Digital assets have increased their appeal to investors with the economy on the verge of a recession, with Bitcoin offering the highest returns year to date, experts say.
Merkle Capital, Thailand's first digital asset fund, said the current price of Bitcoin is not particularly high, therefore investors would be able to invest in it gradually. The price range is expected to reach US$25,000-30,000 in the second quarter.
However, cryptocurrency investment is exposed to some degree of risk given the intense regulatory scrutiny, while the gaming segment is sluggish at the moment, said Peerapat Hankongkaew, chief investment officer at Merkle Capital.
Mana Khanijou, head of commercial, investment consultant & investment product development at Merkle Capital, which is part of the Cryptomind Group, said data from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed that investors opened 15,000 new digital asset trading accounts this year, bringing the overall number of accounts in Thailand to 2,910,810.
Cryptocurrency investments have soared since the banking crisis erupted in the US and the concerned authorities injected liquidity into the financial system. At the same time, inflation remains high globally, Mr Khanijou said.
"We expected that inflation would gradually decrease to 3% in 2025," he said.
According to Merkle Capital, Bitcoin has given investors the highest return, with 62% year to date, followed by around 52% from investing in Tesla stocks, 15% from the Nasdaq, 8% from gold and -4% from investments in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).
MSCI recommends an asset allocation that comprises 47.6% in equities, 30.4% in fixed income assets, and 22% in alternative assets.
"Keep your portfolio balanced and clear. Generate good returns and reduce risks. Merkle only invests in the top coins, with an emphasis on businesses that invest in blockchain, the metaverse, Web 3.0 services, liquid staking, artificial intelligence [AI], and decentralised finance [Defi]," he said.
Overall, Merkle Capital's portfolio comprises of 60% Bitcoin investment, 30% in large-cap stocks and 10% in next-generation assets.