Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cryptocurrencies

[gfp927z]

I don't see how something that doubles in a month and then crashes by 50% in one week can ever be considered a viable mainstream currency.

For a merchant to accept Bitcoin, they'd have to immediately convert it into a regular currency within seconds/minutes of the transaction to avoid potential currency losses. I assume that's what they do now, since otherwise you couldn't run a business for long. Losses on the currency transaction could routinely wipe out any profit you get in the business activity.

Bottomline, these cryptos seem to just be speculative vehicles for traders and hedge funds. The blockchain and DLT/distributed ledger technology itself is another story. Jim Rickards said DLT is to be used by the IMF's SDRs/Special Drawing Rights, which will be the new global reserve currency for international trade and settlement between central banks.