Photo of Paul Krugman. Credit: Ed Ritger, The Commonwealth Club.
The hysteria surrounding Bitcoin and the crypto market at large is at an all-time high. You know something must be up when your uncle with a gambling problem posts on social media phrases like “bull market”, “HODL”, and “When Lambo?”.
Although Bitcoin erased all gains made in 2021 over the course of 24 hours last week, momentarily trading below $34,000 (it now trades at $40,000, more than 30% down from $60,000 in April), the crypto market’s extreme volatility hasn’t scared young investors on the contrary, it’s made them more drawn to it than ever. As of April 2021, more than 21.2 million American adults, or about 14% of the U.S population, own cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.