Cryptocurrencies are like lottery tickets that might pay off in future | Kenneth Rogoff

The likes of bitcoin may well be worthless - but there's a chance they will be valuable someday

With the price of bitcoin down 80% from its peak a year ago, and the larger cryptocurrency market in systemic collapse, has "peak crypto" come and gone? Perhaps, but don't expect to see true believers lining up to have their cryptocurrency tattoos removed just yet.

At a recent conference I attended, the overwhelming sentiment was that market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies could explode over the next five years, rising to $5-10tn (4-8tn). For those who watched the price of bitcoin go from $13 in December 2012 to roughly $4,000 today, this year's drop from $20,000 was no reason to panic.

Related: Only a fool would have bought into bitcoin late last year. So guess what I did? | Arwa Mahdawi