Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch issued the bank’s first research report today on Bitcoin, the virtual currency that approximates cash on the internet, concluding that the currency has the potential to become a “major means of payment for ecommerce” as well as a “serious competitor to traditional money transfer providers.”
Assuming Bitcoin becomes mainstream, Bank of America currency strategists estimate it is worth $1,300 apiece. But with the value at $1,000 today and increasing rapidly, it is in danger of “running ahead of its fundamentals,” they write.
The report also notes that the rapid jump in Bitcoin’s value — which was just $100 in August — correlates with interest in the currency coming from China.
Bitcoin’s disadvantages according to the report are the same as those regularly discussed in the Bitcoin community: its price volatility disincentivizes its use for trade, transactions take 50 minutes to process, and its legal status is still undetermined.
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Link to the detailed report from Bank of America: click here