Top Blockchain-Related Stocks For 2018, And A Few To Avoid

Top Blockchain-Related Stocks For 2018, And A Few To Avoid

In recent years, blockchain and other new technologies

have emerged that may significantly change the future of money, finance and more. Not only can blockchain technology support the functions of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether and Ripple, but it has the potential to revolutionize marketplaces and the way data is stored and transferred around the globe for generations to come. Companies across industries including financials, healthcare and technology are looking into blockchain research and development in search of ways for better fraud prevention security, faster transmission confirmation and potential cost savings through efficiencies. In fact, it has been predicted that blockchain platforms will store 10% of global GDP within the next decade.

Measuring Blockchain Innovation Potential

Given the technological progress and potential, it could prove valuable to investors to be able to measure and analyze the companies that are investing in and developing blockchain technology, identifying the companies most potentially able to augment their businesses and generate new revenue streams or cut costs would likely help investors outperform. To help investors measure the potential effect of blockchain technology, I created a Blockchain Score™ ranking methodology. Blockchain Score utilizes seven factors to formulate a better overall picture of a company’s blockchain-related potential, visualized through a ranking system. Based on this methodology, we ranked some of the top blockchain-related companies for 2018.

NASDAQ

The bellwether exchange and equity index provider is among the top financial companies devoted to harnessing the power of blockchain. The New York-based firm operates at the intersection point between finance and technology, enabling investors to securely navigate financial markets on a global scale.Most investors are familiar with Nasdaq regarding traditional investing practices, but Nasdaq has also become an industry leader in developing innovative securities transaction methodologies since 2013. It also was one of the first to explore and incorporate the use of blockchain technology into its applications. The Nasdaq Private Market was first launched in 2013 to facilitate secondary transactions for private corporations, and two years later Nasdaq announced its first private securities transactions using blockchain technology. Chain.com was the first client to use Nasdaq’s own Linq Blockchain ledger platform. The fintech company has invested in blockchain technology and looks to be on the forefront of blockchain’s transformative potential.

IBM

Since its founding in 1911, IBM continually developed technologies used throughout business, industry, and the public. Today, the company behind Watson and developments in cloud technology is already harnessing a blockchain service for over 400 clients in multiple industries. IBM’s Blockchain Platform provides a fully managed, blockchain as-a-service (BaaS) offering delivered through the IBM Cloud, allowing organizations or individuals to record and track any type of complex transaction and recordkeeping network securely. More importantly, IBM estimates that its blockchain offering will decrease financial service transaction disputes from $100 million each year to $30 million and reduce overall resolution time by 77%. Blockchain platforms have the potential to reduce costs for industries like finance, healthcare, government and more while potentially creating a new revenue stream for firms offering blockchain as a service. These improvements may translate into improved bottom lines, and higher earnings.

Hitachi

Though known for its bullet trains and enterprise solutions, Hitachi is actually one of Japan’s biggest technology firms investing in blockchain. The conglomerate has been researching blockchain technology since the early 2000s, before even the invention of Bitcoin. Hitachi obtained its first blockchain-related Japanese patent in 2003.

Through its Financial Innovation Laboratory (FIL), Hitachi continually works to broaden the application of blockchain using a a three-phase approach. The multinational technology firm first intends to establish a specialty for financial processes specifically, then expand across industries, and finally create a fully functioning, automatic process across systems using new blockchain innovations like smart contracts. Recently, Hitachi incorporated a cryptocurrency and blockchain solution to support its supply chain management and operational strategy service. In time, Hitachi aims to continue committed research and development efforts to find and introduce more use cases in blockchain technology.

Daimler AG

Blockchain advancements are, to the surprise of many, also utilized by German Automaker Daimler AG. In partnership with LBBW, Daimler launched a €100 million 1-year corporate loan instrument, known as a Schuldschein, using blockchain technology. The complete transaction, from origination and execution of the loan agreement to the confirmation of repayment and of interest payments — was wholly carried out through blockchain technology.

