On behalf of myself n GameCredits, thx alot guys n happy new year! Cheers to a new year following great success  You are most welcome, langvad. Always happy to be of help in projects we believe are good for our industry. Wishing you all every success and a very Happy New Year!! |
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Excellent article, Nick. Our friends Nele and his team are doing a great job at Game Credits. We love to do a joint project with them in the future. I am all for an educational game for kids one day and put DNotes to good use. |
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Just dropping in briefly to say hello. Now that the price of Bitcoin made a nice comeback there is a lot more love for Bitcoin from the mainstream media. I love the headline. Bloomberg View By Mark Gilbert Dec. 29, 2015 Bitcoin Won 2015. Apple ... Did Not This year has been awash with financial and business intrigue and excitement. Here, then, are my awards for the most fascinating stories of 2015, with the added bonus that the qualifying events have implications that will reverberate into 2016 and beyond. ................ COMEBACK OF THE YEAR -- BITCOINBitcoin was the world's worst-performing currency in 2014, losing more than 57 percent of its value against the dollar. This year, the digital currency extolled by some as a technological escape route from government's snooping into our financial affairs tops the league tables. It's gained almost 40 percent, knocking the Somali shilling into second place, the Gambian dalasi into third, and the Burundi franc to a distant fourth spot: LEMON OF THE YEAR -- APPLE WATCHI number myself among Apple's fans, with a long (and expensive) history of buying iPods, iMacs, iPads and iPhones on their first, second and then third iterations. (I even owe my first job to a cursory acquaintance with the Apple Mac in the 1980s, back when Microsoft and the PC ruled supreme.) So this year's launch of the Apple Watch was a thoroughly discouraging affair, almost as depressing as the boring film about the fall and rise of Steve Jobs, creator of the world's biggest company. In fact, the watch, Apple Pay and Apple TV are all disappointments. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook won't even reveal what demand for the timepiece has been, for fear of giving away valuable market information (his argument) or because the numbers are an embarrassment (I know which explanation I favour). The iPhone contributed 66 percent of Apple's fiscal 2015 revenue, up from 50 percent in 2012; Read More: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-12-29/bitcoin-won-in-2015-but-apple-lost-bigDon't give up on Apple Watch just yet. The problem is the need to be paired with an iphone. All this thing needs is its own Cellular Data connection and it will go crazy! It already does WiFi and Bluetooth, 4G /LTE can't be far away. Considering Apple is spending a load of money on new fabricating facilities rumored to be able to improve chip density and and decrease component and screen thickness, I would say within a year it will have the ability to stand alone. With stand alone connectivity and Siri, it will go crazy... PS: I have one and I find it very useful even though it's tethered to the phone via BT and WiFi... RJF, you are absolutely correct. I was just cheering for Bitcoin to be finally getting some positive headlines. This concept has been around since the early nineties. Bill Gates might be the first person to publicly talk about a wearable computer with all the cool features. It was way ahead of material science, computing power, wireless bandwidth, display and battery technologies. If I were still in that business, I could go pretty crazy about it. I would probably already have a team to work on how to completely replace my wallet. No more credit cards. If stolen, it will completely shut down, unless attached to me with 10FA or something...... Too much fun just thinking about it. |
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By the way, if anyone has a topic they would like covered on DCEBrief. I'm gathering up a few now to send out to the writers. This is an open invitation if you think of anything in the future as well, feel free to post it here or send me an email.
