Bitcoin a perfect example of demand-supply dynamics, must be regulated: Sunil Subramaniam
, ETMarkets.com|
Updated: Dec 05, 2017, 04.15 PM IST
NEW DELHI: Bitcoin, one of the world’s priciest financial assets, has divided the global investors’ community into two camps – naysayers and believers. But the controversial cryptocurrency is gaining support among India’s top money managers.
Sunil Subramaniam, CEO of Sundaram Mutual Fund, believes bitcoin is a pure trading thing, which is not backed by any fundamentals and the world needs it.
“It has a future," Subramaniam said in an interaction with ETMarkets.com, and he believes that the global regulators should regulate it.
Sundaram Mutual Fund manages a corpus of Rs 33,000 crore as of September end.
The cryptocurrency has skyrocketed more than 1,000 per cent in 2017, although it had its share of speed bumps from time to time. Some believe bitcoin can touch $40,000 by the end of 2018.
On the other hand, a couple of experts see it as a bubble, which can grow bigger than the dotcom bubble of late 1990s.
But Subramaniam believes bitcoin is an alternative to gold. “The flow of gold is bit regulated, as central banks the world over keep gold with them and release often at their own will,” he said.
“That's where the origin of bitcoin comes,” Subramanian said, adding “the world needs something which cannot be held, cannot be traded but only reflects the flow of money -- a flow of thoughts in a particular price.”
Subramanian added that bitcoin takes us back to the Aryan age of barter system where nobody wants any intervention in trade.
“The cryptocurrency is not backed by any fundamental, but the world needs it. Bitcoin is a true expression of capitalism in its genuine, saying only demand and supply will drive the value of it,” the expert said.
The meteoric rise in bitcoin has spawned an obvious debate the world over - does it have a future or it's just a bubble, which will burst anytime soon?
On Monday, bitcoin hit an all-time high of $11,800, indicating a rise of over 1,000 per cent in 2017.
Billionaire hedge fund legend Mike Novogratz had recently said that bitcoin price will ‘easily reach’ the $40,000 mark by 2018. He advises small investors not to put more than 1 to 3 per cent of their net worth in cryptocurrencies, while high net worth investors can invest 5 to 10 per cent in this space.
Sunil Subramaniam, CEO of Sundaram Mutual Fund, believes bitcoin is a pure trading thing, which is not backed by any fundamentals and the world needs it.
“It has a future," Subramaniam said in an interaction with ETMarkets.com, and he believes that the global regulators should regulate it.
Sundaram Mutual Fund manages a corpus of Rs 33,000 crore as of September end.
The cryptocurrency has skyrocketed more than 1,000 per cent in 2017, although it had its share of speed bumps from time to time. Some believe bitcoin can touch $40,000 by the end of 2018.
On the other hand, a couple of experts see it as a bubble, which can grow bigger than the dotcom bubble of late 1990s.
But Subramaniam believes bitcoin is an alternative to gold. “The flow of gold is bit regulated, as central banks the world over keep gold with them and release often at their own will,” he said.
“That's where the origin of bitcoin comes,” Subramanian said, adding “the world needs something which cannot be held, cannot be traded but only reflects the flow of money -- a flow of thoughts in a particular price.”
Subramanian added that bitcoin takes us back to the Aryan age of barter system where nobody wants any intervention in trade.
“The cryptocurrency is not backed by any fundamental, but the world needs it. Bitcoin is a true expression of capitalism in its genuine, saying only demand and supply will drive the value of it,” the expert said.
The meteoric rise in bitcoin has spawned an obvious debate the world over - does it have a future or it's just a bubble, which will burst anytime soon?
On Monday, bitcoin hit an all-time high of $11,800, indicating a rise of over 1,000 per cent in 2017.
Billionaire hedge fund legend Mike Novogratz had recently said that bitcoin price will ‘easily reach’ the $40,000 mark by 2018. He advises small investors not to put more than 1 to 3 per cent of their net worth in cryptocurrencies, while high net worth investors can invest 5 to 10 per cent in this space.
