Daily Archives: June 5, 2017

Step aside, bitcoin. Theres another digital token in town thats winning over the hearts and wallets of cryptocurrency enthusiasts across the globe.

The value of ether, the digital currency linked to the ethereum blockchain, could surpass that of bitcoin by the end of 2018, according to Olaf Carlson-Wee, chief executive officer of cryptocurrency hedge fund Polychain Capital.

"What weve seen in ethereum is a much richer, organic developer ecosystem develop very, very quickly, which is what has driven ethereums price growth, which has actually been much more aggressive than bitcoin," said Carlson-Wee,in an interview on Bloomberg Television Tuesday. The San Francisco Bay Area-based fund has received investments from venture-capital firms including Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures.

The name ethereum might ring a bell because hackers stole millions of dollars worth of ether last year. Still, its piquing the interest of industries from finance to health care because itsblockchaindoes far more than let bitcoin users send value from one person to another. Its advocates think it could be a universally accessible machine for running businesses, as the technology allows people to do more complex actions in a shared and decentralized manner.

QuickTake Bitcoin and the Blockchain

Carlson-Wee wasnt the first to forecast a bright future for ethereum. Fred Wilson, co-founder and managing partner at Union Square Ventures, laid out an even more ambitious timeline for the cryptocurrency in an interview earlier this month.

"The market cap of ethereum will bypass the market cap of bitcoin by the end of the year," said Wilson, who is also chairman of the board at Etsy Inc.

After skyrocketing more than 300 percent in the last year, bitcoin now costs about $2,300 a coin, which is still around 10 times the price of ethereum. But the second-most popular cryptocurrency is gaining market share fast.

Read more on how digital coins are allowing startups to ditch venture capitalist funding

Bitcoin currently dominates a little less than half of the digital currency market, down from almost 90 percent three months ago, according toCoinmarketcap.com data. Meanwhile, ethereum has quadrupled its share, which now represents more than a quarter of the pie. Other virtual coins have also picked up steam. Carlson-Wee is a fan of auger, golem, zcash and monero.

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Bitcoins growth has started to catch up to its fundamentals, which is likely what has been driving its astronomical gain as of late, he said. Others have attributed the surge to speculation, aswell as increased interest in Asia and adoption by established companies. Impressive performance aside, more than $150 has been knocked off bitcoins price since late last week amid concerns about transaction speed, safety and a possible price bubble.

"Were absolutely still in the infrastructure building phase," Carlson-Wee said. "But I do think within one to two years, well start to see the first viral applications that are user facing."

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Bitcoin Is at Risk of No Longer Being the Biggest Digital ...

Forget U.S. stocks and emerging-market assets, even ignore bitcoin. Those brave enough to invest in the Wild West of tech are the ones making a killing.

While the record-breaking rally in bitcoin has captivated markets, demand for other digital coins is surging as companies raise millions in minutes, or even seconds, from investors wanting in on the next big tech startup. Last week it took 30 seconds for Mozilla co-founder Brendan Eich to issue about $35 million of basic attention token, the unit of exchange in a blockchain-based advertising platform built on top of the companys Brave browser.

QuickTake Bitcoin and the Blockchain

Digital tokens tied to the blockchain platform issued this year have more than doubled in price on average since trading started, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Tech startups are increasingly selling coins that can be used on their projects instead of resorting to traditional financing methods such as venture capital.

The sector isnt for the fainthearted. The apps and websites behind most of these tokens are still only in development stage. Most are sold for pennies on the dollar and volatility can be extreme. TaaS, a closed-end fund dedicated to blockchain markets, had the coins it sold this year double in price in five weeks, and then fall 35 percent in two days.

But if you can stomach the risk, the rewards have been substantial. Coins from the 15 ICOs this year for which data is available have risen by an average of over 100 percent, while shares sold in initial public offerings in the U.S. this year have gained 13 percent on average since they started trading.

