Skyrocketing Bitcoin: The Great Race and the Great Risks

“Beware of whales,” is the advice of Glen Goodman, a fishing expert who has probably never seen a cetacean. But the whales mentioned by Goodman, author of the best seller "Crypto trader's manual" have a soft spot for virtual fish, that is, those that bite the first bait that glitters in the sea of ​​price lists. “Don't trust the experts who in these days will tell in blogs and newspapers that the value of Bitcoins is destined to explode: to say so are investors who already own a large stock of tokens and can't wait to raise cash. Except then buy it back at lower prices”.

 The advice of our expert, who teaches the subject of virtual currencies at the London School of Economics, falls on a historic day. Wednesday afternoon, as members of the Federal Reserve finalized the release on the US central bank's year-end decisions, Bitcoin crossed the $20 threshold for the first time to then rise up to 20.154 dollars (+3,8%) and continue, for now, up to exceeding 22 thousand this morning. 

Thus a historic wall fell because bitcoin, which arrived on December 17, 2017 at 19.666 dollars, then triggered the reverse. A year later the global value of Bitcoin in circulation has deflated like a giant soufflé: from 830 billion dollars in value to just over 100 billion. But the descent was even more dizzying: in less than two weeks, those who had bet on bitcoin at the maximum lost about a third of the value of their investment. 

Will it be like this this time too? In part yes, continues Goodman, but history teaches us that virtual currencies are not a bluff or even less a mere fad, but have a value, all the more evident as the "paper" put into circulation by central banks increases and products based on virtual currency are multiplying. What hasn't changed, however, is the extreme volatility, still at high levels despite the fact that products based on virtual currencies are now the basis of products traded on official markets. 

"I am convinced that we will test the corridor between 20 and 22 thousand euros on several occasions, let's say at least a dozen times, before the price takes off again towards 30 thousand", says Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Celsius Network, speaking with Business US Insiders. But what are the drivers that argue in favor of the rise of virtual currencies? 

• A first reason lies in the success of the debut of Bitcoin to regulate exchanges on Paypal, which today represent a growing share of the turnover linked to Bitcoin.
• Recognition by central banks. Not only the ECB, which has already started the process for the creation of a digital euro, but also China and Japan.
• The inflation that is looming behind the increase in the "paper" handed out by central banks to counter the recession. Bitcoin, which cannot exceed a maximum emission limit, is by its nature a powerful antidote to rising prices. 

Finally, it should be noted the operation of Banca Generali which will enter the capital of Conio Inc.,  a “wallet provider” that offers custody, trading and reporting services with a particular focus on Bitcoin. The institute also provides for the distribution of Conio products (including Bitcoin) within the bank's digital offer for its customers.