Why bitcoin just had an amazing year - The Washington Post

Also see Bitcoin Price Soars, Fueled by Speculation and Global Currency Turmoil (NYT)

"That’s why Chris Burniske, an analyst at ARK Investment Management, a firm that invests in disruptive innovations, has termed bitcoin a “disaster hedge.”

“People are using it similar to how they use gold,” he says. “They use it as a risk-off trade when they’re concerned about what’s going on in the capital markets.”

Last year held plenty such surprises for investors, and they collectively helped make bitcoin the best-performing currency of 2016, analysts say. The currency’s value more than doubled in 2016 to reach $1,029 on Tuesday, a three-year high, as data from CoinDesk, a bitcoin-tracking website, shows."

Why bitcoin just had an amazing year - The Washington Post