Bitcoin hit $4,500 today for the first time in its history. The cryptocurrency has quadrupled in value since December and experts are starting to get nervous.
Peter Schiff, a long-time opponent of the idea that cryptocurrency has long-term prospects, attributes the rise as further proof that Bitcoin is a bubble that is about to burst.
If you believe him, it’s time to pull out, the sooner the better. Schiff told CoinDesk that Bitcoin is an exaggeration:
There's certainly a lot of hype about Bitcoin and crypto, and that's what happens with bubbles in general. The psychology of the bubble causes it. You just convince yourself that it's going to work, and the higher the price, the more convinced you are that you're right. But it doesn't go up because it's going to work. It goes up because of speculation.
That may be true, but TNW spoke to another expert who had a completely different perspective. Zen Protocol CEO Adam Perlow said:
People don't speculate on Bitcoin with Bitcoin. It's an asset. It's great to be an asset and provide value. If it's a bubble, it's a lot like the internet. That was a bubble too and it burst. But the internet is still here.
Schiff may not be so bullish on Bitcoin because he’s not really a fan of the move. He also said:
The main benefit of bitcoin (the only part of society where it is used for something other than speculation) is crime.
Perlow, however, when asked about the misconception that Bitcoin is only useful to criminals, gave a very different perspective:
Crypto can serve a lot of great purposes that regular currency can't. We've seen India make most of its currency, the largest denominations, illegal, they're crazy about crypto. Everyone has digital wallets. In other places, where there might be a more totalitarian government, it would be impossible to conduct financial transactions any other way.
Cryptocurrency, for example, can help fund aid for people in places where they can’t report the money they have or receive. It also solves many smaller problems, such as working with international companies without needing banks to secure transactions. Right now, Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency, and therefore has the most potential.
But the real question is: how much will Bitcoin go up?
A popular investor known as masterluc, who is listed as legendary by crypto website Coin Telegraph, is predicting that we will hit 15,000 by December. Don’t take it too seriously, though, as there are many others predicting that the bullish trend will continue, including Goldman Sachs, whose predictions have so far come true.
As for the above, you should know that you should not get your financial advice from a site that does not specialize in Bitcoin.
