Bitcoin exceeded $ 10,000 for the first time, raising the price this year to more than 10 times, even as the warnings that the largest digital currency is an asset bubble multiply.
The euphoria is bringing to the mainstream what was once considered the providence of computer developers, futurists and libertarians who seek to create an alternative to the monetary systems controlled by the central bank. While the actual volume of transactions made in cryptocurrencies is relatively small, the optimism surrounding technology continues to drive it to new heights.
Bitcoin has risen by more than 50 percent since October alone, taking off after the developers agreed to cancel a technology update that threatened to split the digital currency. Even when analysts do not agree that the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is really an asset, its value of $ 167 billion already exceeds that of approximately 95 percent of the members of the S & P 500 index.
"This is a bubble and there is a lot of foam in. This is going to be the biggest bubble of our lives," hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz told a crypto currency conference in New York on Tuesday.
Novogratz, which says it started investing in bitcoin when it was $ 90, is starting a $ 500 million fund due to the potential of technology to ultimately transform financial markets.
There is no agreed authority for the bitcoin price, and quotes can vary significantly between exchanges. In Zimbabwe, where there is a lack of confidence in the local financial system, the cryptocurrency has been negotiated at a persistent premium of more than $ 10,000. The volumes are also difficult to evaluate. Bloomberg publishes a price that is based on several large bitcoin trading centers. It went to $ 10,166.98 from 12:02 p.m. Tokyo time.
From Wall Street executives to venture capitalists, observers have been evaluating, with some more skeptical than others, as the rise of Bitcoin has become more pronounced, dragging individual investors. The number of accounts at Coinbase, one of the largest trading platforms for bitcoin and rival ethereum, has almost tripled to 13 million last year, according to Bespoke Investment Group LLC.
In a move toward dominant investment, CME Group Inc. has said it plans to start offering futures contracts for bitcoins, which could start trading in December. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest bank in the US UU., Was evaluating last week to help customers to bet on Bitcoin through proposed futures contracts, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The growing profile of digital currencies even saw the bitcoin feature in the Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who is a current board member. Responding to a senator's question, he said that "cryptocurrencies are something that we monitor with great care", and that at some point their volumes "could matter" for monetary policy, although not today.
The total market limit for digital currencies is now located north of $ 300 billion, according to the data on the Coinmarketcap.com website.
For Peter Rosenstreich, head of market strategy at online trading firm Swissquote Bank SA, the bitcoin rise can be traced back to the surprises of the referendum in the United Kingdom over the membership of the European Union and the election of President Donald Trump.
"We have underestimated the populist movements," he said. "There is growing concern about how central banks and governments are managing fiduciary currencies, and ordinary people around the world understand why a decentralized asset is the last safe haven."