Based on the success of this recent blockchain initiative, Daimler is looking to implement blockchain technology into the full spectrum of its business practices, as well as auto financing. Kurt Schäfer, Daimler’s Treasury Vice-President stated “Blockchain can affect nearly the entire value chain. That’s why we, as a leading automaker, want to play an active role in the global blockchain community and help shape the cross-sector blockchain standards. We want to do this in all the areas of application that are important to us: customer relations, sales and marketing, supplier management, digital services, and financial services.”

Hive Blockchain Technologies

Hive Blockchain technologies is among our top blockchain stock picks, and one of the most directly involved in cryptocurrency investing. The Canadian technology company looks to bridge the gap between blockchain innovation and capital markets through ownership of multiple cryptocurrency mining farms at strategic locations. It uses blockchain technology to validate cryptocurrency transactions.

Hive recently announced a major expansion of its mining capabilities, securing a large-scale bitcoin mining facility in addition to a private financing round to the tune of $100 million. The technology firm was the first publicly traded stock on a major stock exchange dedicated solely to cryptocurrency mining when it joined the Canadian TSX venture exchange in September 2017. Hive operates multiple cryptocurrency facilities and mines 8 cryptocurrencies currently including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

So-Called Blockchain Stocks To Avoid For Now

Investors face a unique risk amid the buzz surrounding blockchain. Many businesses may have unwarrantingly added blockchain to their official company names, and experienced a subsequent spike in their stock prices. This is without necessarily utilizing nor understanding the innovative aspects of the technology. Be wary these so-called blockchain companies, as they could be benefitting from the technology’s shimmer while offering no substance. Our methodology has found companies that may require more time and thought to actually integrate blockchain into their core competencies.

XNET

Xunlei is a Chinese video-streaming service turned cryptocurrency and blockchain company. In October, the technology company announced its plan to launch OneCoin, it’s own blockchain-based cryptocurrency. From October through November, XNET’s stock price to surged from $4 to $25 after the announcement, but experienced major declines thereafter, causing investor suspicion. Now, the company is involved in at least in at least 2 class-action lawsuits, alleging that XNET made false or misleading statements to investors, and is in violation of federal securities laws in offering on OneCoin, now named LinkToken.

The lawsuits stem from seemingly conflicting statements regarding the new blockchain-based cryptocurrency. Investors who believed the announcement to be an initial coin offering (ICO), were met with new statements that LinkToken was actually an initial mining offering, and that the coins were not for trading. China’s central bank banned ICOs in September, before XNET’s blockchain announcement, but investors can only wait as the litigation unfolds. The fervor surrounding blockchain requires investors to analyze blockchain-related stocks with a rigorous methodology, to avoid the potential pitfalls.

Long Island Blockchain

Previously Long Island Ice Tea Corp., Long Island blockchain raised eyebrows market-wide after the company announced a significant shift in its business focus, including a complete name change. Though the company still actively produces its non-alcoholic beverages and is yet to provide details on its use of the blockchain, the stock price increased by more than 250%. For blockchain investors, there may be better options for blockchain-related stocks. It would be prudent to consider companies with more concrete plans or research into the utilization of blockchain technology in their core competencies.

Riot Blockchain

Bioptix Inc. changed its name to Riot Blockchain last October to reflect a new focus on cryptocurrency and blockchain business. Before even announcing its entrance into the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology space, the penny stock nearly doubled in value, later plunging 20% in December. Today the stock is in the process of selling its remaining biotech related patents, as it pivots to bitcoin mining and blockchain software. It may still be too early to determine how this shift will affect the company’s revenues, costs, and operating margins.

