Bitcoin was the clear winner among currencies this year

The electronic coin that trades and is regulated like oil and gold surged 79 per cent since the start of 2016 to $778, its highest level since early 2014.

From EconomicTimes

Bitcoin, that nebulous digital currency that trades in cyberspace and is “mined” by code-cracking computers, emerged as a better bet this year than every major foreign-exchange trade, stock index and commodity contract.

The electronic coin that trades and is regulated like oil and gold surged 79% since the start of 2016 to $778, its highest level since early 2014, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. That’s four times the gains posted by Russia’s ruble and Brazil’s real, the world’s top two hard currencies.

After its 2008 creation, enthusiasts hailed bitcoin as the next big thing in foreign exchange markets and an obvious monetary evolution in an increasingly digital world. But by 2014, its value tumbled 58% as governments cracked down on its use and a major exchange lost account-holders’ funds.

There are a number of reasons the hard-to-track currency is staging a comeback now, from capital controls in places like China to isolationist rumblings in the U.K. and US as well as, bitcoin supporters say, increased adoption by companies and consumers.

“Bitcoin is coming into its own,” says Tim Draper, a venture capitalist who’s bought thousands of bitcoins over the years. “There are starting to be consumer uses for bitcoin, and if people have any concerns about their own fiat currency -- the rupee, for example -- they flee to bitcoin as an alternate currency.”

The rationale behind bitcoin’s booms and busts can be difficult to pinpoint, but here’s what might be responsible for the cryptocurrency’s stellar surge this year:

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Full article: http://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/technology/bitcoin-was-the-clear-winner-among-currencies-this-year/56058436

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