Bitcoin's true believers vow to ride out cryptocurrency rollercoaster

The crowds have thinned somewhat at Bitcoin Center, leaving just the true believers in the volatile cryptocurrency.

"Two months ago we couldn't breathe here" due to the throngs, recalled Nick Spanos, founder of the trading and educational hub in lower Manhattan.

"People outside couldn't get inside."

The centre, which was set up in December 2013, calls itself a one-of-a-kind epicenter for all things bitcoin. It is primarily frequented by technology and financial types, mostly male and mostly younger, although it aspires to go well beyond that core audience.

"The Bitcoin Center is open seven days a week to shed light on the world of bitcoin to whoever walks in our doors!," proclaims its website.

"Our staff can provide an overview of bitcoin on the spot or register guests for our comprehensive bitcoin courses." On a recent weekday evening, about 100 people gathered in the space, a parlor in a Ukrainian restaurant, to trade bitcoins on smartphone applications, nibble on complimentary snacks and take in the latest insights from Spanos.

Here's why billionaire Warren Buffett will never invest in cryptocurrencies

Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett said on Wednesday he will never invest in cryptocurrencies.
“I can say almost with certainty that cryptocurrencies will come to a bad end,” Buffett told CNBC in an interview.

Buffett’s comments come a day after JPMorgan & Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said he regrets calling bitcoin a fraud, referring to comments he made at a banking conference in September.

Bitcoin has taken the investing world by storm, surging to a high of more than $19,000 and created a divide on Wall Street about whether it is a legitimate financial instrument.
Bitcoin was down around 3 per cent at $13,981.53..
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JPMorgan's Dimon says bitcoin 'is a fraud' and will blow up

Bitcoin "is a fraud" and will blow up, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co, said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a bank investor conference in New York, Dimon said, "The currency isn't going to work. 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."

Dimon said that if any JPMorgan traders were trading the crypto-currency, "I would fire them in a second, for two reasons: It is against our rules and they are stupid, and both are dangerous."

Dimon's comments come as the bitcoin, a virtual currency not backed by any government, has more than quadrupled in value since December to more than $4,100.

Bitcoin is a digital currency that enables individuals to transfer value to each other and pay for goods and services bypassing banks and the mainstream financial system.

While banks have largely steered clear of bitcoin since it emerged following the financial crisis, the virtual currency has a range of people who support it, including technololgy enthusiasts, liberterians skeptical of government monetary policy and speculators attracted by its price swings.
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