No downtime or hesitation for Bitcoin. After taking a break just below its historic value at the end of 2017, the virtual currency crossed the record threshold of 20,000 dollars on Wednesday, marking a new page in its history.
The upward movement that started has not weakened since and the price has now exceeded 23,000 dollars, without showing signs of slowing down. Observers remain on the lookout for clues that could suggest a repeat of the history of the previous record (a very rapid drop in value) but the context is very different, however.
Large investors are now interested in it and devote a portion of their assets to it, attracted by huge potential returns and reassured by a wider acceptance of Bitcoin as an alternative payment method, especially among players in dematerialized payment such as Paypal.
The economic uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic may also play a role in the renewed attraction towards Bitcoin. At a time when international banking systems must deal with an economic slowdown, the use of cryptocurrencies, despite their own danger of falling values as quickly as their sudden rise, becomes a more acceptable risk in a context where the high-tech sector and large groups of the Web tend to resist well, even to grow strongly when entire sections of the economy are at a standstill.
Bitcoin is still a long way from presenting the qualities of a safe haven like gold, but it is making its way into people’s minds with a less sulphurous aura than in its early days due to its decentralized operation.
It now remains to be seen how far the value of this virtual currency (and other cryptocurrencies in their wake) can climb and whether the wildest forecasts, counting on a Bitcoin worth several hundred thousand dollars, will be able to come true or if another severe fall will dampen hopes by recalling a status that remains highly volatile.