Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are receiving intense media coverage, prompting many investors to wonder whether these new types of electronic money deserve a place in their portfolios. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin emerged only in the past decade. Unlike traditional money, no paper notes or metal coins are involved. No central bank issues the currency, and no regulator or nation state stands behind it. Instead, cryptocurrencies are a form of code made by computers and stored in a digital wallet. In
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Insights
To Bit or Not to Bit: What Should Investors Make of Bitcoin Mania?
Tales from the Crypto: How to Think About Bitcoin
“Everything you don’t understand about money combined with everything you don’t understand about computers.”- HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, March 11, 2018 Bitcoin and related cryptocurrencies (now numbering in the thousands) are the subject of much debate and fascination. Given bitcoin’s dramatic price changes, it is not surprising that many are speculating about its possible role in a portfolio. In its relatively short existence, bitcoin has proved extraordinarily volatile, sometimes gaining or losing more than 40% in
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Large and In Charge? Giant Firms atop Market Is Nothing New
A top-heavy stock market with the largest 10 stocks accounting for over 20% of market capitalization and a marquee technology firm perched at No. 1? This sounds like a description of the current US stock market, dominated by Apple and the other FAANG stocks (1), but it is actually a reference to 1967, when IBM represented a larger portion of the market than Apple at the end of 2019 (5.8% vs. 4.1%). As we see in Exhibit 1, it is
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