Kodak

The Eastman Kodak company recently made headlines after announcing KodakCoin, a blockchain-powered token solution to photography copywrite protection. The stock price tripled in value after the announcement. While this new development of blockchain technology is potentially promising for the stock and the market overall, details remain excessively scant, and it remains to be seen if Kodak can augment its business model with blockchain capabilities.  Kodak’s KashMiner’ mining rig looks to support licensing partnerships, but, may be the full extent of the company’s cryptocurrency plans. Lastly, it is worth noting that KodakCoin has announced a delay to its initial coin offering (ICO) by several weeks, to verify the ‘accredited investor’ status of interested parties. The company’s statement at the end of January also cautioned interested investors to avoid fraudulent KodakCoin ICO pages online, and to purchase the token on Kodak’s official platform only.

New Tech on the Block

Whether its applications represent an incremental improvement, a significant leap forward, or a complete transformation of industry, blockchain’s potential is certainly worth a second look. The technology is still considered to be in its early adoption stage, but innovations in blockchain investing are becoming easier. Take a look at thoughtful blockchain methodologies like Blockchain Score™, which aims to find high-quality stocks on the forefront of blockchain technology. The Reality Shares Nasdaq Blockchain Economy Index utilizes this methodology in its construction and is fully supported by an advisory board of blockchain company founders, cryptocurrency executives, and technology thought leaders to guide the strategy for true blockchain impact.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept

Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

 

 

Top Blockchain-Related Stocks For 2018, And A Few To Avoid

South Korea’s Largest Banks Go Pro-Cryptocurrency as OmiseGo

Secures Deal

South Korea’s largest commercial banks including Shinhan and Woori

have continued to support cryptocurrency exchanges after Kookmin, the biggest bank in the country, denied to provide financial services to trading platforms.

Shinhan and Omise

Since then, both Shinhan and Woori have supported a series of pro-blockchain and pro-cryptocurrency initiatives. In January, Shinhan, the second largest bank in South Korea, announced that it has begun the development of a bitcoin wallet and vault system with which bank users can safely store bitcoin in a cold wallet. In February, Shinhan completed trials with Ripple Labs, utilizing the Ripple network and its liquidity system xRapid to send cross-border payments in a blockchain network. This month, Shinhan entered a strategic partnership with OmiseGo, an Ethereum-based banking and payments platform, to accelerate the adoption and implementation of blockchain technology in Asia, and more specifically, South Korea. In South Korea, upon the completion of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Shinhan and the Ethereum startup, Omise CEO Jun Hasegawa stated:

“Omise and OmiseGO are working to revolutionize the way digital value moves globally, with an end goal of creating a platform that facilitates a decentralized economy. The OMG platform, using the Plasma architecture, is being built as a public network that is powered by Ethereum. The first phase of the wallet SDK was recently released and is available for anyone to use. We want to make it easy for those who need online asset exchange as part of their business to connect seamlessly to the OMG Network.”

The official statement of Omise revealed that in the upcoming months, Shinhan will closely work with Omise to integrate its blockchain technology in various areas of the bank’s operations. Shinhancard, the credit card department of Shinhan Bank, is expected to develop new business models and key application opportunities based on the OmiseGo technology, becoming the first major credit card company in Asia to apply blockchain technology.

Omise will also process Shinhan FAN card and overseas merchant base, potentially settling transactions for Shinhan merchants using the OmiseGo blockchain, and ultimately, the Ethereum blockchain. “The MoU establishes a framework for closer collaboration between each party; leveraging Omise’s broad portfolio of payment technology and solutions, and OmiseGO’s server and mobile SDKs that have been made publicly available for the purpose of onboarding e-wallet providers,” the Omise team said.

Bitcoin Wallet

In November 2017, CCN reported that Shinhan began the development of its bitcoin wallet and vault system. Its representative stated: “Shinhan is testing a virtual bitcoin vault platform wherein the private keys of bitcoin addresses and wallets are managed and issued by the bank. The bank intends to provide the vault service for free and charge a fee for withdrawals.” The MoU between Omise and Shinhan could lead to the Omise development team cooperating with Shinhan in completing the development of its cryptocurrency wallet, given that the Omise team revealed the MoU was signed to allow Omise to cooperate with the major South Korean bank in developing a variety of blockchain solutions.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept

Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

South Korea's Largest Banks Go Pro-Cryptocurrency as OmiseGo Secures Deal

What If Your Employees Want To Get Paid In Bitcoin?

