1 Figure That Sums Up Why Bitcoin Is So Dangerous

Over the long term, there's been no more consistent creator of wealth than the stock market. Stocks have returned an average of 7% per year, inclusive of dividend reinvestment and adjusted for inflation, which essentially equates to a doubling of invested money about once a decade.

But this year has unquestionably belonged to cryptocurrencies. Since the year began, the aggregate market cap of the more than 1,300 cryptocurrencies combined has jumped from $17.7 billion to $423 billion as of Dec. 7. That's an increase of nearly 2,300% in a matter of 11 months and a week, representing a lifetime's worth of gains in less than a year.

Leading the way has been the world's most popular cryptocurrency, and the first to be tradable on cryptocurrency exchanges, bitcoin. After beginning the year at roughly $967, it's exploded higher to nearly $17,000. Its $255 billion market cap is close to 100 times higher than it was during mid-2015, and it's even larger than Dow Jones Industrial Average stalwarts like AT&T and General Electric.

Source: Fool.com