Bitcoin shows no signs of slowing and has exceeded $ 9,500 less than a week after exceeding the $ 8,000 mark and is now rapidly approaching five figures. The price of the largest cryptocurrency according to market value is skyrocketing, and that is that bitcoin is attracting the attention of consumers despite warnings about a bubble of what not everyone understands as an asset.
Several analysts, from Wall Street executives to venture capital investors, have been commenting on this, and some have been more skeptical than others. In terms of figures, bitcoin has advanced close to 45% in the last two weeks, while the S & P 500 index has to go back to February 2014 to reach a similar advance.
The rise in the price of bitcoin over the weekend is nothing more than a continuation of a long-term bullish streak in this cryptocurrency, fueled by the tsunami of speculative trading on Japanese stock exchanges and the entry of institutional investors around the world. "
Marketing Director in Hong Kong of Gatecoin Ltd
"The rise in the price of bitcoin over the weekend is nothing more than a continuation of a long-term bull run in this cryptocurrency, fueled by the tsunami of speculative trading on Japanese stock exchanges and the entry of institutional investors around the world," explained Thomas Glucksmann, director of marketing in Hong Kong of Gatecoin Ltd., a cryptocurrency exchange. "The psychological stratosphere of $ 10,000 is more likely to attract more institutional investors."
The rise of bitcoin has attracted individual investors. In this sense, the number of accounts in Coinbase, one of the largest operating platforms of bitcoin and its rival, the ethereum, has almost tripled and reached 13 million in the last year, according to Bespoke Investment Group LLC.
The bitcoin reached a ceiling of 9,747.49 dollars on Monday, and at noon it was trading at 9,656.31 dollars, 17% more than on Friday, heading for its biggest daily advance since August 14.
This abrupt appreciation makes it difficult for analysts and investors to keep their projections updated. Mike Novogratz, a hedge fund manager who will open a $ 500 million fund to invest in cryptocurrencies, said last week that bitcoin would close the year at $ 10,000. A day later, Thomas Lee, Fundstrat's research director, doubled his price projection to $ 11,500 by mid-2018.
JP Morgan evaluates whether to help its clients to bet with bitcoin
In a step to open the investment, CME Group Inc. has said it plans to start offering futures contracts for bitcoin, which could start trading in December. Last week, JPMorgan Chase Co., the largest bank in the United States, has begun to assess whether to help customers bet on bitcoin with such futures contracts.
The sudden appreciation of bitcoin is forcing Wall Street banks to balance their clients 'interest in speculating with cryptocurrency and executives' skepticism about their future. JPMorgan Chase Co. CEO Jamie Dimon is one of bitcoin's toughest detractors; He labeled it fraud and its buyers as "fools". Its director of finance, Marianne Lake, adopted a more measured tone. The company "has an open mind" about the possible uses of digital currencies as long as they are regulated properly, he said last month.
The total market value of digital currencies today exceeds 300,000 million dollars, according to the website Coinmarketcap.com.