Theres been overwhelming demand for coins,said Ron Quaranta, chairman of the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance. Sure, a lot of it is based on speculation and traders looking to make a quick gain, but theres also a fundamental driver, which is the anticipation that the digital-currency market is maturing.

Read more on how digital coins are letting startups bypass venture capital

Forty-four coins have been issued this year, according toblockchain research website Smith & Crown. Not all trade immediately after the auctions since some have vesting periods. The tokens with the biggest gain, a 500 percent jump since it started trading on March 30, was issued byEdgeless, which is building a decentralized gambling platform. That sale wasnt open to U.S.-based investors since the company isnt licensed to operate in the U.S.

Prediction market platform Gnosis sold the highest valued tokens this year. The GNO token started trading at $52 on May 1 and has more than quadrupled.

Even with growing acceptance of blockchain from companies ranging from Toyota Motor Corp. to JPMorgan Chase & Co., some advocates of the technology say theyre cautious of the digital tokens because of the exuberance sweeping through the cryptocurrency world.

It seems like a fad, and as a professional investor, its not what we do, said David Dunn, president of Kingsbridge Wealth Management, who first bought bitcoin in 2014 and has invested in blockchain-related companies. Id rather invest in the companies using the technology themselves. The speculators might end up being right, and this becomes a solid investment because of the power of the technology, but were not at that stage.

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Token sales like the one for Gnosis, which catapulted the companys market capitalization to over $300 million without it even having a product, or Eichs BAT coin, which was over in seconds, have raised some eyebrows. Still, the token market will probably continue to grow at least in the near future, said Nick Tomaino, principal at San Francisco-based venture-capital firm Runa Capital, who also runs The Control blog, which tracks digital currencies.

More than $100 million of coins has been raised this year, surpassing total sales last year, while total issuance is expected to jump to about $600 million, according to Tomaino.

Theres a lot of hype, and a lot of money being raised because its so easy for anyone to create these coins without having to deal with any third parties, and its so easy for people to buy them, Tomaino said. It cant be stopped.

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Digital Coins Are Making Bitcoin's Rip-Roaring Rally Appear Tame - Bloomberg

MUMBAI: The quest for multi-baggers often leads investors to seemingly obscure stocks that would be the blockbusters of the future. In the past two years, however, money managers may have done better if they had chosen the least likely growth asset the currency.

The once non-descript bitcoin, a crypto currency, has returned more than 10 times since 2015, with the price of the digital instrument hitting a record Rs 225,000 a unit in the domestic spot market last week. Trading in bitcoins is gaining traction, especially among those aged 18-35 years and seeking to harness volatility for extra-ordinary returns.

The increasing awareness of bitcoins worldwide, particularly about its revolutionary technology, has triggered a rally in the bitcoin market, said Sandeep Goenka, cofounder and chief operating officer at Zebpay, an app-based bitcoin exchange. Japan has now added itself to the list of countries that have regulations for bitcoins. Due to these positive factors, bitcoin prices have been showing tremendous strength.

With an expert committee in India now seeking to regulate domestic trading of bitcoins, prices are expected to leapfrog in the next one year. Since April, Japan's legalization of the digital currency has contributed to the rally in bitcoins. After Tokyos move, many vendors have started accepting the virtual currency: Peach Aviation, for instance, is going be the first Japanese airline to accept bitcoins as payment for plane tickets.

Sahil Shah, a final-year BBA student of Nirma University, Ahmedabad, has sold four bitcoins at roughly Rs 2.20 lakh apiece versus Rs 70,000, the average price at which he acquired those.

"This rally was almost a bubble, but it gave a solid profit-booking opportunity for investors who bought bitcoins two - three years ago. I will buy back once prices correct a bit more," said Shah.

It is not necessary to buy one bitcoin. One can even buy a fraction of that. At Zabpay, one can invest with a minimum of Rs 1,000. It is now registering trading volumes of Rs 50 crore per day, which was way below at about Rs 15-20 crore even a year ago.