What If Your Employees Want To Get Paid In Bitcoin?

Whether you consider it a bubble, a trend or the next big thing, Bitcoin—and cryptocurrencies like it—is a force to be reckoned with in the modern economy. Bitcoin’s meteoric rise over the past year has pushed it onto the list of assets that savvy investors want in on—with a growing list of other cryptocurrencies in hot pursuit as the 'Next Big Thing.'

Bitcoin’s technology has the full potential of becoming the new reality,

but it won’t be there yet until it becomes a true and viable alternative to traditional money.So what happens if your employees start asking to be paid in Bitcoin instead of your country’s national currency? While you’re unlikely to have a critical mass of employees begging for Bitcoins yet, it’s already starting to happen and you want to consider the norms of tomorrow. Here’s what you need to know, so that when the future comes, it won’t take you by surprise.

Is It legal?

The answer isn’t simple. In some countries, the question of whether you can pay your employees in Bitcoin may be a non-starter. The currency is illegal to varying degrees in Morocco, Ecuador, Nepal, Bolivia and China. That list may get even longer in the future. With the spotlight growing on cryptocurrency, there’s a risk that governments of additional countries will rethink its legal status. In the United States, at least for now, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t theoretically be able to pay your employees in Bitcoin. In reality, though, it would be incredibly difficult to comply with U.S. tax laws if you decide to make the move.

That’s because you can only withhold taxes for employees in U.S. dollars, and you can only claim payroll costs in U.S. dollars on company tax returns. Your company’s books would have to track the exact dollar value of the corresponding Bitcoins. None of the major financial ledger systems, including SAP, Intuit and Xero, have a mechanism that allows for that. At the moment, adhering to legal standards would simply be a tracking nightmare.

Are the rules going to change?

Governments are trying to figure out exactly how to navigate cryptocurrency. The rules are still being written. While it could be years before a comprehensive approach is set in stone, the direction that governments are heading in is toward more regulation. The UK and the EU already plan to crack down on Bitcoin.

The U.S. is likely to follow with its own restrictions for several reasons. Right now, the dominance of the U.S. dollar gives the U.S. government powerful tools to impact international policy. They can freeze assets, deny assets and control currency flows. Avoiding government interference is one reason why criminals conduct illicit business in Bitcoin, and that the administration has recently called for more regulation. It’s possible that there may be a middle ground where Bitcoin becomes a government-controlled technology that still maintains a degree of openness. Either way, the rules surrounding Bitcoin are likely to change, and they’re likely to change quickly.

Will it maintain its value?

Cryptocurrency has no inherent value. With no underlying security or asset, its worth is purely dependent on what someone else will pay for it and who will accept it as currency. While that’s technically true of the U.S. dollar as well, the major difference is that no major mainstream companies have signed on to accept Bitcoin—or any cryptocurrency, for that matter. If a company like Google, Apple, Amazon, or Square were to come out and agree to accept Bitcoin payments, they could propel Bitcoin into a more permanent state. Otherwise, there’s a huge risk that it could just be a fad. Cryptocurrencies can fall out of favor—just look at what happened to ShadowCash.

That’s risky not just for the employees being paid in Bitcoin, but also for the companies paying them. Even if employees agreed or asked to be paid in Bitcoin, you can imagine that if the value of Bitcoin began to spiral downward, so would employee morale. Bitcoin’s technology has the full potential of becoming the new reality, but it won’t be there yet until it becomes a true and viable alternative to traditional money. Companies should think carefully about whether they want to pay in Bitcoin before it does.

Is it worth the hassle?

