Understanding the cryptocurrency crash | podcast

When the worldwide monetary system went into meltdown in 2008, banks collapsed and governments world wide have been pressured to step in to stop the complete monetary system from collapsing. It price billions of {dollars} and, in addition to that, it proved a pivotal second: it profoundly shook the arrogance that many had of their governments.

As Alex Hern tells Nosheen Iqbal, this era additionally coincided with the rise of a brand new expertise permitting a brand new kind of foreign money: one that isn’t underwritten by governments however as a substitute exists purely on-line: bitcoin was born. At first it was a novelty, helpful for getting illicit items on the darkish internet and never way more. However bitcoin grew and grew and regardless of some vital bumps alongside the best way, it reached a peak of $69,000 per bitcoin. Anybody who’d invested in it, or a swathe of different competing cryptocurrencies, discovered themselves extremely wealthy – in concept anyway.

However this 12 months issues took a dramatic flip. Because the economies have been buffeted by inflation fears and buyers headed for safer bets, cryptocurrencies started to drop dramatically in worth. Some – like Alex Koh, an investor and YouTube character, discovered themselves all however worn out after sitting on small fortunes. For many who have ridden out the storm to date, there may be hope that this 12 months is a blip. However can bitcoin bounce again?

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