In BriefIt's not outlandish to think that our current financial system will soon be replaced by cryptocurrency, and the shift will bring about some big changes to the global economy.

For a time, Bitcoin seemed unassailable in its dominance of the cryptocurrency market,being the first digital currency to really take root and establish itself in the mainstream. Since then, a host of worthy competitors have emerged, and theres a real possibility that the balance of power could flip.

Many who have been regularly followingdevelopments in the cryptocurrency market refer to the tipping point where one digital currency supersedes another as the flippening We almost saw this occur in May 2017, when Ethereums market cap approached Bitcoins amid a surge in popularity.

When individuals have significant amounts of money invested in one cryptocurrency over another, its no surprise that tensions run high when they go head to head. However, these squabbles over which coin is best might be distracting us froma more pressing issue.

Some observers would argue that the true flippeningisnt a case of competition between two different forms of cryptocurrency at all. Thesea of change yet to come could have more far reaching consequences, if and when digital currency as a whole becomes more popular than conventional fiat currency.

There would be some major advantages to an all-cryptocurrency future: its value cant be manipulated as easy as fiat currency, and it lends itself to the concept of universal basic income.In fact, several different programs, such as uCoin and Cicada, are already using cryptocurrencyto distribute UBI.

In a future where our transactions with shops and services are likely to be handled by automated systems, cryptocurrency removes many of the intermediaries that would take their own cut. There are many benefits for the individual, but the flippening stands to pose some major challenges for the global economy in its current form.

Should cryptocurrency manage to jump ahead of fiat money in terms of usage, cash wont be able to close the gap. Thats the trick to the flippening once changeover takes place, the losing party loses value and cant do anything about it.

If everyone begins using cryptocurrency, infrastructure would need to bedevelopedwith that in mind. It might not take too long for cash to become incompatible. At this point,it remains to be seen whether established financial institutions could pivot to that new status quo in time.

At the highest level, governments will be hit hard, as they will no longer exercisethe same level of control over the countrys currency. The idea of printing more money has been raised time and time again in response to financial turmoil, but that option disappears once currency has to be mined.

The flip from fiat money to cryptocurrency is a very real prospect, and it could well change the face of how our society spends and saves.

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What Would Happen if Cryptocurrency Became More Popular Than Cash? - Futurism

The National Bank of Ukraine, the country's central bank, has indicated it may soonseek to regulate the use of cryptocurrencies.

While a clear outline for the initiative is still absent, in its latest announcement, the central bank said the legal implications of cryptocurrencies will be discussed at the next Financial Stability Board of Ukraine meeting at the end of August.

The decision comes at a time when Ukraine is seeing increased bitcoin activity, from payments to mining to blockchain development, but also when regulatory uncertainty hasled its law enforcementto take steps to reprimand bitcoin users.

Just days ago, Ukrainian police arrested several suspects who allegedly set up 200 computers to mine bitcoins at an abandoned swimming pool withina state institute in Kiev.

According to local media Kyiv Post, the court documentaccused the suspectsof illegally taking advantage of state property, and producing a currency, which is currently a function only the National Bank is legally allowed to do. Further, the law also states that no other currency besides theUkrainian Hryvnia can be treated as legal payment in Ukraine.

Citing the different approaches taken by other countries in defining cryptocurrencies, the banking authority will now begin itsdiscussion withthe Ministry of Finance, State Fiscal Service, the State Financial Monitoring Service, Securities and Stock Market State Commission and the National Commission for the State Regulation of Financial Services Markets.

Ukraine imagevia Shutterstock

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Ukraine's Central Bank Moves Closer to Cryptocurrency Regulation - CoinDesk

Yesterday, I presented the case that you can make a fortune in cryptocurrencies. I dont think Ive ever seen anything quite like it in my career.

And the good news is that you dont need to know anything about Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies to take part in the bonanza.

In fact, what I call penny cryptocurrencies are one of the last legal ways for small investors to grow rich, starting with a small initial grubstake.

