It scares some, excites others, fuels the fantasies of all those who do not really understand how it works. At the end of 2017, the bitcoin, the most famous cryptocurrency born in October 2008, is the star of the exchange markets and the worst nightmare for financial regulators.

After falling by 30% reaching in four days the $ 13,000, its worst weekly performance since 2013, bitcoin is gradually going up again.

The threat is slowly moving away for the most famous cryptocurrency. After diving last week, losing 30% of its value, bitcoin continued its recovery on Tuesday, December 26, increasing by some 10% to reach $ 15,000 landmark again.

The Star of the financial markets, the cryptocurrency has seen its value multiplied by 20 since the beginning of 2017, from less than 1,000 dollars to nearly 20,000 dollars on Bitstamp in early December .

But the price of cryptocurrency had collapsed Monday, December 18, reaching four days later $13,000, posting its worst weekly performance since 2013.

Bitcoin: the big dive

Smart, well, who could predict the value of bitcoin as you read these lines. The famous cryptocurrency shows tremendous volatility. Having started the year 2017 at around $ 1,000, its price has exceeded $ 19,000 a few days ago, to relapse violently under 13 000 since.

Bitcoin definitely does not have the stability expected of a reserve currency. And the clouds seem to accumulate on him. Swedish businessman Emil Oldenburg, co-founder of the Bitcoin.com trading platform, has just declared that it is "useless" and:

I have in fact sold all my Bitcoins recently and switched to Bitcoin Cash.

Above all, more and more links appear between the rise of electronic money and the attacks of "ransomware", viruses that paralyze the computer systems of companies before asking for a ransom.

A violent fall, which reminds how volatile and unstable is the price of the e-currency created in 2009. While some analysts and investors believe that the correction last week was natural after the surge that preceded it, market regulators and central bankers multiply warnings.

Israel wants to regulate Bitcoin

The regulators believe indeed that this speculative runaway is likely to deflate quickly, at the risk of ruining individuals who have attempted the adventure. In addition, the virtual currency has no legal tender. This means, in concrete terms, that no insurance or legal protection can be compensated in case of theft.

The president of the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) announced on Monday that it would propose to prohibit listing on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange companies that rely on bitcoin and other digital currencies.

British and American financial officials have been reassuring, saying that bitcoin, on which markets we can now find futures contracts, does not represent a threat to financial stability.

France said it would ask the G20 presidency to hold a debate at April 2018 summit on the regulation of bitcoin, described by critics as speculative bubble that's about to explode.

Is it risky to invest in bitcoin?

Yes. "It's definitely the riskiest asset on the market. At any moment, everything can be lost, "says CNRS researcher Nicolas Houy.

Moreover, many flash crashes, huge tumbles of course, have marked the young history of this currency. In case of a glitch, you can not use the laws that usually protect people(deposit guarantee, etc.).

Do we have short memories?

Why, as the global economy finally gets better, are we playing with fire again?

Have we not learned any lesson from the 2008 crisis, born from the American housing bubble? No. We did not learn anything. Proof if necessary, the United States of Donald Trump unravel the regulations introduced after the shock of subprime to curb the excesses of finance.