Forbes has declared Bitcoin’s 2017 price growth “has most of the elements of a bubble” and will ultimately burst.

Drawing similarities with conventional financial asset bubbles, Panos Mourdoukoutas writes that huge adopter interest will preclude a mass exodus, leaving hardly any value at all.

“Investors who have been around Wall Street long enough know all too well that when money becomes tight and investment promises aren’t fulfilled, bubbles and manias end; and millions made are lost much faster than they were made,” he wrote. “And then some.”

Talk of a bubble-like scenario in Bitcoin was a serious topic even within the cryptocurrency community this year.

Bullish opinions

Opinions varied widely, with commentators such as Vinny Lingham suggesting only too rapid price growth beyond $3000 would produce the danger of extremely volatility.

Others were more bullish, predicting a boom and bust cycle similar to Bitcoin’s November 2013 performance with the currency reaching ever new heights.

Forbes meanwhile suggests the current status quo is one where “investor hype” is already present but mass interest and mass “mania” have yet to appear.

“[...T]here’s one thing still missing to turn the bubble into mania: a broad participation beyond the ‘pioneers’ and the ‘early adopters,’ to ‘early majority’ along the Rogers Curve,” Mourdoukoutas continued.

“That’s when the demand for Bitcoin reaches a cascade and turns into mania, as a critical mass of investors rush to buy ‘hot’ Bitcoins for the promise they hold -- rather than for the fundamentals they display.”