Jan. 3, 2021 10:00 am ET
It is easy to spot bubbles. Too easy: They seem to be almost everywhere, almost all the time. Worse still for those of us who try to spot excess, much of the stuff that was labeled frothy in recent years went on to make big money in 2020 for those who bought into it anyway.
The question for investors: Were the bubble calls just wrong? Or are we in a new era of wild speculation driven by cheap money that must inevitably come to an end?
I lean toward the latter. But the stunning performance of so many bubble stocks this past year shows that even if this turns out to be right eventually, there is plenty of scope to be horribly wrong in the meantime.
Bitcoin Surges Past $33,000
The cryptocurrency jumped over the weekend past $30,000 for the first time in its history.
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Jan 3, 2021
The cryptocurrency bitcoin jumped to $33,834 on Sunday at around 4 p.m., according to CoinGecko, after hitting $30,000 for the first time in its history the day before. Bitcoin s rise isn t surprising in the least it s been a buildup of credibility and sustainability, with strong network effects, said Dave Balter, the CEO of Flipside Crypto, in an email to
TheStreet on Sunday.
The world of institutional finance has finally taken notice of crypto, added Balter, whose firm posts regular columns in
Grayscale Hits $20 billion in AUM as Bitcoin s Price Goes Wild
Bitcoin s skyrocketing price has pushed Grayscale over the edge to hit $20 billion.
In brief
Bitcoin s rising price helped it out.
Grayscale s trusts trade on the stock market.
Crypto fund manager Grayscale closed 2020 with a cool $20 billion under its wings. The asset manager, whose publicly-traded funds offer investors the opportunity (with several hefty caveats) to trade crypto on the stock market, has increased its holdings by ten times since the start of 2020.
“Here s to another 10x in 2021! Happy new year everybody,” tweeted CEO Barry Silbert.
12/31/20 UPDATE: Net Assets Under Management, Holdings per Share, and Market Price per Share for our Investment Products.
Bitcoin investment gaining traction
By Lee Kyung-min
Bitcoin has quadrupled in value over the past year, increasingly emerging as a new vehicle of investment on the back of continued global uncertainty concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and volatile oil prices.
The uptrend is driven in part by institutional investors seeking to diversify their asset portfolios, a robust move sustained by individual retail investors who believe the digital currency would not be embraced by the large group of global market participants known to prioritize long-term stability over short-term profit unless they have a solid earnings prospect.
The year-long price spike in the once-frowned-upon method of investment is considered largely a vindication by many investors long criticized for engaging in digital transactions that some deem unsafe, akin to gambling and even morally questionable.