With Bitcoin Breaking $50,000, Even Wall Street Skeptics Must Pay Attention

For many professionals involved in the traditional financial system, it’s been tempting to just ignore Bitcoin and hope it goes away. To them the digital currency makes no sense as an investment or a currency; they note it’s not backed up by any asset, underlying business, or government. Some call Bitcoin a digital tulip, a reference to the surge and eventual crash of flower-bulb prices in the Netherlands in the 17th century.

That posture has gotten increasingly hard to maintain, however. Set aside what you think of the case for Bitcoin. The point is that it’s here, and it’s worth in the neighborhood of $50,000 a coin, up from $4,900 last spring. On Wall Street, nothing commands attention like an asset your rivals made money on when you didn’t. And even if you did try to avoid it, Bitcoin has begun digging its way into portfolios, often indirectly.