The dramatic move has focused public attention on Bitcoin – not for the first time – and has market participants and commentators asking whether cryptocurrencies should now be regarded as investment assets. One portfolio manager at a major Dublin wealth manager said she was fielding three or four queries per day about Bitcoin. “It’s easy to forget how volatile it is,” he said, pointing out that Bitcoin crashed alongside financial markets in 2020. Former ECB vice-president Vitor Constancio took to twitter himself this week to attack Bitcoin investment. ECB president Christine Lagarde has likewise slammed Bitcoin as a vehicle for money laundering and argued for regulating it like any other financial security.

Source: Irish Independent February 10, 2021 02:26 UTC