Bitcoin’s $50,000 FOMO Is Overpowering Bankers
The Fear Of Missing Out is rippling through business and finance. But not everyone can be Elon Musk.
Very tempting.
Photographer: Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images
JPMorgan Chase & Co. traders are said to be “salivating” over Bitcoin. It’s easy to see why. The cryptocurrency’s price has shot past $50,000, double where it was on Christmas Day, creating a powerful centrifugal force of excitement — and real money judging by crypto exchange Coinbase Inc.’s reported profit margins of 20%.
Never mind that Bitcoin’s persistent flaws, from relatively slow transaction speeds to wild price swings, make it a poor store of value or medium of exchange. The promise of life-changing wealth during lockdown is a strong draw for eager punters. Beyond the memes, wealthy financiers and billionaires are loudly loading up on digital gold, drowning out any skeptical voices. Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. has plowed $1.5 billion into Bitcoin, and wealthy hedge-funders like Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller are on board.