According to the annual year-end report released by America's FSOC (Financial Stability Oversight Council), of the direst threats to the existing financial system, Bitcoin and other cyber currencies are a mere blip on the horizon, comprising a very minor share of global finance. It has been pointed out, however, that the figures which form the basis for these statements were taken from consumer surveys carried out two years ago, which is a world away from current reality.

Recent soaring prices on both Bitcoin and Ether have led sceptics and financial commentators to suggest that the cyber currency phenomenon may go the way of the South Sea Bubble, historically the first example of widespread financial speculation which, for many, went horribly wrong. The CEO of Chase Bank recently claimed that Bitcoin was a fraud, likening it to the 17th century tulip mania, and others have compared it to the dot-com bubble which blew up in the late 90s, and burst after a very short period of inflated prosperity.

For many speculators, the lure of easy money is too great to resist, but for some mainstream investors cryptocurrency will be a risk they are unwilling to take.