ADVERTISEMENT

Bitcoin's Epic Rise Leaves Late-1990s Tech Bubble in the Dust

Bitcoin, the best-known digital currency, has surged 358 percent this year. 

Bitcoin's Epic Rise Leaves Late-1990s Tech Bubble in the Dust
A collection of bitcoin tokens stand in front of an illustration of binary code this arranged photograph in London. (Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware that bitcoin and a number of other digital currencies have seen some pretty crazy runs this year.

Bitcoin, the best-known digital currency, has surged 358 percent. While staggering, lesser-known competitors have seen even bigger gains, such as the more than 4,000 percent increase for ethereum.

Bespoke Investment Group contrasted the rise in bitcoin with infamous bubbles such as the tech market in the late nineties. There’s almost no comparison. Tech stocks rose just over 1,000 percent over the entire course of their bubble, and bitcoin is already up more than twice that. Take a look.

Bitcoin's Epic Rise Leaves Late-1990s Tech Bubble in the Dust

To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Verhage in New York at jverhage2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka, Andrew Dunn