According to Goenka, Zabpay now holds about 70 per cent market share. Coinsecure and Coinmama are some of the other platforms used to trade in the currency.

Like any other investment, bitcoins are not risk-free. Sharp price swings are routine. After touching the record high of Rs 225,000 a unit, the price plunged to about 160,000 a unit within an hour or two.

"I've held on to my bitcoin portfolio as I am a long-term investor. I expect bitcoin prices to strengthen over a longer time-frame. If more countries legalise crypto currencies, bitcoin prices may appreciate much more than the current (price) levels," said Madhur Todi, who owns seven bitcoins now.

"Betting on bitcoins can be very risky: It's a very volatile asset class. At most, investors can take 1 - 2 per cent of their overall portfolio exposure to bitcoins," said Todi, who runs Mera Money Advisors, an Ahmedabad-based wealth advisory firm.

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All that glitters is bitcoin now - Economic Times

The speculative frenzy in bitcoin is spilling over into the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Remixpoint Co., Infoteria Corp. andFisco Ltd., have all seen volatile swings in their share prices after announcing businesses related to digital currencies.

Remixpoint has more than doubled since tying up with Peach Aviation Ltd. to let customers pay for tickets with bitcoin. Infoteria, up 58 percent in the past month, is testing ways to let shareholders vote by proxy using blockchain, bitcoins underlying technology.Fisco, a financial information services provider, began operating a bitcoin exchange last year and is up 26 percent since early May.

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All of these gains coincide with bitcoins rally, with the value of the virtual currency doubling against the U.S. dollar since early May. That has made the stocks of the these small-cap companies an attractive way for speculators to invest in cryptocurrency markets without buying them directly. Thats because investors can make bets via their brokerage accounts instead of taking risks with bitcoin exchanges, according to Naoki Murakami, a well-known day trader in Japan.

From about a month ago when all these virtual currencies started spiking like crazy, we began seeing the so-called stocks of the virtual currency bubble, said Murakami, a frequent speaker at investor conferences. Not everyone is sure they can trust bitcoin exchanges. And some dont have accounts there. Thats why theyre using the stock market to speculate.

Its probably not a coincidence that Japans stock market is being seen as a proxy for bitcoin investments. In April, Prime Minister Shinzo Abes government legalized digital currencies as a form of payment and placed rules around audits and security. That lent credibility to digital currencies, leading to some Japanese companiesseeking partnerships with bitcoin startups.

Remixpoint is the biggest of the bunch, with a market value of 31.3 billion yen ($283 million). Remixpoint was the second-biggest gainer in the TSE Mothers Index over the past month, helping the gauge soar to the highest level in a year. Remixpoint is trading at 514 times earnings, the highest among all Japanese technology companies worth more than 30 billion yen.

Another reason why these stocks can become proxies for bitcoin is due to Japans relatively loose listing laws, some of which require no income and a market value of as little as $10 million before a company can go public. Thats made the Tokyo Stock Exchange home to hundreds of small companies.

Its pure frenzy, Murakami said.

More:
Bitcoin Mania Infects Japanese Stock Market's Smaller Listings - Bloomberg

McClatchy Washington Bureau

You can't hold a bitcoin, but the web currency's value has skyrocketed. Why? McClatchy Washington Bureau Unlike gold or dollar bills, the digital currency known as bitcoin does not physically exist. There is no there there. Even so, there is excitement and speculation. And a wild rollercoaster ride. The price of bitcoin has more than tripled in the past ... Bitcoin Demand Increase in Asia Driven by RemittancesCoinTelegraph Japan And South Korea To Invest More In BitcoinCryptoCoinsNews Bitcoin now worth more than goldDaily Trust New York Post -The Fresh Toast -Gadget Hacks all 30 news articles »

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You can't hold a bitcoin, but the web currency's value has skyrocketed. Why? - McClatchy Washington Bureau