I would like to see a DNotes year in review type of article. Recap what has happened this and what's next. +1 Would also be good to recap a few other prominent (or promising) altcoins--ones I would recommend are NEU, DMD, PIGGY, XEM. XPY would also make for a very interesting article because that coin has made a major recovery from its origins as basically a scam coin to cover up a mining hardware scam. XPY is now a legit coin with a lot of challenges up ahead, but with a very good dev team which has gone above and beyond the call of duty and done something few in the cryptospace have done. Disclosure: I own strong positions in all these altcoins (including DNotes  ) Great ideas all! An altcoin one might be tough because of the volume of information and we don't want to be too biased. I'll have to give that some thought. You'd have to cover highlights about each coin so it's not too much and provide links to relevant websites or forum threads for those who want more information. As for bias, I figure the best thing is to be positive about each coin. The real bias would be in which coins you select to cover. I wouldn't cover a coin unless you thought it had potential. Even then, you won't be able to cover all of them. You could come up with some screening criteria, such as coin needs to be at least a year old (that will avoid inadvertently covering the quick death ones), a minimal USD or BTC marketcap (sustained for a certain amount of time)--basic metrics that indicate a strong coin vs. a weak one. I could probably come up with a few more that aren't strictly numerical as well I think what it boils down to is the research time needed. My time spent keeping up on the latest in the alt space is limited these days. Though I/we do want to support positive industry efforts regardless of where they come from. I am still interested in hearing from your experience about what you like about these coins. Yes, I really should write that up. An option to save time would be to ask the devs to submit their own write-ups, and then verify the information. Usually people involved in a coin are pretty familiar with its history. We like to be supportive of other Altcoins, but need to approach it with caution. We could consider an article covering Altcoins in general with mention of a selected few. Beyond that, we need to be very careful with our selection, with a tight vetting process. I do plan to reach out to a few of them when I am caught up with my writing project. |
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Just dropping in briefly to say hello. Now that the price of Bitcoin made a nice comeback there is a lot more love for Bitcoin from the mainstream media. I love the headline. Bloomberg View By Mark Gilbert Dec. 29, 2015 Bitcoin Won 2015. Apple ... Did Not This year has been awash with financial and business intrigue and excitement. Here, then, are my awards for the most fascinating stories of 2015, with the added bonus that the qualifying events have implications that will reverberate into 2016 and beyond. ................ COMEBACK OF THE YEAR -- BITCOINBitcoin was the world's worst-performing currency in 2014, losing more than 57 percent of its value against the dollar. This year, the digital currency extolled by some as a technological escape route from government's snooping into our financial affairs tops the league tables. It's gained almost 40 percent, knocking the Somali shilling into second place, the Gambian dalasi into third, and the Burundi franc to a distant fourth spot: LEMON OF THE YEAR -- APPLE WATCHI number myself among Apple's fans, with a long (and expensive) history of buying iPods, iMacs, iPads and iPhones on their first, second and then third iterations. (I even owe my first job to a cursory acquaintance with the Apple Mac in the 1980s, back when Microsoft and the PC ruled supreme.) So this year's launch of the Apple Watch was a thoroughly discouraging affair, almost as depressing as the boring film about the fall and rise of Steve Jobs, creator of the world's biggest company. In fact, the watch, Apple Pay and Apple TV are all disappointments. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook won't even reveal what demand for the timepiece has been, for fear of giving away valuable market information (his argument) or because the numbers are an embarrassment (I know which explanation I favour). The iPhone contributed 66 percent of Apple's fiscal 2015 revenue, up from 50 percent in 2012; Read More: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-12-29/bitcoin-won-in-2015-but-apple-lost-big |
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Quote from: indiamikezulu on Today at 10:16:09 AM ‘Automated grand theft on an unprecedented scale . . . ‘ http://www.globalresearch.ca/financial-meltdown-and-the-confiscation-of-bank-savings-the-uk-eu-bank-depositor-bail-in-scheme/5475934Remember when a ‘war on cash’ was looney talk? But actually . . . Remember the Cyprus bail-in? the very first of its kind? Could such bail-ins become the norm (in the event of further economic chaos)? Nah, that’s looney talk! Now, I readily admit that the details on this are voluminous and unclear -- and too often coming from the tin-foil-hat press; but some sort of major move to making bail-ins Standard Operating Procedure is well underway: some articles claim that it won’t put common folk at risk; but: “It is not clear how they will make it possible to bail-in bonds while excluding deposits, but as we have seen in other problematic situations, where there is a will there will be a way,” Burrows said. “We call Dijsselbloem’s solution a bail-up: part bail-out, part bail-in and part [Really Big Mistake].” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-17/greek-senior-bank-bonds-plunge-on-dijsselbloem-bail-in-comments-idfou25pAnd: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11871992/Battered-Greek-banks-to-flout-Brussels-new-bail-in-rules.htmlAnd: http://www.reuters.com/article/cyprus-bank-depositors-idUSL6N0G232Y20130806Please, guys, if you come across articles on this, post them here. Quote From Dyna Today: Pretty scary stuff, Mark. I could take all day and try to analyze them, but probably should move on with just a brief general comment. The global banking system and the world economy is experiencing increasing stress, with few exceptions. Could there be another global financial crisis, equal to or worse than the last one in 2008, within the next 24 months? Let's put it this way, if I were to be on a debate team, I would not want to be on the side to argue against the likelihood of such an event happening. Nobody can know for sure. There will be many mini crises; how they are being managed will make of world of difference. Like a huge machine that is no longer operating in top conditions. We know that some parts are about to break, yet no one want to fix them.
