The heady heights of Bitcoin

A Bitcoin bust, if it happens, could hold catastrophic financial implications for the broader world

The value of e-money has increased tenfold since the beginning of the year, and the price of Bitcoin has exceeded 10 000 US dollars. Pic: Getty

Ethereum was behaving quite rationally, at least by crypto-currency standards. Throughout the surge that saw Bitcoin go past $17,000, the second most popular of the new breed was holding fairly steady in the $450 range.

Then Bitcoin futures launched and everything got silly in a hurry.

Almost $300 has been added to the value of Ethereum since the launch of Bitcoin futures, bringing the price to $737 at the time of writing. It’s ...