Category Archives: Bitcoin
Bitcoin Tracker: No More Wire Transfers? – PYMNTS.com
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Bitcoins (BTC) riding high once again as the third week of April rolls to a close. BTC values are rising to approach the all-time highs seen in early March before all the China troubles, the Securities and Exchange Commission denial double whammy and fears of a hard fork.
The upward movement of BTC in April has been relatively steady nonetheless, boosted by adoption news out of Japan. However, prices spiked during Thursday (April 20) afternoon trading. At the time of writing, one bitcoin was worth $1,249.19, up 1.81 percent from Wednesdays (April 19) close.
The estimated market cap of bitcoin was pegged at just over $20.4 billion, according to Coin Desk, with a total BTC supply of about 16.28 million.
While the rising value would seem to signal a positive change in the ecosystem, the past week in bitcoin has passed with more than its fair share of challenges.
Hong Kongbased exchange Bitfinex has seen its wire transfer issues worsen.
The exchange had initially reported outgoing wire transfer disruptions earlier this month, subsequently filed suit and an injunction against Wells Fargo. A few days later, Bitfinex dropped the suit, but the problem has remained.
Earlier this week, wire transfer issues with correspondent banks spread to a full-on moratorium on incoming wire transfers across fiat currencies, as well as a hold on outgoing transfers on Swiss francs and the Hong Kong dollar.
While the exchange has yet to state the exact cause of the issue with its corresponding banks, on Thursday (April 20), Bitfinex issued an announcement to quell brewing fears of a Mt. Goxtype situation.
We want to be absolutely clear here that Bitfinex is solvent. We have assets that exceed all user balances, the exchange wrote. We also want to emphasize that digital token trading is not affected on Bitfinex.
Between this and the withdrawal pause as mainland Chinese exchanges sort out their differences with the Peoples Bank of China, thats a lot of freezes for the ecosystem to handle.
For Bitfinex, domestic transfers and both incoming and outgoing as well as digital currency transfers have not been affected by disruption issues. However, some analysts have pointed out some could leverage the withdrawal freeze on fiat currencies as an opportunity for arbitrage.
While its unclear whether arbitrage is on buyers and sellers minds, the situation at Bitfinex has in fact led to a notable widening in exchange spreads.
On Thursday at 2:20 p.m. EST, bitcoin had traded for $1,299.00 on Bitfinex compared to $1230.76 on digital currency exchange GDAX and $1,230.63 on Bitstamp roughly a 5 percent difference.
Bitfinex isnt the only exchange in the region experiencing disruptions. Chinese exchange OKCoin also recently reported it was experiencing issues with intermediary banks. The exchange reported it is unable to accept deposits in U.S. dollars.
At the time of the above data, exchanges on OKCoin ran around 1BTC:$1,257 just over a 2 percent difference.
Still, for now, traders can rest at least somewhat assured that this isnt going to turn into a Mt. Gox 2.0. By the numbers, Mt. Gox traded between 10 to 26 percent higher than its competitors in its final days.
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Criminals who use Bitcoin targeted under proposed Florida law – Miami Herald
Miami Herald | Criminals who use Bitcoin targeted under proposed Florida law Miami Herald Criminals who deal in bitcoins in Florida could soon be busted for money laundering. Florida lawmakers are poised to pass a bill that will add virtual currency to the state's money-laundering statute, a change hailed by law enforcement although ... |
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Criminals who use Bitcoin targeted under proposed Florida law - Miami Herald
Billionaire says he has 10% of his money in Bitcoin and Ether – CNNMoney
"Ten percent of my net worth is in this space," Novogratz said at a forum held at the Harvard Business School Club of New York Wednesday. He declined to say exactly how wealthy he is, but he's a former hedge fund manager at Fortress Investment Group and a Goldman Sachs partner who made the Forbes billionaire list in 2008.
It's the "best investment of my life," Novogratz said.
Bitcoin was worth under $500 a year ago. Today the digital currency trades at over $1,200. Back in 2013, Novogratz predicted Bitcoin's value would soar. He remembers people laughing at him at the time.
Since then, Bitcoin's price has been on a wild run. It surged to nearly $1,000 in late 2013 and then fell to under $250 in 2015. It started to fly again last year, around the time of the Brexit vote. It surpassed $1,000 in January of this year again and has kept climbing.
