Fortune has devoted the entire front page of its first 2018 edition to Bitcoin, announcing it has “all the answers” about its behavior this year.
A Bitcoin ‘Platypus’
In an extensive analysis of the potential upsides and downsides for investors over the next twelve months, the publication focuses on bubble fears and includes some surprises from cryptocurrency industry figures.
“Just like the platypus is not good at being a reptile, a beaver, a duck, or an otter, but it’s great at being a platypus,” Blockchain Capital’s Spencer Bogart told the publication in discussing Bitcoin’s status.
Bitcoin is not good at being a currency, a commodity, or a fintech company, but it’s great at being Bitcoin. It’s creating its own category and asset class.
Mainstream media outlets have turned broadly negative on the largest cryptocurrency over the past weeks as prices cool off from highs of $20,000. That cryptocurrency, in general, is in a bubble has become a go-to theme for many publications, while some have conversely taken to championing specific coins at the expense of Bitcoin, notably CNBC and Russia Today with Bitcoin Cash.
Armstrong Warms To Bubble Theory
Brian Armstrong, CEO of embattled US wallet and exchange Coinbase, meanwhile “confided,” as Fortune describes it, that the bubble narrative is a “probable” explanation after all.
Speaking about the overall total cryptocurrency market cap, Armstrong declared:
We probably are in a bubble. […] We haven’t really earned the value of that half trillion.
Deserving or not, that market cap is expected to continue trending upwards, with bullish investor Mike Novogratz forecasting a one-of-a-kind “global” bubble unlike any other:
The fact that this is our first global mania… will make this the single most speculative bubble of our lifetimes.
Should that perspective hold true, cryptoassets’ utility will likely prove crucial in allowing them to retain value and prevent spectacular investor losses.
That topic is especially pertinent to Ripple in the first week of 2018, as unprecedented price highs are countered with criticism that the platform’s XRP token is less than reliable due to client businesses not needing to actually use it.
What do you think about Bitcoin’s treatment by mainstream media? Let us know in the comments below!
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