Consider

On Friday, March 17, 2017, a tiny little cryptocurrency called EnergyCoin was trading at a little over one third of a penny. The exact price was .003578 of a dollar.

Then a powerful super-spike struck and over a 99-day period EnergyCoin skyrocketed to 34 cents. Thats a whopping 9,566% gain enough to turn a $1,000 investment into a staggering $95,660.

Or imagine if you had a good feeling about EnergyCoin and put down $5,000

You could have collected $478,300. Thats over $4,800 a day for 99 days straight. Double that starting stake to $10,000, and youre looking at close to a cool million from one single trade.

Thats like earning a $9,662 salary per day for more than three full months!

Now I hope you can you see why Im so excited about the unlimited potential of these super-spikes in cryptocurrencies.

Practically every day, Im seeing astronomical gains of 300%400% even 3,000% some in as little as 24 hours.

Heres another opportunity that came along

On November 20th, 2013, a cryptocurrency by the name of Freicoin was ripe for the picking. Shares traded for fractions of a penny.

10 days later, shares exploded to 33 cents each. Even a small investment was a moon shot.

Had you put $5,000 into this cryptocurrency play, you would have earned yourself a fantastic sum of $291,500. Thats a gain of 5,820% in just one simple move.

But heres where it really gets interesting

Lets say you put all that money into another little-known cryptocurrency named Digitalcoin.

On December 14th, 2013, just 14 days later, you couldve earned five times your money.

Youd be rewarded with a massive sum of $1,489,565.

That would have made you a millionaire in just 24 days. And with just two simple moves.

Now lets take it up a notch

Imagine you make one final perfectly timed move

Had you rolled your money into a cryptocurrency by the name of Worldcoin that was trading for just pennies on the dollaryoud have made another 300% in short order.

Thats enough to turn your initial stake of $5,000 into a landslide lump sum of over four million dollars.

$4,021,825 to be exact.

Thats three buys and three sells. And a starting stake of just $5,000 wouldve turned into more than $4 million dollars.

Beats working for a living, right?

OK, but lets be completely honest

For every winner, there are probably 100 more cryptocurrencies out there that are nothing but duds. Right?

Thats why in order to win in this market and to win big you need to be able to separate the real deal from the losers.

To do that, you need someone who knows the cryptocurrency markets through and through.

Ive made my bones as a venture capitalist. And I know markets pretty darn well, if I do say so myself. Ive put in my time at Morgan Stanley, Ive worked in Silicon Valley, I appear on the financial shows, Ive checked all the boxes.

But I knew that I needed to partner with a true expert in this field if I wanted to master cryptocurrencies. And from the moment I saw this market explode

I knew exactly who I wanted as my secret weapon for this new project of mine.

The thing is, I just didnt know if hed agree to do it. And Ill tell you this he wasnt easy to get.

It was a pursuit that took me months of time and all the persuasion I could muster.

Sure, he earned a degree in mathematics from the world-renowned Trinity College, Cambridge. And hes got a Harvard MBA.

To top it off, hes been tenured as an advisor to the U.S. Treasury Department.

And hes got more than four decades of experience in the creation of new money across the world. For instance

When former Yugoslavia broke into six countries, including Macedonia, these countries needed currency. But more than that, they needed currency worth something.

Thats where this cryptocurrency genius came in

The U.S. government sent him over not only to launch the currency, but to make it valuable. After all, anyone can launch a currency. But to make it valuable is something else altogether. Just ask Zimbabwe.

To make a long story short, our man succeeded.

He saved the Republic of Macedonia, with a special type of money move that netted the nation a whopping $600 million.

Another time he worked with the World Bank to create an entirely new type of currency transaction. And in just seconds, he pulled $11 million out of thin air.

Imagine having nothing one day, and the next day having a bank account with $11 million or even $600 million.

Its all possible when you have both the right opportunity (the cryptocurrency markets) and the right know-how (like our expert).

Since that time this genius has been called on by big banks to find ways to profit from the newest, fastest-moving markets available.

But despite all that attention, I just had to get him for my project

I didnt just want any old Wall Street suit, government academic, or banking insider to head up this project with me.

