Swiss banking giant UBS says Bitcoin has a legitimate shot at replacing fiat currency.
In a new 34-page report, the firm says the leading cryptocurrency is a contender for replacing the US dollar if its price or its network capacity reaches a certain level.
According to Bloomberg, the report states that in order for “Bitcoin to replace U.S. money supply — paper bills, coins, travelers’ checks and the like — it’s price could need to hit nearly $213,000, or its network’s processing capabilities would need to dramatically improve.”
The report notes that Bitcoin’s volatility is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, and that it’s not yet a viable asset.
“Our findings suggest that Bitcoin, in its current form, is too unstable and limited to become a viable means of payment for global transactions or a mainstream asset class.”
The amount of Bitcoin being used by real-world merchant processing services has dropped. In September, the amount of Bitcoin being used in commerce hit a high of $411 million. That number dropped to $60 million in May, according to research that startup Chainalysis Inc.
The price of Bitcoin is $7,567 at time of publishing, down from a recent high of $8,404 on July 24th.