With so many grey areas and so many logistical hurdles to overcome, the next question becomes: even if it’s possible to pay employees in Bitcoin, why bother? Is all of the hassle worth it? For some companies, the answer could still be a clear and resounding “yes.” Paying in Bitcoin can be a unique attraction for acquiring new talent. It can draw the type of innovative, early adopter candidates that banks and tech startups love. In a world where competition for the best minds is fierce, that can make a difference. Taking a risk to be part of the Bitcoin experiment can also pay off in terms of building a company’s brand. Jumping in can show leadership and demonstrate that a company is financially and technologically savvy, and is ready to push the envelope.

Looking Towards the Future

We’re already moving past the “what if” stages of paying in cryptocurrency, with Japan’s GMO Internet Group paying some of its employees in Bitcoin. With the recent stock market correction and continuing concerns about further losses, alternative compensation methods could become even more attractive than they already are. Working around the complications of paying in Bitcoin may tricky,  but a committed CEO can push the agenda through. Paying in Bitcoin may seem like a speculative exercise now, but one day soon it could become a reality.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept

Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

What If Your Employees Want To Get Paid In Bitcoin?

Blockchain has grabbed the attention of investors

• Blockchain's transparency, tamper-proof record and decentralized nature make the cryptocurrency vehicle more secure than any repository under the control of one entity.


• Blockchain can be used to secure everything from financial transactions to voting and medical records.

Blockchain, the vehicle of cryptocurrency, is a technology

that no one can own or control but anyone can use. It has potential applications for just about any enterprise involved in record-keeping, documentation, registrations and transactions. Although the cryptocurrency bitcoin was created in 2009, the idea behind the blockchain technology it was built on dates back to the 1990s. Since bitcoin's launch, blockchain has gained increasing broad recognition in the tech investment world. With venture funding aplenty, numerous blockchain applications have been developed and many more are in the works.

With venture funding aplenty, numerous blockchain applications have been developed and many more are in the works. Here, a computer programmer sets up a mining rig to mine for bitcoin.Even in its early stages, blockchain is acquiring such renown for potential that any business associating itself with the term can attract new investment overnight, prompting some to use "the B word" so casually that they've also attracted attention from regulators. Core blockchain software lives on the internet, available to anyone with a modem, just as Linux operating software is available free as an open-source item. It enables the creation of decentralized, publicly accessible digital ledgers — sequential chains of blocks of data. Blockchain is like a digital safe-deposit box, yet its security comes not from secrecy or exclusive access but from being tamper-proof.

With blockchain, no one's in charge, because everyone's in charge. Everyone knows what's going on, and no one can change the record. Blocks of data are immutable, so blockchains are permanent audit trails. Proponents argue that blockchain's role as a transparent, tamper-proof record and its decentralized nature make it more secure than any repository under the control of one entity, because central sources are far easier to hack. With blockchain there's no custody or control by a central source, such as a financial institution.

Cutting out the middleman was a key founding principle of bitcoin, which cuts out banks, and it's the premise for many evolving or anticipated uses of blockchain. Consequently, some blockchain applications might prove disruptive, posing an existential threat to companies whose business model is based on being a central source. Though many individual investors find blockchain an inscrutable technical conundrum, as vexing to understand as bitcoin, potential applications in many fields are attracting a brisk flow of venture capital and corporate development. Aside from uses in cryptocurrency, embryonic and envisioned applications of blockchain include:

• Securities. Nasdaq has partnered with Chain, a bitcoin infrastructure firm, for a pilot program to test the use of blockchain for trading shares of private companies.


• Financial markets systems. An 80-plus member consortium of banks, regulators and technology partners — led by blockchain tech start-up R3 CEV — are developing a blockchain-platformed operating system called Corda.


• Payment platforms. JPMorgan Chase has launched a new interbank payments platform based on a private blockchain for Ethereum, a form of cryptocurrency.


• Bank operations. UBS and Barclays are both experimenting with blockchain as a means of expediting back-office functions.


• Private blockchain. These are secure private networks of blockchains developed by IT providers. IBM is developing new shipment-tracking tools for shipping giant Maersk and Walmart Stores.


