Political crises, terrorism, and a general sense of worldwide instability are driving Bitcoin prices to the highest levels they’ve seen all year.
Yesterday, the digital currency hit the $900 (USD) mark for the first time in more than two years.
Bitcoin prices have always been sensitive to the ebb and flow of geopolitics and this year has proved to be no exception. Earlier in the year, Bitcoin prices spiked above the$700 mark on news of the Britain’s decision to exit the European Union, but that was just the beginning.
In the weeks since Donald Trump’s unbelievable victory in the US Presidential election crypto currency prices have been moving up. Two terrorist acts this week (the assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey and a truck attack at a Berlin market) have added to the sense that global markets could be teetering and that Bitcoin is a good place to wait out the chaos.
The question now is whether or not Bitcoin really is as good a safe harbor for financial assets as the Bitcoin community would have you think. Financial analysts like Mati Greenspan, a senior market analyst at eToro, aren’t so sure. In a recent statement to Business Insider, Greenspan shared his thoughts on investing in Bitcoin saying:
With those kind of gigantic swings, this is the most risky asset ever conceived so I certainly would not recommend putting your life savings in it. However, if indeed we are headed to $1 Million per coin, like some believe even a small investment could go a long way IF it pans out.
If economic and politic instability are, indeed, a boon for digital currencies, 2017 should be a banner year for Bitcoin.