With opinions raging over Bitcoin this week, leading Dutch finance corporation ING joins the ranks of sceptics with a statement from their Economic and Financial Analysis Division. In its December 18th report, chief economist Teunis Brosens gives the opinion that Bitcoin will end up as what he terms a \'niche product.\' While countering this negative opinion with a strong endorsement of the blockchain principle, Brosens nevertheless stands (as is fitting) with the tulip growers, stating that it is a phase which will soon go back to its usual haunts of geeks and tech nerds.

Brosens gives cogent arguments against the current policy of HODL adopted by many investors at the moment – Hold On for Dear Life – arguing that treating virtual currencies like a solid asset, such as gold, is a misguided approach. Refusing to sell bitcoin on the basis that it might appreciate in value, as some hedge fund speculators are doing, is largely an exercise in futility, since its value is indefinite in the first place, and holding onto it now may equally well lead to a loss of value in the future.

The point of cryptocurrencies is that they facilitate peer to peer (P2P) transactions, but since they have no intrinsic value it makes no sense to store them up like gold bars. Given the number of altcoins also on the market, treating Bitcoin like gold is purely foolish.