Many cryptocurrencies have emerged in the market ever since, each one vying with the other to seek dominance.

Virtual currencies have captured the imagination of investors worldwide in the last few weeks or such. However, due to their volatile nature they even have struck fear among others, and confused the heck out of the rest of us. Many cryptocurrencies have emerged in the market ever since, each one vying with the other to seek dominance. While most of the investors worldwide are focused on Bitcoin, here is a cryptocurrency slowly dominating the market share. Yes, we are talking about IOTA. Despite Bitcoin surging by around 1,500 percent in this year, it still can’t be called as the outdoer in the cryptocurrency world. Here is a little known cryptocurrency that has attracted interest of the investors in the last month and has put to shame the abnormal rise in Bitcoin. IOTA is now the fourth biggest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalisation after Bitcoin, ethereum and bitcoin cash. IOTA has jumped from the 9th-largest to the 4th-largest cryptocurrency in the world in under two weeks. Prices of IOTA have risen by 980 percent to $4.14 on December 7, 2017 from $0.38 on November 7. The virtual currency has risen over 180 percent in December so far. In mid-October, MIOTA, as it’s officially called, was trading around $0.40. Officially called MIOTA, the spike 3 December, when a single IOTA token doubled its valuation from roughly $1.40 to $2.80.

Historic high

While investors may be adding to their positions in the cryptocurrency market, Reserve Bank of India’s is not comfortable with non-fiat or private cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Legendary investors from India and around the world have time and again cautioned investors to stay away from it. Thomas Carper, a senior United States Senator once remarked, “Virtual currencies, perhaps most notably Bitcoin, have captured the imagination of some, struck fear among others, and confused the heck out of the rest of us.”

No fundamental value

Legendary investor Warren Buffett had said in an interview to CNBC in 2014 that virtual currencies especially bitcoin is a “mirage”, adding that investors should “stay away from it”. In the same interview, Warren Buffett said, “It’s a method of transmitting money. It’s a very effective way of transmitting money and you can do it anonymously and all that. A cheque is a way of transmitting money, too. Are cheques worth a whole lot of money just because they can transmit money?… The idea that it has some huge intrinsic value is just a joke in my view.” Reiterating his belief on Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies, Warren Buffett told Marketwatch in October this year: “You can’t value bitcoin because it’s not a value-producing asset,” adding that it is a “real bubble in that sort of thing”.

Fraud

The rapidly surging price of virtual currency such as Bitcoin, without any underlying asset or value-base, has irked the top banker Jamie Dimon. “Bitcoin is a fraud and will blow up,” Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said earlier this year, adding, “The currency isn’t going to work.” He pointed out to the absence of an underlying monetary base to support its value. “You can’t have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart,” Jamie Dimon said.

Bubble

Renowned investor Jim Rogers, sometimes referred to as commodities guru, too has sounded a note of caution on the prospects of cryptocurrencies, preferring to stay away from them for now. “I wish I was smart enough to buy cryptocurrencies.” Jim Rogers said in a recent interview with Kitco news. Further, Jim Rogers seemed to suggest that there might be a bubble building up in the cryptocurrency space. “It looks bubblish when you see the kind of price we see in bitcoins,” Jim Rogers said, adding that he doesn’t own any of the cryptocurrencies. “I certainly don’t know which one will come out on top, or if anyone comes out on top. But, I don’t own any.”