In 2017, Bitcoin saw returns as much as 2000% reaching a high of $20,000 before consolidating to its current levels. Wall Street and other financial pundits have claimed that this meteoric rise in prices is a clear sign of an asset bubble. Many have likened it to Tulip Mania when we saw tulip prices spike largely on speculation in the 1600's before dramatically crashing soon after. However the rise of cryptocurrencies pales in comparison to another asset class. Thats right, Fine Art and Collectibles!

People argue that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value and its current value is unwarranted. However what has more utility than say, a canvas with some color on it? Answer: just about anything. Your average blank canvas costs anywhere between $14.00 to $200.00 depending on size and quality. Adding in other supplies, total initial costs could run $100.00-$1000.00. However, paintings are selling for incredible amounts. Below is a list of the most expensive paintings sold throughout the years. The last name on the list is a piece by Vincent Van Gogh that was sold in the 90's for $152mln. Thats a nearly 152000% increase over an initial $1000 investment!!! Furthermore if you look at the average price for paintings sold over the years, the price rose by nearly double to $300mln in 2015.

Year Amount Artist
2015 $300.0 Paul Gauguin
2015 $179.3 Pablo Picasso
2014 $186.0 Mark Rothko
2013 $158.5 Pablo Picasso
2013 $145.0 Francis Bacon
2011 $274.0 Paul Cezanne
2006 $165.4 Jackson Pollock
2006 $162.4 Willem de Kooning
2006 $158.4 Gustav Klimt
1990 $152.0 Vincent van Gogh

In reality, fine art and its equivalents have become the sleeping giants in the investment world. Due do its secretive nature and high bias towards the rich, this bubbling asset class goes largely unnoticed especially in the mainstream media.However, this must be reversed, if people really want to make astronomical returns, they have to be aware of where the real money lies!

*Disclaimer - this is satirical and points to the dramatization that the mainstream media is making of the current crypto world