Bitcoin pips ruble as worst currency investment of 2014
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Dan Murphy Staff writer
I wrote a short post looking at Russia's economic and currency woes today and got to wondering about how the ruble stacks up against the worst currency bets of 2014 (so far at least).
The answer is "pretty bad." But rest easy, Mr. Putin: You're not number one. Here's a list of 2014's worst performing currencies measured against the dollar, using Google Finance data. (Yes, I know that Bitcoin isn't a "real" currency, but try telling that to the enthusiasts on Twitter.)
1. Bitcoin: -53.7 percent
2. Russian ruble: -50 percent
3. Ukrainian hryvnia: -47.9 percent
4. Ghanian cedi: -26.9 percent
5. Argentinian peso: -23.8 percent
6. Colombian peso: -20.5 percent
7. Syrian pound: -19.6 percent
8. Norwegian krone: -18.6 percent
9. Swedish krona: -15.7 percent
10. Chilean peso: -15.1 percent
Bitcoin's been on an interesting ride since its value surged last year. Here's a graph that tries to explain the psychology of asset bubbles by Hofstra professor Jean-Paul Rodrigue (explained here):
Graph of the buildup of an asset bubble - and an interesting read on the US housing market http://t.co/SUsNMjWJRV pic.twitter.com/Lq6evV9KkK
— Rettie & Co Research (@RettieResearch) October 14, 2013
And if you click through here, you can see the performance of Bitcoin since 2013, though you'll have to set the date ranges yourself.
