What burst the bitcoin bubble and could it rise again?
This is Money Podcast
This is Money
4.1 • 650 Ratings
🗓️ 23 November 2018
⏱️ 39 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A year ago bitcoin could do no wrong – now it has slumped to 79 per cent below its peak.
So what went wrong for the much vaunted cryptocurrency?
The mania of a year ago gave way to a bust after Christmas and apart from a few short-lived rallies bitcoin has been mainly on the slide since.
That’s not to say it has no use - the cryptocurrency and underlying technology are fascinating - but just because something has some value does not mean it can’t end up in a bubble.
On this week’s podcast, Simon Lambert, Georgie Frost and Myron Jobson look at what went wrong for bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies and what we can learn from the boom and bust.
Also on this week’s show, they look at some more durable investments, companies that have paid a rising dividend for a decade or longer – and how some have seen big rises in their share price.
The potential return of 100 per cent mortgages and the sudden flurry of better savings rates are also on the agenda.
And finally, Simon talks us through the 2,100 road trip he took with his family to test out VW’s California campervan – and whether swapping your family car for a van that’s ready for adventure could ever be a smart move?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to This Is Money podcast in partnership with NS&I. |
| 0:04.1 | I'm your host Georgie Frost and alongside editor Simon Lambert night today is reporter Myron |
| 0:09.5 | Jobson, making his podcast debut. |
| 0:12.4 | Don't worry if we'll go easy on your Myron. |
| 0:14.4 | And coming up has the bubble truly burst on Bitcoin? |
| 0:18.0 | As the price of the cryptocurrency nosedived this week, Simon offers us some lessons |
| 0:23.0 | from its rise and fall. From the ridiculous to the sublime, Myron instead takes a look at the |
| 0:27.9 | shareholder heroes. We're whispering it softly, but could brighter times be in store for savers? |
| 0:33.9 | And we ask, is it ever a good idea to buy a home with no deposit? Don't forget, |
| 0:39.0 | you can't step to date with all the latest breaking money news. Just go to this ismoney.co.com or |
| 0:43.9 | download the app. This is Money, brought to you in partnership with Ennis and I. For a gift |
| 0:49.0 | your little ones will appreciate even when they're not so little. Give them premium bonds at |
| 0:53.0 | ns and I.com. But first, let me take you back to this time last year. Simon, do-d-d-d-d-d-d-d- |
| 1:01.0 | Thank you very much, Simon. The price of Bitcoin had already risen eightfold since the start of 2017, |
| 1:07.0 | but just under a month later, it more than doubled, rising another 140% to a high of |
| 1:14.4 | $19,000, 783 on the 17th of December. Surely it couldn't last. No, it really couldn't. This |
| 1:24.6 | week saw a 30% drop from its value, and today the price of Bitcoin is around $4,500. |
| 1:31.0 | So that's 46% below this time last year. |
| 1:35.0 | So if you'd have put £10,000 investment in Bitcoin at its December high, that would now be worth $2,300. |
| 1:43.3 | So what does one of the most striking bubbles of our time have to teach us? |
| 1:48.9 | Simon, you've been looking at this for your column, |
| 1:51.9 | as you yourself put a wee punt on it in February. |
... |
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