A Wall Street research chief who previously mined bitcoin warns it’s plausibly a bubble and ‘likely manipulated’ – and shares 3 guidelines for investing with caution

• Alex Pickard of Research Associates says many bitcoin investors don’t understand what the currency is today — and says he didn’t, either, when he quit his former job to became a bitcoin miner.
• Pickard says that today, bitcoin is no longer a cash system and is a purely speculative asset. He adds that its large price fluctuations mean it doesn’t work as a hedge against inflation either.
• While bitcoin prices appear to be in a bubble after quadrupling in the last year, Pickard says there’s also manipulation at work — something that could cost investors dearly. 

Alex Pickard uprooted his life for bitcoin years ago, and he’s come back with some lessons.