Bitcoin Bubble Surpasses Dotcom and Tulip Mania, Goldman Sachs‎ Warns

Goldman Sachs’s investment management arm has issued a warning ‎stating the sharp swings of digital currencies, specifically Bitcoin, over the ‎past year “has pushed it into bubble territory.”‎

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The news preceded a 30% reduction in Bitcoin’s price last week, which has ‎since recovered over the course of the weekend to resume recovery attempts ‎as the price hovers in the region of $11,000.

The firm went on to say that ‎Bitcoin reminds of the tulip mania in Holland in the 1640s, adding that it ‎doesn’t believe the Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term will retain their value in the long run in ‎their current incarnation.

The price surge has also fuelled concerns ‎among Goldman’s analysts of a bubble ‎and drawn comparisons with the ‎dotcom mania of two decades ago‎, and cautioned that the bubble may burst.‎‎

‎“Bitcoin’s meteoric rise in a short time has dwarfed the rise seen during the dot-‎com bubble.‎ We also believe that cryptocurrencies have moved beyond bubble levels in financial markets, ‎and even beyond the levels seen during the Dutch ‘tulipmania’ between 1634 and early ‎‎1637,” Goldman wrote.‎

Tulip mania was a craze in the Netherlands in the 17th century which saw ‎the price of the flower skyrocket, and ultimately resulted in a crash of that market.‎

The warning was prefixed by a statement: “We think the concept of ‎a digital currency that leverages the Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term technology is viable given ‎the benefits it could provide: ease of execution globally, lower transaction ‎costs, reduction of correction since all transactions could be traced, safety of ‎ownership, and so on. But bitcoin does not provide any of these qualities.”‎

Despite pessimism, Goldman opens a crypto trading desk

Big banks have dabbled in blockchain technology, which underpins Bitcoin, and ‎acknowledged its potential to reshape the investment and banking industries. But ‎they were mostly wary of venturing directly into making markets for such digital ‎assets that have been used extensively on darkweb marketplaces‏.‏

Goldman’s‎ comments follow similar warnings from several banks and ‎regulators, that cautioned investors that they should be prepared to lose ‎everything if they bought Bitcoin.

Nevertheless, Goldman Sachs was reportedly opening a trading desk dedicated to Bitcoin ‎and ‎other digital currencies by the end of June, if not earlier. The action also makes the ‎investment bank the first blue-chip Wall Street ‎firm opening a dedicated cryptocurrency ‎trading desk. This openness to ‎deal directly in this burgeoning yet controversial market is also ‎quite ‎interesting, especially considering that Goldman Sachs’ CEO Lloyd ‎Blankfein repeatedly ‎stated that he is still not a believer in Bitcoin ‎technology.‎