The Buzz
The Bitcoin trade: Higher, Higher, Higher!
April 3, 2013: 1:46 PM ET
The price of the cybercurrency Bitcoin has been skyrocketing in recent weeks.
Bitcoin -- the 4-year-old cryptic online currency -- is suddenly the hottest investment in the world. What other currency, stock, bond or derivative has seen its value spike 326% in the past month and 67% in less than a week?
On Wednesday, one bitcoin traded for $147. Just two and a half years ago, a bitcoin was valued at 5 cents.
The banking crisis in Cyprus certainly contributed to the interest in a currency that's disconnected from all central banks, and is instead "minted" by a complicated algorithm spewed from more than 20,000 computers. But the intrigue surrounding these coins and their value has continued to rise.
StockTwits traders have started to debate whether bitcoin values are in bubble territory or whether demand can keep prices soaring. But one thing that's changed: few are questioning whether this currency is here to stay.
CoderTrader
$BCOIN First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.
Many investors have been scrambling to simply understand what a bitcoin is and how to buy it.
charlesamadeus
Good intro to $BCOIN on Quora by Paul Bohm. http://stks.co/cPAi A glimpse into the potential use of decentralizing technologies. Bullish
The bigger question for StockTwits traders: Is bitcoin in bubble territory?
TheArmoTrader
OK this is pure bubble insanity. Not sure how high it goes but calling it, Bitcoin back to 40-50 once this pops http://stks.co/fQOI $BCOIN
So is the alternative.
nancefinance
I'm Raising My Bitcoin Price Target To $400 - Blodget http://stks.co/p7M8 $BCOIN
Once burned, twice shy...or something like that.
Henry Blodget, a former tech stock analyst, is taking the middle road when it comes to bitcoin. Yes, it could be a bubble, but it could also rise to $400, $1000, $5000.
Blodget compares bitcoin to the case he made about Amazon's value during the dotcom bubble. Of course, there's no tangible way to value a bitcoin aside from what someone else believes it is worth.
"The odds bitcoin speculators are looking at are similar to the odds early Internet speculators were looking at: The most you can lose is 100% of your bet. The most you can make, meanwhile, is theoretically unlimited," Blodget wrote.
Blodget, the current CEO of Business Insider, was famously banned from the securities industry for life back in 2003 after writing misleading reports on Internet stocks.
Could Blodget be earning fees for talking up bitcoins? Probably not, but that's the beauty and danger of the bitcoin marketplace. No one knows exactly who mints them or who is controlling the supply.
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Next big opportunity: Bond bubble bursting
It's going to be tough to call, but three of the world's biggest investors agree that the next big money-making opportunity will be when interest rates rise from their historic lows and the bond bubble bursts.
"The greatest fortune made in the next five years is probably going to be made by some group or individual who figures out when the interest rate market will turn," said billionaire David Rubenstein, MORE
Hibah Yousuf - Dec 12, 2012 4:31 PM ET -
India under pressure as outlook cut
Despite widespread expectations for another rate cut, the Reserve Bank of India left its key interest rate at 8% Monday, citing growing inflation concerns.
The move, or lack thereof, puts greater pressure on India's government to get its fiscal house in order.
The central bank aggressively cut its interest rate in April for the first time in three years in an effort to boost growth "based on the premise that the process MORE
Hibah Yousuf - Jun 18, 2012 11:53 AM ETPosted in: bond, brics, central bank, credit, economy, emerging markets, fitch ratings, India, interest rates, outlook, reserve bank of india -
Italy's bond test
Italy faced its first in a series of debt auctions Wednesday and it wasn't pretty.
The government sold 6.5 billion euros of 1-year notes at an average yield of 3.97%. That's sharply higher than the 2.34% yield at last month's auction and may signal further trouble ahead.
Italy's borrowing costs have been creeping higher as investors worry the country may be headed closer to bailout territory. The yield on Italy's 10-year MORE
Catherine Tymkiw - Jun 13, 2012 9:47 AM ET
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