What is behind the recent surge in the price of Bitcoin? Throughout most of its history, speculative interest has driven the bitcoin price. It has shown features of a bubble as its price has spiked outrageously within a short space of time and a craze of media following. In the latest developments, a sustained increase in bitcoin price has seen it rise by over 300% in the last year. This is the third in a cycle of peaks of the cryptocurrency since 2013. Unlike a stock or bond, it is hard to determine the bitcoin price. Is Bitcoin Fiat? Fiat has value because parties exchanging it agree on its value. Bitcoin is fiat in the sense that it was brought about by Satoshi Nakamoto . It derives its value from the willingness of a community to use it. According to Satoshi, the original intent for bitcoin is about eliminating trusted intermediaries and establishing a decentralized network with no single points of failure. What bitcoin is not Although Bitcoin ha...