The cryptocurrency market surpassed three trillion dollars for the first time on Monday, in a context of greater interest from traditional finance and investors, seduced by vertiginous rises, but worried about inflation.
"The cryptocurrency market is growing with astonishing speed," Ipek Ozkardeskaya, market analyst for SwissQuote, told AFP. For her, there is "a part of speculation and a part of reality."
Since the end of October, US markets have access to an index fund (ETF) to the evolution of bitcoin, which allows investors to bet on the rise of the first cryptocurrency without leaving Wall Street.
Contrary to the euro or the dollar, the number of bitcoins was set at 21 million, which are issued little by little, a rule impossible to change without controlling the integrity of the decentralized network.
Some investors therefore believe that cryptocurrencies are a way to hedge against inflation, which is increasing in both Europe and North America.
"It is a very risky strategy given how volatile the cryptocurrency is and seeing how its value can suffer pressure from regulators, or even comments on social networks," Susannah Streeter, market analyst for Hargreaves Lansdown, warns in a note.
