a risky investment or a safe haven?

Cryptocurrencies are often put forward by their promoters as safe haven assets, an alternative to gold. What is the reality?

Can we trust bitcoins and various cryptocurrencies? Advice from Fanny Guinochet.

franceinfo: Are these “currencies” an alternative to gold?

Fanny Guinochet: In fact, they are often presented as such because they are anonymous, available on specialized platforms, non-institutional, tradable at any time of the day or night, 365 days a year. And they often appear as an ideal solution when the economy seems uncertain, as at the moment…

Cryptocurrencies would have the advantage of being increasingly regulated, while being outside the usual banks, meaning if the banks go bankrupt, at least we are protected…

Especially since right now, it’s tempting, cryptocurrencies are soaring, bitcoin exceeds $65,000, an increase of +40% since the beginning of the year. This particularly attracts teenagers and young adults, as we see with the rise of specialized influencers.

But are there any precautions to take?

Yes, because despite everything, it remains a risky asset with very high volatility. Right now, it is high, but there were also periods of vertiginous fall two years ago – between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022, its price fell by more than 70%.

In fact, it is not so much uncorrelated with market activity, it tends to follow. Be careful too, you have to be particularly careful in handling cryptos, and especially choose your intermediary carefully. Because let’s not forget that in the sector, scandals, scams, frauds, money laundering, are countless.

How can we know?

To check that the site is not fraudulent, you can refer to the AMF, the financial markets authority. Also, be careful not to lose your password when you create your digital safe. And let’s also point out that the cryptocurrency mining activity that allows bitcoins to be created is very energy-intensive. So, it’s not very ecological.