Hello, Quartz Index readers!
It’s been quite a year for bitcoin. An Australian computer scientist claimed to be bitcoin’s anonymous creator, but then took it back. A “civil war” broke out between bitcoin community developers. PayPal dipped its toes in the bitcoin waters. Wall Street’s interest in blockchain has reached a fever pitch.
Bitcoin is on a bull run this month, surging by 19% to a high of $718, within touching distance of its June peak (which happened after Brexit). Bitcoin is certainly thriving, but why now?
A few possible reasons: Chinese traders are use bitcoin as a hedge against yuan weakness, updates to the bitcoin software cooled developer in-fighting, and it seems Bitcoin’s famous volatility has calmed—the risk of investment is now about the same as that of oil, and liquidity is comparable to that of a US mid-cap stock.
Investors can only hope the increased attention and speculation will bring lasting stability to the value of bitcoin. As with other markets, perception is as important as reality.
—Molly Rubin
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