The volatility of the bitcoin cryptocurrency has raised concerns about the viability of the network, according to analysts at Barclays.
The crypto-currency is valued at more than $2.4 trillion and has attracted attention from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, who have said they will take any steps necessary to track down those behind the attacks.
“While the bitcoin market cap is now above $2 trillion, the blockchain market cap has never been higher,” Barclays analyst Benioff McQueen said in a note on Wednesday.
“There are now more than 50 active blockchain projects and new ones have been launched in just the past few weeks.
The potential for bitcoin to become a mainstream asset class in the near future is great, but this has never happened before.
We expect the volatility of bitcoin to be a catalyst for the cryptocurrency.”
While the Bitcoin community has embraced the digital currency as a way to protect privacy, some believe that the technology’s volatility can make it a poor hedge against a potential attack.
In addition to Bitcoin’s volatile price, a recent report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch said the currency has “the potential to be overvalued and undervalued at the same time.”