Bitcoin ‘Making Progress’ on Bid to Oust Dollar, Morgan Stanley Chief Global Strategist Says

Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Chief Global Strategist Ruchir Sharma waxed bullish on bitcoin’s potential to usurp the U.S. dollar for payments in a Wednesday Financial Times op-ed.

• "Today, most bitcoins are held as an investment, not used to pay bills, but that is changing," Sharma wrote. He cited increasing BTC usage in small pockets of international trade and PayPal's recent move to tap cryptocurrencies as a funding mechaism.
• Considered in the context of falling faith in ever-growing dollar reserves, this trend could bode well for the market-leading cryptocurrency. Sharma argued that "bitcoin will gain" as its traditional competitors falter.
• Sharma cautioned the bitcoin bubble may yet burst. Even if it does, governments and their money printers should be shaken.
• "Do not assume that your traditional currencies are the only stores of value, or mediums of exchange, that people will ever trust. Tech- savvy people are not likely to stop looking for alternatives until they find or invent one," Sharma warned.