Bitcoin: Rapid expansion of market Price movements for the cryptocurrency - Nomura

Bitcoin have been attracting attention as the price rose exponentially in the second half of 2017, hitting $19,497 on 16 December, points out the research team at Nomura.

Key Quotes

“This is a remarkable increase over the 1 January 2017 price of $998. Meanwhile, at his press conference following the Monetary Policy Meeting on 21 December, BOJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda expressed his opinion that current Bitcoin market movements were the result of speculative trading. He also commented that price movements were abnormal. After that, the Bitcoin price fell sharply on 22 December but then rebounded, and approached $16,100 as of 26 December.”

“Other recent events related to Bitcoin include the listing of Bitcoin futures on the Chicago Board Options Exchange on 10 December and on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the world’s biggest exchange for derivatives, on 18 December. While some observers expect the launching of futures to boost liquidity on the Bitcoin market and also see the full-fledged entry of institutional investors, others are alarmed by the growth of short positions using futures, and we think these listings are likely to focus even more attention on the Bitcoin market, which remains in lofty territory.”