Bitcoin named 'worst investment of 2014'

Bitcoin has been called the worst investment of 2014 after its price dropped by over 50% during the last 12 months.

The unenviable title has been bestowed on the world's best known and most valuable cryptocurrency by the business website Quartz, which compared the dollar price of bitcoin at the beginning of 2014 to its current value, saying it has declined by 52%.

The title of worst investment of 2014 is given more weight when you consider the huge price drops seen in the price of Brent Crude oil and the price of Russian rouble in recent weeks. Though considering the on-going issues in Russia in the last 24 hours, bitcoin could potentially lose its title before the end of the year.

However if you take into account that bitcoin was trading at over $1,160 in December last year, the fall to its current value of around $330 is even more dramatic.

Throughout 2014 bitcoin's price continued to fluctuate wildly on a day-to-day basis with hundreds of companies being founded on the back of the cryptocurrency, driving interest in bitcoin and its potential.

According to data obtained by Reuters, many of the bitcoin wallets which continue to be created on a regular basis are lying empty with liquidity in the cryptocurrency still remaining limited.

A libertarian's economic dream

Bitcoin continues to confuse many as regulators struggle to get to grips with something which is not really a currency at all.

The anonymous nature of bitcoin and its decentralised nature make it a libertarians economic dream, but these very traits also make it an attractive proposition for those looking to purchase illegal goods on the dark web or carry out money laundering.

Indeed it is these very uses for bitcoin which have waned in 2014 thanks to increased scrutiny of law enforcement agencies (see Silk Road) and it is the decrease in use of bitcoin for these activities which could have led to price depression overall.

Bitcoin will continue to intrigue and confound in 2015 and it is entirely possible that in 12 months time Quartz will be hailing it as the best investment of the year, but as we know, with bitcoin, you can never really tell.