Blockchain Opened 10 Millionth Digital Wallet Thanks To Uncertainty

Blockchain, the U.K. bitcoin wallet provider, has reportedly opened its 10 millionth digital wallet.

In an interview with Business Insider, Blockchain Cofounder and Chief Executive Peter Smith said it is likely it will have its biggest month in the company’s history this November. The surge is being driven by the victory of Donald Trump as the next president of the U.S., he said. “People are basically hedging against economic instability. It’s a worrying time to be holding a lot of British pound, or if you’re America — people flee to safe-haven assets. Bitcoin is one of those,” said the executive.

According to the report, Blockchain has roughly 25 employees based in London and has offices in New York and Luxembourg as well. Blockchain has more than 50 percent of the market share and, according to the report, processes, on average, more than 150,000 transactions per day.

Alex Sunnarborg, founder of Lawnmower, which is focused on investing in blockchain assets (and bitcoin), said in a recent interview with PYMNTS that the closer Trump moved to cinching the election, the more bitcoin-related assets saw a rally, as did more traditional stores of value, such as gold. That surge, said the executive, would make sense, since bitcoin can be seen as an asset that stands apart from traditional government-backed currencies and thus can be seen “as a hedge against broader macroeconomic and political uncertainties.”

But bitcoin has also seen sustained rallies in the past several months, perhaps most notably on another surprise vote that took place this summer — i.e., Brexit.

As for the continued controversy as to whether bitcoin is a currency or an asset that investors choose due to attractive appreciation potential, Sunnarborg said that “trying to label it — is it a currency, is it a commodity, is it an asset — is a bit confusing” as it does not necessarily fall neatly into categories. But, as he noted, bitcoin does work well as a currency, stating that “you can use it to pay a merchant.”

“If they accept bitcoin, you are not going to have to pay credit card processing fees.”