Bitcoin is reaching record values and many investors, individuals and professionals, want to take their part. This currency, which is not really a currency, arouses envy, but investment is not without risks. Valuation, control, the position of Europe... Novethic deciphers in five questions what you need

How much is a bitcoin worth?

Over 40,000 dollars! This is the highest valuation that Bitcoin reached at the beginning of January, before falling back down and stabilizing around $30,000. Over the year 2020, the price of bitcoin increased fourfold, enough to attract numerous investors, both professionals and individuals. However, this digital currency is characterized by high volatility, so much so that market regulators highlight the risks for investors. “If consumers invest in this type of product, they must be prepared to lose all their money,” warned the Financial Conduct Authority, the British market watchdog, in early January

Why is bitcoin controversial?

The possibility of anonymity for its holders does not only attract investors who are looking for returns. Bitcoin is often suspected of being used for illegal transactions, even though it has now become much more popular. Another criticism: this cryptocurrency is not really a currency, because it does not emanate from a sovereign state. While money is normally part of the sovereign powers attached to a state, bitcoin is on the contrary a purely private asset. This is precisely what FaceBook was criticized for when the American social network wanted to create Libra

Who regulates bitcoin?

Currencies are generally regulated by central banks. For bitcoin, there is no major central authority to regulate money creation, everything is controlled in a decentralized way by Blockchain, the technology that underlies cryptocurrencies. It is a network made up of storage nodes, on which users send information or a transaction in block form. Each node records and validates the block of information, which becomes registered in the blockchain and is deemed to be unfalsifiable, the information being stored in all these multiple nodes. Therefore, no central authority comes to regulate, and guarantee, the currency.

Are there other cryptocurrencies?

Bitcoin is just one of the existing cryptocurrencies, based on one of the existing blockchains (called... Bitcoin, with a capital letter). Many others exist, although they have never achieved the fame and value of bitcoin. This is the case of Ethereum, another very well known cryptoasset. “Stablecoin” are also cryptocurrencies whose particularity is that they want to replicate a real currency. This is the case with Facebook's “Libra” project, which consists of a stablecoin based on a basket

What is Europe's position on cryptocurrencies?

The European Central Bank (ECB), like other central banks around the world, launched studies last October on the possibility of issuing a digital euro, in addition to issuing bank notes. This project is a direct response to the proliferation of private currencies and, in particular, to the Facebook project, and aims to ensure that the euro is not overwhelmed by these unregulated cryptoassets. This digital euro would be based on a blockchain, which would speed up exchanges while ensuring their reliability. The ECB cites the fact that, during a natural disaster, it can continue to function as an advantage. However, it is not a crypto asset, warns the ECB. Its digital euro would remain guaranteed and controlled by the central bank