Bitcoin Blasts Past $7000 As Banking Exec Says Cryptocurrencies Are ‘Very Definition Of A Bubble’



It was an eye-opening moment when Bitcoin set a new record by surpassing $4,000 for the first time in August. Now, only even three months later, Bitcoin has shot past $7,000 per coin. On Thursday morning, Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of $7,355.35 and is currently hovering around $7,000 at time of publication according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index.


After posting record highs on consecutive days, Bitcoin is up over 20% percent for the last 7 days, and its market capitalization is over $116 billion. For the year, Bitcoin has been on a miraculous ride, increasing over 600% against the dollar in 2017. But what happened after defied most predictions.But it’s not just Bitcoin enjoying bewildering success, the value of all cryptocurrencies is now at a record high of more than $190 billion.

Meanwhile, not everyone is so ready to embrace cryptocurrencies. Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam weighed in on cryptocurrencies and he had a very negative outlook on the digital money because of its ties to illegal activities. “I think most banks in the current state of regulation have little or no appetite to get involved in a currency which has such anti-money laundering challenges,” Tidjane Thiam said at a news conference. The high-ranking banking exec added that the volatile currency is “the very definition of speculation and the very definition of a bubble.” Thiam said that investors were only buying cryptocurrencies “to make money.”

Another banking executive warned of the dangers of cryptocurrencies. Koos Timmermans, the chief financial officer of ING, said on Thursday, “Well, we are quite careful on this part, so if you ask, ‘Are we advising our clients to invest in this?’ the answer is no.” Don’t tell that to the Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah who co-founded a cryptocurrency.

Value Of The World’s Third Biggest Cryptocurrency Soared 3,977% In First Half Of 2017

[QZ/CNBC]