Now Novogratz is saying Bitcoin will go to $2,000.
But he also warned the Harvard Business School Club crowd that there will "likely be a bubble" in digital currencies. The best way to handle it, he argues, is the old Wall Street trick of diversification. Put a little money in a lot of different plays in digital currency.
Related: What is Bitcoin? Read CNN's explainer
For example, Novogratz was also an early investor in Ether. It's another digital currency that has quickly emerged as the No. 2 rival to Bitcoin. Novogratz says he bought Ether when it was trading for about $1. Today it's worth over $48.
Novogratz met Vitalik Buterin, the young Russian brainchild behind Ether at a dinner party at a prominent CEO's home. He recalls that Buterin, then 21, showed up late, which struck him as shocking -- and a bit ballsy. He figured it was worth paying attention to Buterin.
Ether is a currency with a "smart contract" function that gives users additional security and abilities to transfer information in addition to monetary value.
We're witnessing the "3rd inning" of this digital asset revolution, Novogratz predicts. He's not exactly sure how it will play out, but he plans to continue investing in digital currencies and Blockchain, the revolutionary technology behind the scenes that makes Bitcoin work.
Blockchain is literally a digital ledger to record and track transactions. What makes it so technologically advanced is that multiple companies or parties can access the Blockchain and see the history of what happened to an asset.
Related: Yext: The newest $1 billion tech company
Novogratz has emerged as one of the biggest Wall Street cheerleaders of Blockchain, but his bets haven't always gone so well. He exited Fortress in 2015 after the company shut down his Marco Fund for poor performance. It lost around 20% in its final year after his investments in emerging markets, especially Brazil, tanked.
"We have had an extremely challenging two years, and I do not believe the current environment is conducive to achieving our best results," Novogratz said at the time.
CNNMoney (New York) First published April 20, 2017: 12:44 PM ET
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Billionaire says he has 10% of his money in Bitcoin and Ether - CNNMoney
Why Bitcoin’s Greatest Asset Could Also Spell Its Doom – Forbes
Forbes | Why Bitcoin's Greatest Asset Could Also Spell Its Doom Forbes The wonder of bitcoin is that the system manages to get a few groups whose interests are not aligned to interact in a way that results in an optimal outcome for all. However, over the last two years, faced with the question of how to enable more ... |
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Why Bitcoin's Greatest Asset Could Also Spell Its Doom - Forbes
The Rise And Fall Of Bitcoin (And The New Kid On The Blockchain) – Forbes
Forbes | The Rise And Fall Of Bitcoin (And The New Kid On The Blockchain) Forbes Disclaimer: I'm an avid crypto-enthusiast, advocate, supporter and former trader. I used to be an avid trader years ago, and my co-founder is as hardcore of a crypto-anarchist as they come. I would love nothing more than for bitcoin to succeed, but I ... |
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The Rise And Fall Of Bitcoin (And The New Kid On The Blockchain) - Forbes
Self-Declared Bitcoin Creator Sees Company He Inspired Sold to Private Equity – Investopedia
Investopedia | Self-Declared Bitcoin Creator Sees Company He Inspired Sold to Private Equity Investopedia In the ever-changing world of cryptocurrencies, Craig Wright has become something of a fixture. The 46-year old computer scientist, who claims to have invented Bitcoin, has garnered both massive praise and skeptical criticism from those on different ... |
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Self-Declared Bitcoin Creator Sees Company He Inspired Sold to Private Equity - Investopedia
Top 6 Bitcoin and Blockchain Remittance Companies – The Merkle
Although there are quite a few reasons by bitcoin makes a lot of sense in the remittance sector, we have discussed why these solutions are not necessarily cheaper. That being said, quite a few bitcoin and blockchain startups are trying to make a name for themselves when it comes to transferring money around the world. Below are some of the companies worth keeping an eye on over the coming years.
This particular company is well worth keeping an eye on, only because they offer cash out services at over 100,000 locations around the world, Bitspark prides itself upon servicing the Asian regions, with a strong focus on Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The Asian region is home to a large number of remittance transfers, thus more competition can only be beneficial to consumers.
