The 17th century was witness to the Dutch Golden Age, the leading global economic power at the time. It was also the period of what was soon after referred to as 'Tulip Mania' for what is considered the first recorded speculative bubble that collapsed in 1637. Many analysts find a stark similarity between tulip mania and the dramatic rise of the cryptocurrency value in 2017. Tulip bulbs became fashionable status symbols, and although having weak fundamentals, reached exorbitant prices. Bitcoin's dramatic 1,500% increase in 2017 alone, attracted a significantly large group of speculative investors to benefit from what many see as an unhinged gamble on what has gained popularity, not only as decentralized ledger tokens but also with potential links to laundering activity.