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I can not conceive any scenario how infighting could be good for any organization. Differences of opinion, or disagreement, respectfully presented, is healthy and should not be discouraged. “ Bitcoin has long celebrated its leaderless organization. In 2015, this lack of leadership led to a lack of direction in the Bitcoin community” The lack of leadership is a serious problem in our industry and not just limited to Bitcoin. Without a leader or someone with sufficiently invested self interest to help guide the organization towards the best outcome, it typically leads to a confused, unproductive, and chaotic state, making it easier for competing or opposing parties to exploit and take down. So the infighting may be good for the bankers, but bad for Bitcoin and our industry. *************************************** Infighting Is Good For Bitcoin A degree of infighting has shocked the Bitcoin community as individuals with different ideas clash over the direction in which the Bitcoin protocol should evolve (or be evolved). With the disappearance of Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin has long celebrated its leaderless organization. In 2015, this lack of leadership led to a lack of direction in the Bitcoin community concerning its core protocol.There are some hard limits to Bitcoin’s growth which were coded into the cryptocurrency in its incipience. Discussion about how to program Bitcoin in the now has led to divisiveness, contempt, frustration and cynicism among people who follow the technology closely. In Bitcoin, there are a lot of opinions that are held to be self-evident truths, such as Bitcoin is “going to the moon” or will “change the world” completely. Both of these are untested hypotheses. Yet, like an echo chamber, many Bitcoiners parrot these beliefs. Thanks to recent disagreements, some doubt has been cast over the future of the nascent technology. In recent months, thanks to the blockchain debate, there has been a division within the Bitcoin community as people disagree completely over what to do with the core protocol, which can be updated currently by developers to keep up with the growth seen in the Bitcoin industry, including interest in the blockchain. At the Bitcoin subreddit, r/Bitcoin, administrator-user Theymos has been accused of censoring tweets. The issue went full nuclear when Brian Armstrong tweeted that he had been censored. The Streisand Effect is the phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide, remove, or censor a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information to a wider audience. This is exactly what any attempts to censor information in the Bitcoin community has done. As evidence, there are now numerous new websites trying to become the main gathering hub for the Bitcoin protocol.
This division, disagreement and consternation among the Bitcoin brass is actually beneficial to the community. New ideas and opinions are injected into a community that is very much “preaching to the choir” on any given day.
When an argument ensues – especially about something as fundamental as Bitcoin’s programming parameters – it causes casual users to start Googling information about the problem, thus learning about things like BIP101 and Bitcoin’s limits, and eventually adding their own two cents (bits?) into the debate. Nassim Nicholas Taleb Is known for developing a modern theory of antifragility. In his book, he writes: “Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty. Yet, in spite of the ubiquity of the phenomenon, there is no word for the exact opposite of fragile. Let us call it antifragile. Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better” Bitcoin, and decentralized networks like it, will likely benefit from the lesson learned in the current blockchain debate, as Taleb suggests some networks do. Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/infighting-is-good-for-bitcoin/ |
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I'm very interested in seeing how this plays out. In my opinion it won't be any more successful than Canada's mint chip. A blockchain on top of an already bloated system is simply more bloat and more inefficiency. A lean blockchain is adaptable and can be designed to fit into today's world, not try to make today's world fit into ancient banking methods. And continuing on the topic of new vs. traditional, here is an excellent article by Bruce Schneier, a security guru I have been following for many years. While it doesn't specifically mention Bitcoin or other crypto currencies, it captures the essence of the long running battle between new and established systems that will eventually decide the future of crypto currency: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2015/12/using_law_again.htmlI agree, RJF. The battle of the new and established systems will continue for sometime yet. And it will be fought in multiple fronts - technology, security, and regulatory. There is a lot of noise and confusion out there. We have established a clear strategic path and will continue to make progress. We are in control of what we can control. Everything else will eventually takes care of itself. |
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I found this on CNBC: Only one global currency trounced the dollar this yearBitcoin's back: Big year for controversial digital currency Bitcoin is up over 40 percent this year. The U.S. Dollar Index: a gain of 9 percent.The U.S. dollar has had a nice run. It's been the talk of global currency trading all year long. And why not? After years of a weak greenback due to dovish Federal Reserve policy, the Dollar Index has extended big 2014 gains, up near-9 percent against a basket of major world currencies this year. Some individual currency trades, like USD/Brazil Real, have netted currency investors huge returns. But to find what's arguably been the best global currency in 2015, an investor might need to put quote marks around the term "global currency." more: http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/28/only-one-global-currency-trounced-the-dollar-this-year.htmlGood to note that Bitcoin is gaining back some respect. I believe that Bitcoin will continue to outperform USD, which basically has been trying to recover a lot of lost ground. |
