Bill Gates last week said he would short bitcoin if he could, prompting early bitcoin investor Tyler Winklevoss to point out that anyone who wants to bet against bitcoin has been able to do so since bitcoin futures trading began last December. That willingness, now facilitated by futures trading, may have burst the bitcoin bubble, according to new Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco research. Many believed futures trading would boost bitcoin prices. Speculative demand “came only from optimists” prior to the launch of futures trading, the Fed notes. That all changed on December 17th – the day short-sellers finally got to bet against the bitcoin bubble.

Source: The Irish Times May 15, 2018 04:30 UTC