Talking Points
- Bitcoin has doubled in price since March, outperforming all traditional asset classes.
- One of the world’s largest fund managers is mining the new currency.
- See the DailyFX Economic Calendar and see what live coverage for key event risk impacting FX markets is scheduled for next week on the DailyFX Webinar Calendar.
Bitcoin (BTC) has hit a fresh all-time high in European hours, as buyers dominate the crypto-currency. In early March, Bitcoin surpassed the price of an ounce of gold for the first time and the latest rally has seen it now worth twice the price of one of the oldest stores of wealth. Bitcoin is currently 8% higher at $2645 while gold is down 0.10% at $1257/oz.
And to put the staggering rise of the virtual currency in perspective, in June 2009 one BTC was worth a mere $0.0001, while in June 2012 one BTC was worth $7. And in what is undoubtedly the most expensive meal ever, in May 2010 a man in Florida bought two pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins, a fast food trade that is currently valued in excess of $26million.
Chart: Bitcoin Weekly Timeframe (June 2015 – May 25, 2017)
The crypto-currency has also gathered new admirers, including fund giant Fidelity. Speaking at a Bitcoin technology conference in New York this week, the CEO of Fidelity Investments, Abigail Johnson, said that the company had been testing various concepts and applications of Bitcoin including mining the currency. The mining process uses computing power to solve complex transactions in return for new Bitcoins.
--- Written by Nick Cawley, Analyst
To contact Nick, email him at nicholas.cawley@ig.com
Don't trade FX but want to learn more? Read the DailyFX Trading Guides
