Bitcoin at 9 month high
Bitcoin reached its highest level for 9 months yesterday and is now hovering above $7,000, after last week where it rose by 22%.
Some in the cryptocurrency community think that cryptocurrency is being used as a safe haven in times of uncertainty – although I find that EXTREMELY hard to believe given its volatility and the fact that it is virtual.
That being said, Bitcoin has shot up by over 90% since the start of this year but still has some way to go before it reaches its dizzying 2017 heights when it broke the $19,000 barrier.
Interestingly, Ethereum, which is the second-largest digital asset by market capitalisatioon, fell by 2.6% over the last 24 hours.
Maybe Bitcoin is a safe haven when things get rocky for crypto currencies but I don’t see it as being a “safe haven” in the near term in the way that gold is.
Uber’s flotation
The other thing I wanted to talk about today was Uber in the aftermath of the company’s disappointing float on Friday.
Although its $45 a share price was at the bottom of the range, the fact that it still fell by almost 8% in trading is disappointing.
Although I’m not a fan of the company, I think it’s too early to be writing an obituary – but the company IS going through hard times at the moment what with angry drivers venting their frustrations at low pay among other things.
The fact that neither Lyft nor Uber are likely to be making profits any time soon are increasingly playing on the minds of investors at the moments, hence the weakness.
It seems to me that the appeal of Uber is in its growth as well as its exposure to different businesses and geographies whereas Lyft may appeal to those who want a purer play on US ride-hailing.
On the other hand, Gett has a relatively narrow geographic exposure with presence in Israel, Russia, the US and the UK, plans to be profitable by the end of this year and aims for a stock market flotation in 2020. I don’t think that its growth prospects are quite as good, but I think it has a better quality of business.
