Editorial Board
The Blockchain Is Bigger Than Any Bubble
Bitcoin is a poor currency and a crazy investment -- but the technology behind it is a real breakthrough.
Coin of the virtual realm.
Photographer: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesAn influential new recruit has joined the chorus of bitcoin skeptics. The chief investment officer of UBS, the world’s biggest wealth manager, says it’s too risky to be added to the firm’s portfolios -- and his assessment is relatively mild. Others have called it “the very definition of a bubble” and even “a fraud.”
Those stronger terms are justified, especially after the latest spell of wild price volatility. But the idea underlying bitcoin -- blockchain, or distributed-ledger technology -- could be transformative.