Could Bitcoin Become Major Reserve Currency?

The value of digital currency Bitcoin has soared 70% - and analysts think it could become one of the world's major reserve currencies within 15 years.

The cryptocurrency has made big gains over the past two months, since it hit a low of $213 (£138) in August.

But as it's currently trading at $370 (£240), it's nowhere near its early-2014 peak of $1,100 (£715).

Some have speculated that Bitcoin interest from MasterCard and Bain Capital Ventures has legitimised the currency, which is the payment method of choice on the dark web.

Others say it could be down to people using it to bypass capital controls in Greece and China.

According to Bitcoinity.org, most trading in the past month has come from Chinese Bitcoin exchanges.

The European Court recently ruled it is a currency and exempt from VAT.

New (KOSDAQ: 160550.KQ - news) research suggests it could become the world's sixth-largest reserve currency by 2030, with $1bn (£650m) being invested by big financial institutions in the next two years.

The report comes from a company called Magister Advisors, which advises the technology industry on mergers and acquisitions.

Partner Jeremy Millar said blockchain, the technology that powers Bitcoin, has revolutionised finance.

He said: "Blockchain is without question the most significant advancement in enterprise IT (Other OTC: ITGL - news) in a decade, on a par with big data and machine learning.

"Bitcoin has proven itself as an established currency.

"Blockchain, more fundamentally, will become the default global standard distributed ledger for financial transactions (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) ."