It's curious that something that was done as a measure to alleviate the effects of a previous crash is creating another bubble and (probably) another eventual crash.
My guess is the explosion in money going into cryptocurrencies is partly because of that - more loose capital chasing gains - but there are other reasons behind it too. It's a combination of things. Genuine excitement of something new and potentially transformational, desire to move assets away from places they are at risk of being seized (China), FOMO, promise of Lambos, disappointment in the traditional financial system by young people, many reasons.
People get excited when something goes up quickly, and it's been very easy to jump on that speculative train in the case of cryptocurrencies.
The funny thing is how said people often then come to genuinely believe they believe or understand Bitcoin, when in reality they’ll scatter at the first sign of a major correction. In fact, increasing conviction about an outcome after a person has paid money to bet on it is a well studied cognitive bias.
US investors are only a portion of the Bitcoin market, and the price action of the past year or so isn't at all out of line with the general growth trend.
The notion that Bitcoin would serve as a 'safe haven' during a market crash is also far from a foregone conclusion. Certainly possible, but I have difficulty accepting that traditional financial institutions would see it that way.
Is this a sign of a bubble or people trying to hedge against a crash?