Cryptocurrencies 'could drop to near ZERO' warns Ethereum co-founder
THE co-founder of Ethereum has warned cryptocurrencies are still a new and hyper-volatile asset which could hit almost zero at any time.
Despite inventing a cryptocurrency, Vitalik Buterin warned traditional assets are the "safest bet".
He tweeted: “Reminder: cryptocurrencies are still a new and hyper-volatile asset class, and could drop to near-zero at any time.
Don't put in more money than you can afford to lose. “If you're trying to figure out where to store your life savings, traditional assets are still your safest bet.”
In response, Miami based entrepreneur Daniel Romero-Suarez joked: “Imagine to Henry Ford saying: 'The cars are new and insecure to mobilise, try to walk instead drive'.”
Crypto Capilla, a cryptocurrency miner, tweeted: “Vitalik my friend are you okay?”
Cryptocurrencies experienced a sharp drop at the beginning of the year after reaching record highs in December.
Bitcoin fell from a high of $19,535.70 in late December 2017 to $6,000 in January this year.
On Friday, bitcoin recovered the $10,000 mark for the first time in two weeks before easing to $9,844.82, down over 1 percent on the day.
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Last week Thomas Lee, managing partner at the financial research firm Fundstrat Global Advisors, said he expected to see a new record peak for bitcoin by July, based on analysis of the currency’s 22 corrections since 2010.
He said: “Bitcoin recoveries take 1.7 times the duration of the decline and this implies that 85 days are needed to recover prior highs.
“This is July 2018.”
Przemek de Skuba Skwirczynski,head of research, The ICO Rocket said: “As with any investments, one has to be hedged by way of diversifying one's assets - it is an age-old principle.
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“Same principle applies to people's savings - ideally you should have your savings in a few different asset classes. Cash is of course one of them, stocks and commodities are others, and crypto is just another asset class, and should be considered as part of a diversified portfolio.”
A year ago one ethereum “coin” was worth around $13 but currently costs $954. In the last couple months alone, Ethereum gone as high as $1,400 and as low as $580.
Towards the end of last year to the middle of January this yea, ethereum jumped up from $723 to $1,389.
From the end of the year to the middle of January this year, ethereum jumped up from $723 to $1,389.
In December, Mr Buterin compared the selling of Leonardo Da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" which sold for $450million at auction in November last year, to wild investments in the cryptocurrency market.
Ethereum is currently priced at $954 according to CoinMarketCap with bitcoin the market leader being priced at $11,221.