Bitcoin: Record after record, how far will the bitcoin go?

SCAN ECO - Several economists believe that the price of crypto-currency will reach $ 6,000 within a year. Not yet "democratized", it is sufficiently intriguing that states, investors and the general public are interested.

● A record value every day or almost every day

Like Warren Barguil to the assault of the passes of the Tour de France 2017, the course of the bitcoin no longer cross the symbolic bars this summer: it swallows them. After clearing the $ 3000 bar in early August, the virtual currency crossed that of the $ 4000 barely more than a week later ... As a reminder, the bitcoin flirted "only" with the $ 1000 at the beginning of the year, after Having spent years under this bar since its creation in 2009. Its course remains very volatile. It takes 19.5% in 24 hours on July 21, 2017 and can lose up to 10% on a day like June 13th. But the trend is there. And it seems exponential.

The bitcoin, of the English bit (binary information unit) and coin (coin), is not the only cryptographic currency in circulation. One can cite the ethereum appeared in July 2015 or the zcash in October 2016, among hundreds of crypto-currencies more or less durable. But with a capitalization of about $ 71 billion to date, the bitcoin is the largest. And the least misunderstood. Its course could also continue its momentum. Economists consulted by Les Echos are seeing 6,000 or even 7,500 dollars within a year. "The reasons for believing? Increasing adoption by the general public, improving transaction platforms, but also its use and acceptance by institutional investors as an asset class, "adds the business daily.

● Growing faster and faster?

The very first bitcoin was created in early 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Individual or collective developer? His identity remains a mystery. The more than 16 million units appearing in the wake of the first were created by "mining". Miners are the users who put their computer hardware to "perform mathematical calculations for the Bitcoin network in order to confirm transactions and increase their security. As a reward for their services, they collect the newly created bitcoins as well as the transaction fees they confirm, "says Bitcoin-France.org. The majority of these miners would be in China, according to Nextinpact.com. But Russia intends to invest in mining in the future.

Encrypted and authenticated transaction blocks are added to each other. To modify information, it must be changed at the same time for all users, which tends to ensure the stability of the system. It is the principle of the blockchain, reputed to be unfalsifiable. Problem for some users: calculations and transactions do not go fast enough. One group decided to secede on 1 August last and create its new crypto-coin: the bitcoin cash. But the latter "has not imposed itself and the traditional bitcoin has been strengthened", explains La Croix. "This split has removed the questions that weighed on the future," comments Adli Takkal Bataille, host of a specialized site, le-coin-coin.fr, questioned by the daily.

● Is the multiplication of bitcoins infinite?

From 1 to 16 million bitcoins in eight years ... and how much tomorrow? Satoshi Nakamoto had foreseen this question and set the limit at 21 million bitcoin. The mathematical calculations involved in "mining" are increasingly complex "so that the number of bitcoins generated is always the same, regardless of the overall power of the network", adds the site Bitcoin-France.org. But this system is essentially decentralized: no central bank regulates the bitcoin, whose value depends only on the play of supply and demand. Will this limit of 21 million units be respected when the time comes, between 2030 and 2035 according to the projections?

● From DarkWeb to the purchase of apartments, more and more "normal" uses

This anonymous currency first attracted the attention of users concerned that their online transactions are not traceable. Mainly on the DarkWeb, it served them to buy illegal substances or pirated information. But it is now out of the marginality of its beginnings. "With a total valuation of nearly $ 120 billion, it becomes difficult for institutional investors to ignore crypto-currencies like the bitcoin," Goldman Sachs wrote to his clients in mid-August. Not yet completely democratized, this currency already makes it possible to make more banal purchases than weapons, such as a plane ticket or an apartment.

● Extension of the area of ​​legality ...

Some countries have shown that it is permissive to use the bitcoin. In Japan, the bitcoin became an official means of payment in the spring. Many states abandon the framework more than they envisage to legalize this currency. Others, on the contrary, imprison the Internet users who would have used it. Finally, some central banks recommend that it be used with caution. The site Bitlegal.io lists the status of the bitcoin according to the countries, while the situation remains shifting.

... and crime

The history of the bitcoin is also enamelled by attempts of piracy, sometimes successful. As in August 2016. 119,756 bitcoins, about 53 million euros at the time, were stolen by hackers via a security breach on the Bitfinex platform, one of the most used to exchange the virtual currency in Asia. The flight resulted in a 20% fall in the price of the bitcoin at the time. Another case: in 2015, the Japan-based platform MtGox went bankrupt, sabotaging the reputation of the bitcoin for a while. Its French boss Mark Karpeles has always claimed that his company had been the victim of an external computer attack but was put under investigation and imprisoned for falsification of information and misappropriation of a sum equivalent to 2.4 million euros. His trial is ongoing, he pleads not guilty. Finally, another risk arises, as the bitcoin fuels covetousness: scams mounted around the "next bitcoin". Now that crypto-currencies arouse the curiosity of the general public, seduced by the few examples of rapid enrichment, online fraudsters try to enjoy.