A senior analyst for Macquarie Group is pushing back against the idea that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not legitimate financial innovations.
Issued in response to recent critiques by Wall Street figures like JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Viktor Shvets, head of global and Asia-Pacific equity strategy for Macquarie, wrote this week that in spite of any "extreme speculation," bitcoin relies on a "durable technology that is likely to continue to evolve and strengthen."
In a note to clients, obtained by Business Insider, Shvetz then directly took on the allegation that bitcoin is a "fraud" – advanced by Dimon earlier this month.
"If one describes Bitcoin as a fraud, how would one describe a 'financial cloud' that is at least four to five times larger than the underlying economies?" Shvetz asked, writing:
According to BI, Shvetz argued that investors should consider integrating cryptocurrencies into their portfolio strategies, describing them as a hedge against the devaluation of fiat currencies like the dollar.
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