The Bit2Me company has made quite a name for itself over the past few years, as they were the first business to let users convert bitcoin to cash at thousands of ATMs. The company provides an easy to use mobile application which would allow any bitcoin user to convert their BTC funds to cash in Spain. Moreover, users do not need to be a customer of any of the supported banks to receive cash in a friction less manner.
The Philippines are quite an important area for bitcoin and remittance, that much is evident. Rebit is a subsidiary of Satoshi Citadel Industries, a company well-known for their multiple bitcoin-based ventures. Moreover, Rebit provides access to financial services regardless of previous access to bank accounts or other traditional financial tools
Most cryptocurrency users will know what BitPesa has to offer in the first place. The company offers bitcoin-oriented mobile payments to various African countries. As of right now, the service is active in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, although future expansion is only a matter of time. That said, according to their website BitPesa covers over 85 countries around the world and has processed over 17,000 bitcoin transactions so far.
Coins.ph serves as a mobile blockchain-based platform. The primary market is Southeast Asia, where over 300 million users are looking for access to financial services and products. Coins.ph has a very simple business model: send money around the world and pay bills with bitcoin. Moreover, the Coins.ph services are available at various Southeast Asian 7-eleven stores, giving the company plenty of exposure.
One of the companies getting a lot of attention has recently been Abra, a project that had been in development for quite some time. The concept is simple: users can transfer money around the world with ease, with transactions taking place on the blockchain. Wallets can be funded with bitcoin, bank accounts, or cash. Conversion to cash can be done through local Abra Tellers, yet bitcoin or a bank transfer are other withdrawal options as well.
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Top 6 Bitcoin and Blockchain Remittance Companies - The Merkle
Want To Be a VC? Just Flip a Bitcoin – Bloomberg Gadfly – Bloomberg
Initial public offeringsare yesterday's news. Who would want to buy a share of a company that's wildly unprofitableand whose days of racy growth may be behind it?
The alternative to the IPO?
The ICO
But there's now a geekier and greedier way to bet on a start-up: The ICO.
The Initial Coin Offering is the Bitcoin world's latest attempt to re-create Wall Street in its own image. Rather than exchanging dollars for shares, which usually come with a claim on profits and voting rights, an ICO sees the exchange of Bitcoin (or a rival like Ether) for an issuer's newly minted digital currency. That coin is somewhere between a currency and a stake in the business, asWired puts it, which can then be used to buy distributed computingpoweror labor hours.
Bitcoin's Investment Bankers
Recent initial coin offerings (ICO) as tracked by Smith + Crown
Source: Smith + Crown
The theory goes that if this business is a "Good Idea", its success will boost the value of its own tokens, enriching those who got in early at a discount. There's been the inevitable speculative rush, withICO buyers scrambling to flip their new coins at a premium on exchanges a few weeks later. This doesn't always work. There's also the potential for scams.
To a lot of people, this will sound less like a new threat to Wall Street and more like exchanging one set of magic beans for another. Bitcoin itself still feels "more virtual than real," the WSJ's Paul Vigna wrotelast week, as cautious regulators limit widespread investor acceptance and consumers shun a payment method that can slump 20 percent in a day.
The Risk-Reward Rollercoaster
Bitcoin's performance as tracked by an exchange-traded note in Sweden
Source: Bloomberg
That tells you something about the type of start-up willing to flog an even riskier token in return: Experimental, abstract and obsessed with all things decentralized and crypto-currency. It also tells you about the type of investor they're looking to attract: More than half of the $20 billion of Bitcoin in circulation are said to be owned by a small oligarchy spread across China and the hedge fund world, according to the Harvard Business Review.
This is not the kind of deep fundraising pool that's going to give Goldman Sachs a run for its money.
A Shallow Pool
The total market value of Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two biggest virtual currencies
Source: coinmarketcap.com
Where things get interesting is what this means for venture capitalists. Their job depends on taking big early-stage risks in return for juicy rewards when a company like Snap goes public. In terms of the money amassed, recent ICOs aren't far off an average Series B financing round, raising around $5 million to $15 million, according to research firm Smith + Crown.
And whereas a VC firm might end up owning 20 or 30 percent of a start-up in return for that money, an ICO might only mean one-time costs of less than $500,000, according to Stan Miroshnik, managing director of investment bank Argon Group. Free Bitcoin!