• Digital rights management. Spotify acquired start-up Mediachain Labs last year to use blockchain technology for music copyright-attribution protocols. And Eastman Kodak is seeking to develop publicly accessible repositories for stock photographs and their copyrights.


• Decentralizing the sharing economy. Arranging P2P lodging and ride-sharing — without paying middlemen, i.e., Airbnb, Uber and Lyft.


• Medical records (private blockchain). Might blockchain finally enable long-predicted secure lifetime medical record-sharing across providers?


• Digital public registries. Projects are under way in Rwanda and other African nations to build blockchain-based real estate-titling systems.


• Law enforcement. Potential uses include evidence management and tools to flag suspicious transactions.


• Voting. Proponents say an immutable record of votes cast could have the certainty of paper with the convenience of digital access and storage.


• Securing Internet of things (IoT) devices. There are more than 8.4 billion internet-enabled devices, from refrigerators and doorbells to wearable fitness monitors and prototypical self-driving cars. Proponents argue that blockchain technology could be used to reduce the risk of many IoT devices being compromised by a single point of failure, such as a server.


• P2P e-commerce. Peer-to-peer of all sorts, potentially threatening eBay.

Not surprisingly, much of the venture funding for blockchain thus far — from notables including Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund (Peter Thiel) and Andreessen Horowitz — has been concentrated in bitcoin-related enterprises. But some of this money is for other applications, including ecommerce, media, identification and private blockchain.

Venture investment in blockchain start-ups began in 2012 and grew apace in 2016 and 2017. According to a report by CB Insights, a tech-funding research firm, Google and Goldman Sachs are among the most active corporate investors. Other investors include Visa, PNC, Deloitte, Transamerica, Wells Fargo, Capital One and U.S. Bancorp.

Investing in blockchain requires a grasp of the types of entities now profiting in the technology's evolving uses. Individuals seeking to get this exposure for their portfolios can do so currently by investing in funds or individual stocks of companies involved in:

• Cryptocurrency.
  
  Names include Japanese company SBI holdings and Overstock.com, with its newly created digital currency subsidiary, tZero.


• Manufacturing.
  
  Manufacturers develop products for the cryptocurrency industry, including specialized, powerful computer-processing chips and other hardware used by "miners"— independent operators who collectively validate and thus enable transactions. Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Taiwan Semiconductors are a few examples.


• Software services and solutions.
  
  A number of companies offer software services and solutions to blockchain- and private blockchain-related related entities. Candidates would include publicly held IT/computer services firms making inroads, including IBM, Google, Accenture and Cisco.

As applications evolve, a broader range of blockchain-related investment opportunities among public companies are expected to emerge. Today blockchain is a tech market buzzword. Tomorrow it could be a household word.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept

Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

Blockchain has grabbed the attention of investors

John McAfee reveals he charges $105,000 per promotional cryptocurrency tweet

Software tycoon turned cryptocurrency enthusiast John McAfee

recently revealed that he charges $105,000 for each tweet he sends out promoting digital coins or initial coin offerings (ICO). Last week, McAfee tweeted that his team had written up a guide on how his promotional tweets worked, and posted it to McAfee Crypto Team, an organization McAfee and his team put together to promote ICOs.

“It’s self-aggrandizing and ego-stroking for us,” he wrote, “However, if you’re planning an ICO, trying to boost a coin, or want to shine a light on your latest project, you should overlook our swollen egos and see.” The link details how each tweet costs $105,000 but divided between his 810,000 followers, the cost per ‘investor’ is only $0.13. The site boldly declares, “John McAfee’s tweets are by far the most influential in the field of cryptocurrency.”

