|
I think you are right, and together with mining fees, dilution, negative attention from governments, block confirmation times, exchanges that aren't CME going bust, etc. mean it's generally not a very useful commodity. However, one thing that should be mentioned is that Bitcoin is expected to increase in value. I don't mean that in a trader sense or that you should buy it; I mean Bitcoin futures are in contango(i.e. priced higher than the commodity) so you can lock in a risk-free profit by 1. Buying Bitcoin and 2. Selling a future. Specifically, the spot price is currently $47,150 while the September 2021 futures are $47,340 for a profit of $190 or about 4.8% annualized. So currently, any financial institution would have a strong incentive to denominate any escrow accounts in Bitcoin for times of less than 4 months(there's not as much liquidity further out). I believe this is what's happening here: Regulators ask questions if banks buy the Bitcoin themselves, but if it's in escrow on behalf of your customers it's more acceptable. Conversely, customers should prefer to pay in USD, because paying in Bitcoin is equivalent to either a short position(if they sell their Bitcoin and never buy any again) or an expected cost of 5% interest due to (directed) volatility. So the original claim that it has "no impact at all" is probably too strong, but a 5% interest rate is not what people mean when they reference Bitcoin's wild price swings i.e. volatility: The capital appreciation/loss can be accounted for if you really want to. Note: I'm not recommending this strategy, just attempting to calculate carrying costs in the context of a mortgage lender holding Bitcoin in escrow. |