Mainstream media sources are already preparing ‘FUD’ on Bitcoin as prices approach $10,000 Monday.
Quoting analysts warning of an impending bubble bursting and out-of-control investment, outlets such as the UK’s Guardian have continued their hands-off approach to the wildly successful cryptocurrency.
Speaking to the paper, Neil Wilson, a senior analyst at London-based ETX Capital, said that anyone prepared to buy Bitcoin for a higher price was the “greater fool.”
“Rather than a commodity or currency, Bitcoin is like owning stock in a company that will only ever issue 21 mln shares and never pay a penny in dividends,” he said.
“The only way it has value is if the next guy is willing to pay you more for it – the greater fool. With no intrinsic value to Bitcoin, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a giant speculative bubble.”
Bubble-oriented thinking is part of a growing divide in the financial community. In contrast to Wilson, surveys have indicated that fewer people believe a $7,000 Bitcoin is a bubble than a $2,000.
The analyst nonetheless conceded that Bitcoin, which now has a bigger market cap than General Electric, had gained “very important legitimacy” from CME Group’s decision to offer regulated futures trading from next month.
Meanwhile, continuing the divide, social media influencer Branden Hampton led the rebuttal, writing Sunday that anyone calling Bitcoin a bubble is eligible for a “slap in the face.”