Extrapolating from a Twitter poll conducted by McAfee himself, McAfee Crypto Team claims, among other statistics, that 259,000 of McAfee’s Twitter followers “have more than 50% of their total assets in cryptocurrencies,” and that 224,000 of his followers represent, “at a minimum, $4.48 billion in crypto investment.” The site claims that the numbers are arrived at through “statistically valid percentages.” McAfee’s tweets can indeed sway cryptocurrency markets. In January, Motherboard tracked McAfee’s tweets about alternate cryptocurrencies to their market performance over the course of three weeks. The sitefound a correlation between McAfee’s tweets about cryptocurrencies and spikes in their valuation — in the case of Burst coin, a jump of 350 percent.

At the time, Motherboard speculated that McAfee was taking part in pump and dump schemes to boost the value of coins he was already invested in. That may still be the case, but the McAfee Crypto Team post suggests McAfee also has a completely separate racket: hawking endorsements for cash. A member of Burstcoin’s development team, Tom Créance, responded to a request to comment that its team “simply does not have the financial capabilities to pay Mr. McAfee to promote the coin. The core team did not pay him, and we were just as surprised as everyone else when we saw his tweet. It goes strictly against our beliefs in long term and sustainable strategies.”

We’ve reached out to McAfee Crypto Team for comment.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept

Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

John McAfee reveals he charges $105,000 per promotional cryptocurrency tweet

Investor: Banks [Goldman Sachs] Entering Crypto Will Lead to Bitcoin Price Surge

Jon Matonis, a co-founder of Bitcoin Foundation and executive at VISA,

stated that the entrance of major banks and financial institutions like Goldman Sachs will lead to an increase in the liquidity of bitcoin, and ultimately, the bitcoin price. “I think it’s fabulous that they’re getting into it because it brings in new liquidity. They’re going to develop futures markets, options markets, I even think you’re going to start to see interest rate markets around bitcoin. We’re used to hearing things about Libor, the index for bitcoin interest rates is Bibor,” said Matonis.

When Will Banks Enter?

The cryptocurrency market is extremely volatile, both on the upside and downside. One of the primary reasons behind the extreme volatility of the market is its lack of liquidity. The daily trading volume of bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies has substantially declined since a major correction occurred in January, along with the bitcoin price.

A significant drop in the daily volume of bitcoin has allowed whales and institutional investors in the futures market to manipulate the market, which is one of the reasons as to why the market has demonstrated correlated price movements over the past few months.

Recently, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) has proposed to the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on US stock markets like Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The entrance of large financial institutions like Goldman Sachs will lead to more institutional and retail traders entering the cryptocurrency space.

As of current, the demand from institutional investors in the US is relatively high, but actual capital coming in to the cryptocurrency market from the public finance industry is almost non-existent. In Japan however, institutional investors are investing large sums of money in cryptocurrencies through trading platforms that specifically address retail traders.

Matonis further emphasized that to the skeptics that have described bitcoin as a bubble, bitcoin is not a bubble, but a pin that would pop the global financial bubble. He stated that equity markets and bond markets are the multi-trillion dollar bubbles that would inevitably burst in the mid-term.  the people who say bitcoin’s a bubble, I would say bitcoin is the pin that’s going to pop the bubble. The bubble is the insane bond markets and the fake equity markets that are propped up by the central banks. Those are the bubbles,” Matonis added.

It is uncertain though when major financial institutions will be ready to enter the market. Critically, the cryptocurrency market’s image over the past few months has been portrayed as a gambling ecosystem, especially by the mainstream media in regions like South Korea. If the market recovers in the short-term and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin rebound to their all-time highs, banks will prepare to address the growing demand towards the market.

Bear Cycle

In a bear cycle or a slump, financial institutions will not be hurrying to enter the market, unless they want to establish themselves at the forefront of cryptocurrency development prior to their competitors. It would take at least a few months to see major banks enter the space. But, when they do, the cryptocurrency market will be equipped with significant liquidity and public investment vehicles.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept

Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

Investor: Banks [Goldman Sachs] Entering Crypto Will Lead to Bitcoin Price Surge

Bitcoin is Dead — Bitcoin Cash is Satoshi Nakamoto's Real Vision

Bitcoin is Dead — Bitcoin Cash is Satoshi Nakamoto’s Real Vision

We at Bitcoinist can no longer deny the truth —

Bitcoin is dead, and Bitcoin Cash is indeed Satoshi Nakamoto’s real vision.

