The wild swings in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptos over the last week should have you convinced that they are not yet ready for prime time. After rising to just over $20,000 on December 17, 2017, Bitcoin dropped nearly 40% within a week.
That was just openers. After trading between $13,000 and $17,500, on January 16th, Bitcoin dropped 33% and Ethereum plunged 40% in 36 hours. What happened next? The crypto complex rose 20% over three days and is now falling again – nearly 10% on January 22, the day this post was written.
Are these investments? No. Is this money? Absolutely not!
What are they then? They are speculations at best. Gambling chips at worst.
Back in November, Arthur Brock, a respected crypto news analyst said, “…let’s tell the truth — cryptocurrencies just aren’t safe for everyday use by normal people and businesses yet.”
This week proved his words 100% correct.
The cryptocurrency trading market has a lot of growing to do. And unfortunately, “growth” means figuring out who the winners and losers will be in an unregulated wild west market. If there is any good news in the volatility of the last week, it is that it will force people to look more closely at the technologies behind the various cryptos and begin to shun the scams.
Gold and Silver Still Shine
In the midst of all the chaos about which cryptos to buy, the price of gold and silver has been steadily rising. Some of the “hot” money in the crypto sector and some folks who got burned by it may be returning to something a bit more stable. While the price of gold and silver can rise and fall substantially, it does not happen in days – or hours as we’ve witnessed in the crypto markets.
If gold and silver were ever to become this volatile, it would not mean they were in trouble. It would mean that the entire global monetary system was in trouble. Serious trouble. And if that were the case, you’d be happy to own some. It would mean you would have some level of protection over the instability of the uncertainty of electronic “money” that has yet to find its place in the world.
While cryptos will find their place in the future monetary system, we’re not sure when that day will come. But it seems like it’s further in the future than many believe.