Cryptocurrencies

Making Sense of Bitcoin and Its Wild Price Ride

The initial price of Bitcoin, set in 2010, was less than 1 cent. It crossed $19,000 last month. Since then, events have reminded the world that it’s wild ride involves downs as well as ups, as it fell to about $11,400. The ups have been driven by investors anxious to get in on the best-established cryptocurrency as new trading opportunities nudge it toward the mainstream. South Korea’s plan to ban cryptocurrencies contributed to the recent slump. News of a heist of $500 million worth of a differ

BlackRock Says Bitcoin `Not an Investable Asset Class'

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By Olga Kharif

January 29, 2018 at 2:48 AM UTC

Updated on

February 5, 2018 at 5:00 AM UTC

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The initial price of Bitcoin, set in 2010, was less than 1 cent. It crossed $19,000 late last year. But its wild ride involves downs as well as ups: It recently fell below $9,000. The ups were been driven by investors anxious to get in on the best-established cryptocurrency as new trading opportunities nudged it toward the mainstream. Escalating regulatory threats from India, China, South Korea and elsewhere contributed to the slump, along with a $500 million heist of a different digital currency called NEM.

It’s a form of money that’s remarkable for what it’s not: It’s not currency you can hold in your hand. It’s not recognized by most Main Street stores. It’s not issued or backed by a national government. At their core, Bitcoin and its imitators are sets of software protocols for generating digital tokens and for tracking transactions in a way that makes it hard to counterfeit or re-use tokens. A Bitcoin has value only to the extent that its users agree that it does.