Nobel prize winner, David Schiller said it at Davos: http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-shiller-bitcoin-2014-1 He also says "as a currency, it's a return to the dark ages" I said it too, it's a bubble!
The earliest adopters of bitcoin saw volatility that makes the the action over the last few months to $1242 and the drops look closer to flat. Percentage wise, the larges rises and falls happened years ago. Treasure Hunter, I recall you failing to understand this. The earliest adopters of bitcoin have also heard the term 'bubble' for years. When bitcoin hit a dollar, people were selling off bitcoins thinking that was it and 'bubble'. See the article below. Treasure Hunter - Imagine seeing a price rise from around $1 to $30 and back to $1-2 dollars. (see link below) http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/18/bitcoin-value-crash-cryptocurrency Bitcoin has been "tulips" and a "bubble" for most of it's short life. People whom have been in game longer than I have must have almost completely switched off to constant chorus of negative voices from the sidelines. They took higher risks that have paid off. A lot of people would not have the motivation and kahoonas to remain in bitcoins. Those people have paved the way now and many have contributed to make it easier for others to enter the market. Now others want to see their favourite alt coins (especially, as they feel they missed the bitcoin train) or bitcoin rise as it has in the past. People these days have much more infrastructure and less sensation of risk as things mature. These are still early days, but personally, I hand it to those whom got in earlier than I personally did. Respect +++
Actually it's Robert Shiller - and the link works for me Don't dismiss what Robert Shiller has to say out of hand - he is not Paul (clueless) Krugman He wrote the book "Irrational Exuberance" and warned of the Nasdaq and US property bubbles
I think the powers that be will co-opt it soon enough - probably by outlawing it and replacing it with their own version plonked into the infrastructure that has been set up, taking advantage of the 'acceptance' that is growing. After all it's the perfect fiat currency once you remove that 8 or 9 gig chain that tethers it to reality and back it with the government guarantee.
Load of Bullion: I regard Bitcoin as a speculative asset, I'm not speaking against it, nor for it. I'm merely analizing what happens to it. With that kind of volatility, it can't be a sustainable currency. It's more like a stock market share, it's worse than an ETF. For speculation purposes, it's a great invention, indeed.
I apologize for the mistype, I was reading too many articles and I mistyped. Indeed, it's Robert Shiller. Keynesianism, like any view in economics is like an ideology. They all have their limits.
Bitcoin is young, it does not have a chance of being any where near stable for many years. To expect otherwise is plain foolishness. For you it represents only a means of speculation. For others it is means of having an edge in business (with zero speculation involved). For companies like Melbourne's Tomcar, bitcoin is serving to save them significant amounts of money already. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMsefQ6_FKY[/youtube]
Notice that it's rather the Keynesianists, "conventional economists" that are getting Nobel Prizes? Tell me if there is any "less conventional" economist who got the Nobel Prize.