Policy Update

First and foremost, Bitcoinist has updated its publication guidelines. Articles published on the website — starting with this one — will no longer refer to BTC as “Bitcoin.” To avoid confusion, the cryptocurrency BTC will hereby be referred to as “Bitcoin Core” or, in some instances, “Bitcoin Legacy.” As Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is undoubtedly Satoshi Nakamoto’s real vision, Bitcoinist will hereby refer to BCH simply as “Bitcoin.”

SegWit’s Lead is a Lie

For those who don’t know, the hard-forked Bitcoin (BCH) is a cryptocurrency which came into existence as a result of a prolonged disagreement on how to handle the Bitcoin Core scalability problem. Bitcoin has since proven superior to Bitcoin Core’s answer — Segregated Witness (SegWit) — despite what some research might want you to believe.

According to BitMEX Research, 6.1 million SegWit transactions have taken place since the launch of rival Bitcoin Cash — 20.1% more than Bitcoin’s total number of transactions. The research also claims that, when the timeframe is adjusted to accommodate for Bitcoin’s one-month head start over SegWit, the latter solution actually has a 31.5% advantage over Bitcoin.

But why should you believe BitMEX Research? After all, the results are most likely skewed, if not entirely fabricated, as a result of Coinbase’s recent adoption of SegWit. (Seriously, who even uses Coinbase or GDAX?) If there’s one thing we at Bitcoinist have learned over the past 5 years, it’s that nobody should ever trust these supposed “statistics” from likely sockpuppets.

Vitalik Buterin Knows the Truth

Only those ignorant of the cryptocurrency market would continue to believe that Bitcoin Core is superior to Bitcoin. Even Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin has gone on record to state that Bitcoin Core has failed, and that the BCH has every right to the Bitcoin name. If Buterin’s above tweet doesn’t convince you of Bitcoin’s superiority over Bitcoin Core, maybe this picture of him holding a BCH Gang t-shirt will. Furthermore, Bitcoin (Cash) has seen an increased acceptance within the ransomware community. If that doesn’t lend legitimacy to Satoshi’s real vision, what does?

A Propaganda Campaign

Additionally, we at Bitcoinist can also no longer sit by and idly accept Bitcoin Core’s malicious propaganda campaign against Satoshi’s real vision. As you may or may not know, BCH — as the one, true Bitcoin — successfully reclaimed the Twitter handle @Bitcoin. Since then, Bitcoin Core fanboys have maliciously slandered BCH, despite Bitcoin’s propensity to remain professional, transparent, and collected. Take, for example, the following Twitter poll from @Bitcoin:

@Bitcoin clearly tried to inform the cryptocurrency community of true statements regarding Bitcoin Core but was bombarded by Blockstream trolls ignorant of Bitcoin’s superior block sizes and vibrant community. There are countless reasons why Bitcoin Core is no longer Bitcoin. But the top three are:

• The real Satoshi, Craig Wright, is a vocal supporter of Bitcoin (Cash). Moreover, true geniuses scribble math equations on transparent glass. Check it out:


• The Bitcoin.com domain supports Bitcoin (Cash). Sorry Bitcoin Core but the .org just isn’t sexy enough to be the real deal. (Are they trying to run a global currency or a public library?)


• Finally, Roger ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Ver believes in Bitcoin (Cash). So just have faith, the BCH price will be resur-rekt-ed!

Bitcoin has died over 273 times. Unfortunately for BlockstreamCore and its sockpuppets, it is now officially dead to us. Long live Bitcoin!

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept

Contributor

Please click either Link to learn more about Bitcoin.
Interested or have Questions, Call Me, 559-474-4614

Bitcoin is Dead — Bitcoin Cash is Satoshi Nakamoto's Real Vision