Bitcoin has fallen nearly 50% from its euphoric high of $63,729 reached in April 2021.
What took the equity markets decades to establish, the cryptocurrencies market is trying to build in mere months. Bitcoins emerged in 2008 designed by a programmer or group of programmers under the name of Nakamoto, whose real identity remains unknown. New Bitcoins can only be created by solving complex math problems embedded in the currency keeping total growth limited.
Some believe that the price appreciation of Bitcoin has been solely a result of speculation and hasn’t yet been used as a store of value or as a medium of exchange to any extent. Some compare Bitcoin to the tulip craze in Holland of 1637, when speculators pushed the price of tulip bulbs to incredible levels, followed then by a collapse in the tulip bulb market. Bitcoin has also surged on speculation that perhaps one day digital money will eventually become a legitimate global currency and even replacing currencies from certain countries.
Bitcoins are mined by powerful computers that calculate complex, mathematical functions.
