There are those who are never satisfied: Howard Morgan, the billionaire who sits at the top of Renaissance Tech, a hedge fund that boasts double-digit performances this year, is a good example: "This year I could have earned much more with cryptocurrencies than with digital”. However, in a moment of modesty he adds: "But I slept much more peacefully".
Morgan is among the lucky ones who took full advantage the recovery of Bitcoin which, from a valuation of around $5 in March at the beginning of the pandemic ($4.944 on the 6th), has more than tripled in price until negotiating this morning at around $15.400, a slight decrease compared to the beginning of the week, but still 60% plentiful from mid-October.
A spectacular rise which, among the various reasons, owes much to the decision of Paypal, the virtual payment system developed by Peter Thiel and the then very young Elon Musk to open the doors to the use of Bitcoin (and Ethereum) by of the 345 million users of the system who can now pay for purchases of goods and services (26 million products) but also make deposits in virtual currency.
A leap in quality that brings Bitcoin closer to other safe haven assets, including gold. Indeed, according to JP Morgan, bitcoin has what it takes to compete with the yellow metal already in the near future "thanks - reads a note - to the entry into the market of a new generation of investors".
A promotion that comes three years after the rejection by Jamie Dimon, the number one of the bank, who had defined bitcoin as a complete scam”, an opinion which, moreover, is still widespread for a couple of reasons: first, reputation dark of electronic currencies, an instrument adopted by the international underworld and a vehicle for many scams, especially in the East; the great volatility of quotations which recorded losses of 40-50% in moments of greatest turbulence, much higher than those of gold.
But many things have changed in the Far West of virtual currencies. First of all, the promotion within share lists, not just private circuits. By now, cryptocurrency products appear on the platforms of ICE, the Chicago giant that controls the New York Stock Exchange while derivatives are traded on the Nasdaq, circumstances that have increased the credibility of the system which now has a clientele, especially among the wealthy believer who appreciates its virtues. Not by chance the highest density of Bitcoin-related institutions is recorded in the canton of Zug, the most generous in terms of taxation of the Swiss Confederation.
But the further, decisive leap in quality will take place with the promotion of central banks, ready to ride the phenomenon and share its advantages, without losing control of the currency. On 12 October she left, under the guidance of Fabio Panetta member of the board of the European Central Bank, consultation with operators to verify the feasibility of the operation. After that, if the road proves feasible, the Eurotower will take at least a year to organize the operation. «The digital euro – said Panetta – it would make our currency more attractive, increasing its role as a global currency and strengthening the European financial system”.
At that point, an App, a health card or a token that generates an unrepeatable code like the keys will suffice to load digital euros, as is done with a Bancomat or a prepaid card, with a predefined maximum amount with the same validity as cash and spendable at any authorized shop.
The system is defined by the ECB with the oxymoron "digital offline": using bluetooth or a similar non-web software. You will not need a bank account or credit card, but it will be enough to open a new generation, free and digital account with the central bank which will thus acquire direct control of the availability of the system, with significant repercussions for monetary policy.
It will be what Alessandro Fugnoli has already defined as "the reflationary nuclear weapon of the near future". digital currency issued directly by central banks so powerful as to be surrounded by a thousand cautions, as indeed it is advisable to do with Bitcoin launched, according to experts, to soon conquer $20.000. And then, who knows.
