its price volatility appears to have subsided from its last bull run that peaked in 2017. As Cointelegraph reported on Wednesday, Bitcoin’s 60-day volatility is significantly lower than it was in December 2017 when it was approaching $20,000.

According to TradingView data, the price of Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $51,721 on Wednesday. (Cointelegraph)