As the price of bitcoin continues to climb, a new frontier has been entered by the dominant cryptocurrency as it commences trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for futures trading.
The arrival of bitcoin on this established platform has heated the conversation surrounding it, with some seeing it as confirmation of currency’s legitimacy, and others calling for regulation.
After a meteoric rise this year, many will be watching with bated breath to see the effects of this latest occurrence in the world of bitcoin. Already the currency has rallied by four per cent following a dip upon the release of the futures.
Expressing concern regarding the growth of bitcoin, Bruno Le Maire, the French Finance Minister, said: “I am going to propose to the next G20 president, Argentina, that at the G20 summit in April we have a discussion all together on the question of bitcoin… There is evidently a risk of speculation. We need to consider and examine this and see how… with all the other G20 members we can regulate bitcoin.”
In contrast to this, major advocates like John McAfee foresee the currency achieving far greater feats. McAfee has expressed expectations that the currency could soar to $500,000 per unit.
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Jamie Dimon on the other hand is expecting bitcoin to ultimately fail, predicting that the banks and regulators of the world will clamp down on it like they already have in countries like China.
Bitcoin’s progress is truly unprecedented, having started out at the beginning of the year at a price in the region of $1,000 per unit. Since that point the currency caused a stir when it surpassed the value of gold in terms of an ounce to a unit, reaching a value of close to $1,260. Today the price stands at over $19,000 per unit, lining it up to potentially pass the $20,000 with the announcement of CME trading.
