In Brief An unknown cryptocurrency trader reportedly made more than $200 million in earnings in just over one month. The anonymity of cryptocurrencies, however, raises a lot of questions about the use of bitcoin and ether in the mainstream. 0x00A651D43B6e209F5Ada45A35F92EFC0De3A5184

Nope, that header isnt a typo. Thats the identification code for the virtual wallet of an anonymous cryptocurrency trader thats made more than $200 million in just over a month. Supposedly, this unknown trader was able to raise their cryptocurrency assets from $55 million to $283 million in that short span of time; a 413 percent accumulated profit from Ethereum blockchains digital money, ether.

In an Instagram post, someone (or maybe several people)purporting to be the trader in question said, I get many private messages asking how much ether I have. One of the cool things about Ethereum is that all wallets around the world are transparent and open for everyone to see. And this is my wallets savings.

While the amount of earnings from cryptocurrency trading is incredible, it isnt at all impossible. Recently, the values of both bitcoin and ether have been going up. The total value of cryptocurrencies reached an all-time high on June 6 when it surpassed$100 billion,according to Bloomberg.

Faced with the growth of cryptocurrencies, experts are askingwhether anonymity is beneficial or not. Its certainly one of the key reasonscryptocurrencies are becoming so popular. One of its more important features is that you dont have identities tied to this, Spencer Bogart, research head at venture firm Blockchain Capital, said inBloombergThis financial privacy is an important characteristic.

Thatsalso the source of some of its troubles, though: there have been a handful of cyberattacks that asked for ransom inbitcoin, and that trend could continue as it becomes more widely used. The credibility of virtual currencies will not rise if they are used for criminal purposes, adraft online currency legislation by the European Parliament noted. In this context, anonymity will become more a hindrance than an asset for virtual currencies.

To this end, would tying digital wallets to identifiable persons be a problem for a mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies? For a cryptocurrency like ether which is used to pay for applications that run on the Ethereum blockchain it may not be such a big deal. It could evenhelp ether avoid having its reputation sullied by cyberattacks like bitcoin. At present, ether seems to bemoving into themainstream. The rise of Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is helping, and Ethereum is working to make their transactions even more efficient and powerful.

For now, though, it wouldnt hurt to be careful. As Peter Denious from Aberdeen Asset Management told Bloomberg, A lot of lessons will be learned. A lot of money will be lost before a lot of money can be made.

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An Anonymous Ether Trader Just Made $200 Million in One Month - Futurism