A Yale expert has added his voice to the growing list of bitcoin naysayers by arguing that it is a ‘dangerous speculative bubble.’
The digital currency has been experiencing record highs throughout 2017. So much so, that on Sunday, bitcoin was within touching distance of reaching $12,000 for the first time, at $11,858, according to CoinMarketCap. As a result, it pushed its market cap total up to $198.2 billion.
However, despite the impressive journey that bitcoin has been on, that hasn’t stopped many from claiming that it is in a bubble. Another voice added to that list is Stephen Roach, a Yale University senior fellow and the former Asia chairman and chief economist at Morgan Stanley, reports CNBC.
Speaking to CNBC’s ‘The Rundown’, Roach said:
This is a dangerous speculative bubble by any shadow or strength of the imagination. I’ve never seen a chart of a security where the price really has a vertical pattern to it. And bitcoin is the most vertical of any pattern I’ve ever seen in my career.
The number one digital currency’s value has risen by over 1,000 percent this year, partly driven by strong interest from Asian investors. It has also been boosted by the news that the Chicago-based exchanges, Cboe and CME Group are to begin trading bitcoin futures contracts this month. Cboe will start on the 10th December with CME following on the 18th.
However, despite this Roach is of the opinion that exchange legitimisation makes the cryptocurrency ‘somewhat dangerous’ for investors, adding that ‘like all bubbles, they burst.’
He said:
They go down, and the one who’s made the last investment gets hurt the most, there’s no question about it.
Yet, while many are calling the digital currency a bubble, that may not necessarily be a bad thing. That’s according to billionaire investor and hedge fund manager, Mike Novogratz. In a recent interview, the former Fortress manager stated:
I think this [crypto] is going to be the biggest bubble of our lifetimes by a longshot.
Speaking in October, he argued that:
Historically, manias or bubbles happen around things that fundamentally change the way we live. If it’s the railroad bubble or the Internet bubble, it really changed the way we live.
Novogratz added that in 10 to 15 years, the blockchain and decentralised systems would be in use everywhere, stating that this bubble is ‘going to be the great manias of all time.’
Not only that, but it has been questioned as to whether the lost four million bitcoins play a factor in the currency’s current price.