Commentary: Bitcoin is starting to look like more than a passing fad

NEW YORK: Once dismissed as fanatics, the Bitcoin bulls must be feeling vindicated. They made an accurate call on the cryptocurrency’s potential for gains – witness the staggering rally under way – and were right, at least in part, for the right reasons. 

When Bitcoin was all the rage at the start of this decade, many serious investors and traditional economists spurned it as a useless fad – even a fraud. Their scorn, seemingly confirmed by its crash in 2022, persists today while the currency separates itself from the pack. 

Back in 2021, Bitcoin was often grouped alongside other favourites of the day-trading crowd, such as unprofitable tech and meme stocks. Today those other bubblets are trading on average at half their peaks, while Bitcoin recently hit an all-time high. 

It is extremely unusual for a bubble to burst and then recover to reach new heights so quickly, and suggests that something real and sustainable is going on.

Bitcoin’s comeback is remarkable, as well, for defying the general shape of the current bull market, which is heavily concentrated in the Big Tech stocks. Investors have taken the tech heavyweights seriously throughout, perhaps even more so now that they are seen as the giants most likely to dominate the future of artificial intelligence. Bitcoin gets no boost from AI mania.

The Bitcoin bulls have been proved mostly right about its prospects as a long-term investment – and, in this regard, as the king of the cryptos. 

Since the low point in late 2022, its price is up around 300 per cent, more than all but one (Solana) of the other top 10 cryptos. Moreover, it is growing fast from a much larger base: With a market cap of more than US$1.3 trillion, Bitcoin is now three times larger than its