After all, there are a lot of academics and insiders Ive met that are lousy at making money. Instead, I needed someone proven to have both the academic background and the investing chops to hand-pick the biggest winners.

Thats what this genius brings to the table.

And anyone who knows me knows that I never recommend blindly investing in anything, no matter how good it looks on paper.

Thats even more important when it comes to these crypto super-spikes. Thats because a lot of the money being made in these currencies is based not just on technology, but complex sequences of math.

And separating the wheat from the chaff can only be done by someone who understands both mathematics and money.

Thats exactly what this secret weapon understands, like no one else.

When you get that combination right, the potential is unlimited. Thats how investors get to pocket 12 times their money on CorgiCoin in 35 days or

39 times their money on MojoCoin in 2 days or 144 times their money on Friecoin in 11 days.

So heres the bottom line:

Im happy to report that after earmarking $2.2 million, and after hundreds of emails and phone conversations (and more than a little bit of persuasion on my part)

I finally got a binding agreement that secures this cryptocurrency genius time and expertise over the coming years.

I officially locked him into my team.

The main reason I handpicked this man was for his ability to predict massive currency movements before everyone else.

I can honestly say my secret weapon is one of a handful of people in the entire world who has actually created a real, tradable currency.

And thats a mega-advantage in this market.

As youve seen, these cryptocurrency super-spikes can deliver life-changing gains, lightning quick.

They key is finding the handful of candidates with unique characteristics, untapped market demand and an upcoming catalyst destined to launch them into the mainstream.

Thats exactly what were doing right now. Our A Team is in place and hard at work. And I can confidently say that there are fortunes waiting to made over the next month alone.

For cryptocurrencies, the future is now.

And this is your invitation to that future.

Regards,

Louis Basenesefor The Daily Reckoning

Excerpt from:
For Cryptocurrencies, the Future is Now - Daily Reckoning

A Bitcoin company has finally attained the "unicorn" title, an honorific bestowed upon startups valued at more than $1 billion.

Coinbase, a brokerage that established itself as one of the biggest brands in a now-booming cryptocurrency market, has raised $100 million at a private valuation of $1.6 billion that includes the capital raised, the company tells Fortune. The venture capital firm Institutional Venture Partners led the round with participation by Spark Capital, Greylock Partners, Battery Ventures, Section 32, and Draper Associates.

Coinbase had for months been rumored to be raising around $100 million at a valuation of $1 billion or more, as the Wall Street Journal reported in June. That deal, its fourth, is now final.

In previous rounds, Coinbase had raised a total of $117 million at a private valuation approaching $500 million, as Fortune reported. That sum already made it one of the most well financed Bitcoin ventures around, next to Circle and 21.

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Coinbase has been riding a wave of interest in cryptocurrencies in recent months. Virtual currency prices exploded this year with the resurgence of Bitcoinnow trading at more than $3,400 per Bitcoin, well above its previous 2013 highs in the $900 rangeas well as the ascent of Ethereum, a rival cryptocurrency network that, for one thing, allows people mint and sell their own digital tokens.

Overall, the total market value for cryptocurrencies and tokens combined has soared to more than $120 billion from just under $20 billion at the beginning of the year. This exuberance has led many industry watchers to warn of a possible bubble.

Founded in 2012, Coinbase started as a Bitcoin wallet service that helped customers stash their digital wealth. The company later moved into the brokerage space, opening online exchanges where traders can swap or sell crypto coins.

This year has been a banner year for Coinbase. According to the company, it has facilitated the exchange of more than $25 billion in digital currency to date, five times more than the total sum it processed from its founding through the end of last year.

On Wednesday, Fidelity Investments, the asset manager, added the ability for customers to view the cryptocurrency holdings in their Coinbase accounts on its own website.

During the recent Bitcoin blockchain fork in which a faction of the network broke off and created a new currency, Bitcoin Cash, some customers blasted Coinbase for saying it did not intend immediately to support the new money. Eventually, Coinbase reversed course and agreed to allow users to access their potential Bitcoin Cash holdings at the start of next year.