If the past is any guide, VCs will learn to co-opt this potential source of disruption in much the same way as Wall Street banks have funded, taken over and picked apart fintech rivals. One fund, Blockchain Capital, is adopting the ICO model itself to tap investors for $10 million alongside a traditional $50 million fund.
Trading tokens might also offer VC backers a nice option to cash out of an investment in a more convenient, liquid way than the sometimes trickier wait for the business to sell itself or go public.
If there is a silver lining in ICOs, it's unlikely to be its dream of rebuilding the financial world on open-source technology. It's more the hope that tech evangelists preaching digital disruption might have to face a bit of disruption themselves. And given the VC industry's role in hyping Bitcoin and Ethereum, that's probably fair.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.
(A previous version of this story was updated to correct a typo in the headline.)
To contact the author of this story: Lionel Laurent in London at llaurent2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Edward Evans at eevans3@bloomberg.net
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Want To Be a VC? Just Flip a Bitcoin - Bloomberg Gadfly - Bloomberg
Bitcoin Exchanges Hit Snags – WSJ – Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Wall Street Journal (subscription) | Bitcoin Exchanges Hit Snags - WSJ Wall Street Journal (subscription) Bitcoin suffered a series of setbacks over the past few days, when the biggest exchange couldn't enable customers to withdraw or deposit money except in other ... Instability at Bitfinex reinforces FinanceFeeds view that Bitcoin will never be a financial mainstay Traders Flee Bitcoin Exchange Bitfinex As It Pauses Wire Transfer Traders Raise Concern as Biggest Bitcoin Exchange Halts Deposits |
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Bitcoin Exchanges Hit Snags - WSJ - Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Op-ed: Portugal, Just Like Any Other Country, Needs Bitcoin – CryptoCoinsNews
Its Easter and some relatives of yours want to come visit. They live in a remote area of the country and arent exactly wealthy. On a Friday afternoon they asked you to wire them some money to help with travel expenses and, as expected, if you try to go with traditional financial institutions they will only receive the money after the weekend.
The above scenario happened to me and if only more businesses accepted bitcoin in Portugal, the problem wouldve easily been solved in minutes. Bitcoins decentralized, peer-to-peer nature empowers people, gives them control over their own money, and fits in all the fundamental properties of money better than gold or fiat.
Yet, a prominent Portuguese newspaper, Jornal de Negcios, recently published a piece dubbed Portugal is no country for bitcoin, in which the writer explains electricity costs arent as cheap as they are in some other countries and, as such, there arent any major bitcoin miners in the country.
Over here, one kWh costs roughly $0.1105, according to the article, and that forces local miners to either make a substantial investment or lose money mining, as making a profit will be hard without the best hardware out there just like in any other country in the world by now.
Although I do agree making a profit mining bitcoin might be a challenge, it is wrong to claim Portugal is no country for bitcoin, at least without specifying mining operations, as there is a lot of information neglected in the article. Otherwise, those learning about bitcoin may get the wrong picture.
The articles claim that bitcoins place isnt in Portugal because it isnt easy to mine it profitably would leave our fiat currency, the euro, in a much darker place, as no citizen can legally print them out.
Yet, we transact in euros, a less secure, centralized currency whose value the people have absolutely no control of, on a daily basis. Moreover, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of different ways to acquire bitcoin, without mining one single satoshis: exchanges and r/Jobs4Bitcoins are great examples.
Even Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates himself said bitcoin is better than fiat currency:
As previously reported by CCN, the Bank of Portugal has issued a statement back in 2013 in which it states bitcoinhas no central authority to control it, and that it has no legal tender in the country.
Now more than ever bitcoin is needed in Portugalas our financial system is apparently letting us down. Back in 2015, over 500 people lost their lifetime savings because they were led to invest in dubious financial applications they werent even told were risky in the first place. Their representative once told the media(translated statement):
These are people that lost everything because of the banking system, and the lack of [proper] surveillance.
Last month, our mediareported another financial institution, Montepio,could be in trouble, as its major shareholder reportedly has a 107 million hole in the balance sheet. The reports forced consumer protection organization DECO to warn against certain financial products as these arent properly supervised.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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Op-ed: Portugal, Just Like Any Other Country, Needs Bitcoin - CryptoCoinsNews