2017: The year the bitcoin craze reached Wall Street

NEW YORK: Bitcoin burst out of the shadows in 2017, seducing Wall Street and individual investors alike even though many still struggle to understand precisely what it is.

The cryptocurrency’s rise is also pushing regulators to consider taking action after years of simply urging caution.

Bitcoin started the year at US$ 1,000 per unit in January but by mid-December had shot to within striking distance of US$ 20,000, a dizzying climb that stoked fears of a bubble even in financial circles used to speculation and volatility.

“Bitcoin remains a major gamble as it is very much an unchartedwaters asset,” said Nigel Green of investment firm deVere Group. “An asset that goes almost vertically up should typically raise alarm bells for investors.”

But he told AFP bitcoin’s rise demonstratedthestrengthofglobal demand for cryptocurrency.

The digital currency’s moment in the limelight began on December 10 with the first trading in bitcoin futures on a mainstream market in Chicago.

“This is the year bitcoin and the cryptocurrencies went legit imate,” said Timothy Enneking of Crypto Asset Management.

With a peer-to-peer payment system based on ‘ blockchain’ technology, bitcoin is establishing a niche for itself: In some towns, consumers can now dine in restaurants and buy cars and even houses using bitcoin.

Remi Coux, 33, recent ly invested in bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies ethereum and litecoin.

“I did it to repatriate my funds to France without paying fees,” said the New York University geneticist, who explained he was dismayed at the cost of conventional bank transfers.

Rou x now hold s t he equivalent of about US$20,000 in cryptocurrencies, or about three times what he initially invested. To avoid nasty surprises, he has downloaded smartphone apps to alert him to any sudden price movements.

“If that happened, I’d sell as quickly as possible.”

Bitcoin advocates want to seize on the craze to push the Securities and Exchange Commission to permit the creation of a bitcoinbased exchange-traded fund to allow ordinary investors to park their savings. — AFP