Coinbase has also been battling an IRS inquiry in recent months that seeks information about cryptocurrency buyers and sellers for tax purposes. The agency most recently said it would exempt people from the probe who transacted less than $20,000 in digital currency.

These hiccups haven't slowed the company's pace. Coinbase said it would put the newly raised money toward bolstering its engineering and customer support teams, opening a New York office for its professional trading operations, and continuing to develop Toshi, an Ethereum-based messaging and wallet app that it debuted last year.

Coinbase isn't the only recent benefactor from crypto mania that has lately gripped the world. GV, the venture capital arm of Alphabet, formerly known as Google Ventures, recently led a $40 million funding round for Blockchain, a cryptocurrency wallet provider based in London. Other investment firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, and Sequoia have been backing so-called crypto hedge funds, like Polychain Capital and Metastable, that invest in digital tokens and cryptocurrencies too.

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Coinbase Becomes First Bitcoin 'Unicorn' - Fortune

Viacheslav Semenchuk, a Russian entrepreneur, has just launched a cryptocurrency for Jews.

Similar in concept to Bitcoin, it is called BitCoen, "the first Kosher cryptocurrency," as described on the company's Russian website. In the US, Coen and its variant Cohen are common surnames in the Jewish community; in Hebrew, they mean priest.

Semenchuk, according to RT, has invested $500,000 in the project and hopes to raise as much as $20m through an initial coin offering that aims to sell 100m worth of BitCoen digital tokens to investors.

With that much market capitalization, BitCoen would rank at about 115th among the more than 1,000 cryptocurrencies tracked by coinmarketcap.com. Bitcoin's current market cap is about $55bn.

The company began a pre-sale through its website on Wednesday, offering 300,000 BitCoen (under the abbreviation BEN) at a price of $0.75 per token. It expects to launch a wider offering in October.

"Our team came to the conclusion that the Jewish community is the world's only community within the framework of which a full-fledged and self-sufficient cryptocurrency can be created and recognized by the whole community," said Angelika Sheshunova, COO of BitCoen, in an email to The Register.

"We expect that the cryptocurrency will cover all Jewish communities around the world. And the main guarantor of stability here is that the keys from the management of the cryptocurrency will be in the hands of the most respected members of the community."

Sheshunova said there's no way to guarantee that only members of the Jewish community will use BitCoen. "However, the functionality of the system and the inherent features are most appealing to the members of the Jewish community," she said.

Said features include a plan to give 10 per cent of released coins to Jewish organizations as "tzedakah," or charity, and governance by a six-person community council.

Sheshunova explained, "Important decisions in the system are made by the 'council of six.' Each of them is well-respected in the Jewish community, and will represent their preferred course [in] business, politics, finance, technology, public service, [and] culture."

BitCoen will be "a completely new blockchain with its own architecture, its own security and special functionality," according an emailed quote that Sheshunova attributed to Andrei Nedobyolsky, CTO of the project.

That name returned no results in Google, Bing, or Yandex. The Register asked if BitCoen could provide more details about Nedobyolsky's technical qualifications, but has not heard back.

According to Sheshunova, BitCoen plans to make some of its code available, eventually. "In accordance with the ideology of blockchain, we plan to share some of the code that is critical for system users, with requirement specifications of security, transparency and functionality," she said. "However, this will be done after the launch of the main elements of the system."

BitCoen's lack of technical clarity appears to be matched by its muddled public communication. On Wednesday, the firm published a post in Russian on Medium to dispel what it characterized as a fiction about its project.

The post states that BitCoen is still negotiating with the Chief Rabbi of Russia (there are apparently two at present) and Jewish community leaders about potential involvement with the project. It also suggests that the currency will be controlled by those participating in the community and not just Jews.

"All media statements that 'the currency is controlled by the Jews' we consider unconcrete and far-fetched in order to increase the readability and popularity of articles and materials, where these statements are applied," the post says, as rendered by Google Translate.

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At last, a kosher cryptocurrency: BitCoen - The Register