BlackRock, the $5 trillion asset manager, has not traditionally paid much attention to cryptocurrency platforms such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Now that the prices of those blockchain-based currencies have risen exponentially in recent months, however, even BlackRock's top economists are watching closely—and with some concern.
Asked by Fortune to address cryptocurrency at a press briefing Tuesday, Richard Turnill, BlackRock's global chief investment strategist, waded into what he called "dangerous territory."
"I look at blockchain, I look at the charts, and to me that looks pretty scary, and reminiscent of what we’ve seen before," he said, referring to the characteristics of previous market bubbles, such as the dot-com boom of the late 1990s.
It's that kind of nervousness that has helped deflate some of the recent crypto enthusiasm, which this year alone propelled the Bitcoin price up more than 200% to an all-time high of $3,000 in June, and Ethereum up more than 5,100% to a peak above $400. Just days after setting those records, though, Bitcoin and Ethereum crashed as much as 25% in a single day, and have so far been unable to recover.
The Ethereum price is currently under $190, down more than 50% from its high less than a month ago. Bitcoin now trades at about $2,280, 24% below its peak. (But even with the selloff, the cryptocurrencies have still delivered spectacular returns in 2017 to date: the Bitcoin price has more than doubled since the start of the year, while Ethereum is worth more than 23 times its value at the end of 2016.)
http://fortune.com/2017/07/11/bitcoin-ethereum-price-bubble-blackrock/
