Last week, Russia said it was considering accepting Bitcoin as a payment for oil and gas exports, but only from 'friendly' countries. .
Is it a fad or is it an investment instrument that's likely to settle at an elevated value in time and one that we should be paying more attention to?Bitcoin, the first of the recognised cryptocurrencies, emerged from the turmoil of the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. On the 12th of November last year - when Bitcoin hit its peak value to date - that initial trawl of 10,000 bitcoin would have been worth a whopping $644 million!"Its value is staggering," Anne Hayden, who has lectured in cryptocurrency at the Institute of Investing and Financial Trading says.
Peter Brown, Founder of Baggot Investment Partners, says the the distrust runs much deeper than that. It echoes similar warnings from the Bank of England about the potential for investors to lose all of their investment. Although some banks have developed their own crypto startups and their own versions of cryptocurrency, others have offered wealth management clients access to Bitcoin assets.
"It's like a penny stock. Your investment is more than likely going to go to zero, but if it goes to 10p, you've made 10 times your money. But you have to be prepared to lose your total investment. That's the type gamble this is," he explained.Even amidst their distrust of crypto, central banks have been developing their own versions of digital currencies.