Bitdeer’s Jeff LaBerge says Bitcoin’s staying power is what makes it attractive to corporations and even governments: “If you thought Bitcoin was going away… nobody would be investing in it.”

Bitcoin’s role as a long-term asset continues to gain traction among institutional players, and according to Jeff LaBerge, Head of Capital Markets and Strategic Initiatives at Bitdeer.

Speaking on Roundtable with Rob Nelson, LaBerge noted that Bitcoin’s staying power is what makes it attractive to both corporations and governments.

“If you thought Bitcoin was going away, forget about if it’s going to zero or if it’s going to a million,” LaBerge said. “I think if you thought it was going away at some point, I don’t think anybody would be investing in it or certainly no big corporations or the United States government.”

Nelson pointed out that large firms aren’t putting Bitcoin on their balance sheets on a whim — they see something the broader market might not fully grasp yet.

“There seems to be a consensus building as this space grows, as more people get in, as the markets, as institutional investors get in,” Nelson said. “Why would they be doing this if they didn’t see it? You’re not going to be a big company and decide to put Bitcoin on your balance sheet. You’re not going to be the President of the United States and decide to have some kind of a strategic reserve fund if you think this asset’s going solid.”

LaBerge agreed, noted that institutions are looking at Bitcoin’s fundamental strength rather than short-term price swings.

“I think it just comes back to that,” he said. “It is just confidence in the asset class as a proxy and upside from there.”

Nelson pressed LaBerge on whether Bitcoin’s price trajectory was inevitable.

“Over the next year, while it may go up, down, up, down, it only ends up, up by the end of the year,” Nelson suggested.

LaBerge, while cautious, acknowledged that this was likely.

“Let’s hope so,” he said. “Personally, yes. I think we will be up this year… but a lot of things go into it.”