The cryptocurrency bitcoin has seen a dramatic increase in value in recent months.
Although the price on Monday morning declines slightly from the peak this weekend, it has increased tenfold in value in one year.
Simultaneously with the price increase, interest in the currency has also increased among Swedish investors;
at the online broker Avanza, the number of customers has increased by 130 percent, at Nordnet, bitcoin customers have increased by 68 percent during the past year.
- Bitcoin is a currency that gets its value by enough people agreeing that it is something valuable.
It is a parallel that has worked in the same way historically.
Then it must be difficult enough to falsify, easy to move and a few other requirements, says Johan Javeus, chief strategist at SEB.
Large corporate investors
The large increase now is due, among other things, to several large companies investing in the cryptocurrency, including the electric car manufacturer Tesla, the finance company Square and the cloud service company Microstrategy.
- We are in a new bull market for bitcoin now, but it can end at any time.
But this time, it is not only private individuals who are driven by some kind of fear of missing out, but it is also large institutions such as Tesla and Paypal that have opened up for trading in bitcoin.
It is a game changer, says Erik Wisterberg, journalist at SvD Näringsliv.
The high unit price - at lunch on Monday, bitcoin stands at just over 56,000 dollars - means that most people invest smaller sums in financial instruments that follow the bitcoin exchange rate.
Bitcoin XBT is the most popular financial instrument in Sweden, the online bank Avanza has just over 26,500 customers there.
- It is noticeable that bitcoin has entered the fine room with the great interest from the financial world and powerful companies that buy bitcoin.
It supports price developments and legitimizes bitcoin.
It will be a seal of quality, says Nicklas Andersson, savings economist at Avanza.