With Bitcoin making headlines over the past few weeks, Paddy Power has a market on the fluctuating price of the online currency.
After hitting a record value do you think Bitcoin will hold steady, continue to rise or fall away by the end of the year?
Let’s check the odds for bets on Bitcoin’s value.
A New Record for Bitcoin
On the weekend of the 20th May Bitcoin powered to its highest price yet, at $2020 at the time of writing (Sunday 21st May).
Anyone who’s ever dealt with this online currency will know that it is unpredictable.
Surges like the most recent one are followed by a correction or even a slump. Back in January the price nose-dived 12% after China’s Central Bank advised investors to be cautious about investing in online currency because of its volatility.
Why the Price of Bitcoin Might Keep Rising
Bitcoin has never been more mainstream. It is unaffected by the political turmoil that has affected normal currencies like Sterling and the Dollar in the last year, so is a safe haven.
Other online currencies like Ethereum and Lumens have gained in price recently, and instead of using traditional value to buy them with, people prefer to use Bitcoin to buy these currencies for the sake of convenience.
So it’s becoming more valuable by proxy, but that’s one of a host of reasons behind the surge.
Paddy Power has odds of 2/1 that the price will rise to between $2001 and $3000 come the end of the year, or 4/1 for a price of $3001 or more.
Why the Price Might Fall Again
Bitcoins bull runs are often powered by nothing more than hot air. Usually what happens is that the price rises, and the bubble grows as everyone wonders whether Bitcoin has finally matured.
Blowing hot air into the bubble are investors who want the currency to become commonplace but are unaware of the exact mechanics at play in online currency.
And then the market corrects itself with talk of regulation, or warnings are sent out like the one by the China Central Bank in January.
Paddy Power is offering evens that it will be back below $2000 come the New Year and 4/1 that it will even slide under $1000.
Betting on the Value of Bitcoin
If you’re up for betting on Bitcoin’s value and want some sort of indicator, the best advice is to check what’s happens in the Far East, where rumours, fees and other regulation seem to have the biggest effect.
One of the reasons for the recent gains is that in April Japan loosened the rules on dealing with Bitcoin, treating it less like the Silk Road subterfuge currency of old and more like part of the general banking system.
You can bet what the Bitcoin price will be at the end of the year with Paddy Power. The market closes on Sunday 31st December at 12:00.
