Bitcoin today reached $4,500 for the first time in its history. The crypto-currency has quadrupled in value from December and the experts are getting nervous.
Peter Schiff, a longtime opponent to the idea that crypto surveillance has long-term prospects, attributes the rise as further proof that Bitcoin is a bubble about to burst.
If you believe him, it's time to pull out, the sooner the better. Schiff reported in CoinDesk that bitcoin is an exaggeration:
There is certainly a lot of publicity about Bitcoin and cryptography, and this is the case with bubbles in general. The psychology of the bubble causes it. You just convince yourself that it will work, and the higher the price, the more convinced you are that you're right. But it doesn't go up because it will work. It rises because of speculation.
That may be correct, but TNW spoke to another expert who had a completely different perspective. Zen Protocol CEO Adam Perlow said:
People do not speculate in Bitcoin with Bitcoin. It's an advantage. It's very good to be an asset and provide value. If it's a bubble, it's a lot like the internet. It was a bubble and it burst. But the Internet is still here.
Schiff might not be so optimistic about Bitcoin because he's not really a fan of the movement. He also said:
The main benefit of bitcoin (the only part of society where it is used for something other than speculation) is crime.
But Perlow, when asked about the misconception that Bitcoin is only useful to criminals, gave a very different perspective:
Encryption can serve many great purposes that a regular currency cannot. We have seen India make most of its currency, the largest denominations, illegal, they are crazy about crypto-currencies. Everybody has digital wallets. In other places, where there may be a more totalitarian government, it would be impossible to conduct financial transactions any other way.
Crypto-currency, for example, can help fund aid for people who are in places where they cannot 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 crypto, and therefore has the most potential.
But the real question is: how much will Bitcoin go up?
A popular investor known as masterluc, referred to as legendary by the crypto website Coin Telegraph, says we will hit 15,000 by December. Don't pay too much attention though, although there are many others who are predicting that the upward trend will continue, including Goldman Sachs whose predictions have so far come true.
As for the above, you should be aware that you should not get your financial advice from a site that does not specialize in Bitcoin.
