Did Jamie Dimon obliterate bitcoin’s buzz?
Bitcoin and other digital currencies have been getting absolutely toasted in recent trade, with some wondering if withering criticism from Wall Street heavyweights, like J.P. Morgan Chase’s CEO, and growing regulatory scrutiny in China have finally combined to exact a punishing, and lasting, toll on one of the most bubblicious segments of finance.
On Thursday, the value of a single bitcoin was down about 10% at $3,565, compared with around $5,000 in early September and representing a roughly $23 billion loss of market value in the world’s No. 1 cryptocurrency, according to digital-currency site Coinmarketcap.com. Ether tokens, the second-most popular digital currency, were down 11% on the day at $240 in recent action. That equates to a loss of more than $15 billion in total value for the currency running on the Ethereum blockchain.
Still, bitcoin’s rise has been dazzling, rallying some 250% so far in 2017. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index are each up by nearly 12% this year, sparking a litany of pronouncements that U.S. equities are too rich.
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