Coining it: Are cryptocurrencies the future of money or just bit players?

Bitcoin saw its price surge after electric car giant Tesla invested €1.5bn in the cryptocurrency. But is it another temporary market spike or will we soon all be using it in our transactions, asks Pádraig Hoare

Bitcoin began life in 2008 with a white paper on a peer-to-peer electronic cash system by a Japanese enigma named Satoshi Nakamoto.

When a billionaire hums the tune, the investor begins to dance.

Cryptocurrencies, so long the private realm of those defiant and disdainful of establishment ideas and governance, have been planted firmly in the mainstream consciousness with the actions of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.