GADFLY: From bitcoin to BigBoobsCoin, crypto-currencies are a juggling act
There are 1,036 virtual currencies to choose from, writes Lionel Laurent, but individual differences are lost in the crush to get rich — or get out
London — There are 1,036 virtual currencies out there, from bitcoin to — no joke — BigBoobsCoin. The price of almost every single one was down on Friday morning. Bitcoin, the one that kicked off the whole shebang with its rigid algorithm to cap supply, hit its lowest point in two weeks before climbing back to about $14,000. Is this the epic bursting of the bubble the bears have been waiting for? Not yet. The sell-off certainly looks like a reversal of the herd buy-in that hit fever pitch this year. But, in absolute price terms, crypto-currencies are only looking very marginally less insane. Even after sinking 35% from a record high, bitcoin is still 1,200% higher than where it was at the end of 2016. And corrections are common in this market. Bitcoin dropped 13% in one day just three months ago, and 22% in one day back in 2015. What’s troubling for the true crypto-believers is that arguments about the fundamental differences between each digital token’s merits are getting lost in th...
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