Until some time ago, Bitcoins seemed to be uninteresting and remained for a long time a “deal” for experts. In the last few months, the most used crypto-currency has become famous as never before. According to the latest estimates, 1 Bitcoin is currently worth 2,483 dollars (about 2,000 euros), breaking all records. Since the beginning of 2017, the value of the crypto-currency is more than duplicated.
This phenomenal growth, also linked to the spread of ransomwares such as WannaCry that requires a ransom in Bitcoin, gave success to other less well-known digital currencies so far, such as Ripple and Etherium.
The latter is created and supported by large companies working on blockchain projects (accounting books in which all Bitcoin transactions have been recorded since 2009 to date, in a nutshell) and its value grew from 8.24 dollars in the beginning of 2017 to the current 203.30 dollars. Most of Ethereum’s growth took place in March.
Keeping an eye on the market capitalization of all the crypto-currencies, we find that Bitcoin now accounts for 47% of the total value of the market. Theories about the explosion of Bitcoin’s value are several: according to some, it’s due to the economic instability of Russia, Nigeria, and South Korea, according to others investors see Bitcoin as a new asset class and are backing hedge funds to acquire it. In Japan and China, meanwhile, steps are being taken to formalize Bitcoin’s exchange, boosting investment from Asia.