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Quote from: CryptoBroker79 on December 19, 2015, 01:33:08 AM Hello everyone, I'm happy to announce Fire Fighters for Digital Currency NFL Playoff Challenge. The winner of this Playoff Fantasy Draft will be awarded 10,000 DNotes and 0.1 Bitcoin! Be sure to register before January 3rd/2016 Register at http://playoffchallenge.fantasy.nfl.com/Then Join the Group: FF4DC http://playoffchallenge.fantasy.nfl.com/group/241421Cryptomoms probably isn't the ideal place for trash talking your teams rival, so feel free to drop in and let a few insults fly at http://ff4dc.com/forum/index.php?topic=767.0Quote from: Shepherd on December 19, 2015, 02:09:16 AM Excellent, I hope a lot of people will participate. Quote from: CryptoBroker79 on December 27, 2015, 11:55:34 PM Thanks Shepherd, we have 22 registered participants so far and I expect that number to climb significantly. Quote From Shepherd Today: That is excellent. I hope many more will be participating. I also noticed that CryptoMoms gained over 100 new members today and we now have over 15,000 registered members. There will be one chapter in the book about "The DNotes Story" to tie in all the different projects we have been working on, into a strategically cohesive package. Things will begin to make more and more sense in the coming year. I understand that it always takes time to catch on with big bold idea. We dream and live it every day. So it easier for us to believe and understand our vision and why it takes a rather complex ecosystem to accomplish our long term mission of making DNotes the trusted global digital currency for everyone to participate. I'm eagerly anticipating the release of your book, so I can learn more about what it takes to build a successful business. On another note, we now have 38 registered users, placing us in the top 10 groups in terms of size! Here is the bitcointalk thread link for FF4DC's NFL Playoff Challenge https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1306123.0Excellent. The book will be truly helpful to many small business owners and anyone interested to start their own business one day. There will be one chapter about The DNotes Story that will illustrate how a lot of the business principles are put to work. I am thinking of including a short quote or comment from some of our key community members. |
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Quote from: CryptoBroker79 on December 19, 2015, 01:33:08 AM Hello everyone, I'm happy to announce Fire Fighters for Digital Currency NFL Playoff Challenge. The winner of this Playoff Fantasy Draft will be awarded 10,000 DNotes and 0.1 Bitcoin! Be sure to register before January 3rd/2016 Register at http://playoffchallenge.fantasy.nfl.com/Then Join the Group: FF4DC http://playoffchallenge.fantasy.nfl.com/group/241421Cryptomoms probably isn't the ideal place for trash talking your teams rival, so feel free to drop in and let a few insults fly at http://ff4dc.com/forum/index.php?topic=767.0Quote from: Shepherd on December 19, 2015, 02:09:16 AM Excellent, I hope a lot of people will participate. Quote from: CryptoBroker79 on December 27, 2015, 11:55:34 PM Thanks Shepherd, we have 22 registered participants so far and I expect that number to climb significantly. Quote From Shepherd Today: That is excellent. I hope many more will be participating. I also noticed that CryptoMoms gained over 100 new members today and we now have over 15,000 registered members. There will be one chapter in the book about "The DNotes Story" to tie in all the different projects we have been working on, into a strategically cohesive package. Things will begin to make more and more sense in the coming year. I understand that it always takes time to catch on with big bold idea. We dream and live it every day. So it easier for us to believe and understand our vision and why it takes a rather complex ecosystem to accomplish our long term mission of making DNotes the trusted global digital currency for everyone to participate.
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People at the top are incredibly important, I think the reasons become obvious once control is ceded to somebody less ethical or competent. Take a look at the article below... Absolutely in awe at how this was achieved and how lots of big banks purchased DSE stock to then have it drop 85 percent in value (don't they do analytics?). You can look at it from two angles - an ethical leader would not have done this and the company would not have been in trouble, yet let's not ignore how competent and clever the interim top dog was in maximising profit for his parent company by gutting DSE and still selling at an accounting profit of 52000% after just 2 years. Dick Smith is an electronics store across Australia and NZ and probably has a couple hundred stores in its chain. https://foragerfunds.com/bristlemouth/dick-smith-is-the-greatest-private-equity-heist-of-all-time/Hi TeeGee. I am taking a short break and took a quick look at the article. I am surprised by the headline "The Greatest Private Equity Heist". This is done all the time and that is how some people got very rich very quickly. It's one of the fast lanes on Wall Street. Being ethical and competent are not high priorities. Get in and out fast. Be creative, shrewd, and get the best deal. Think near-term and short-term. This involves very different strategies and execution styles compared to investing for the long term as in the case of DNotes. |
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Here is a rather rosy prediction for the price of Bitcoin in 2016. Perhaps the most compelling reason is that the block reward for miner will be cut in half in July 2016. “The digital currency is designed to be scarce. About 15 million of the 21 million bitcoins that are planned to be minted and circulated have already been created. Supplies will be further tightened this summer during what industry insiders call a "halving event." That happens every four years, when the number of coins that bitcoin "miners" mint is cut by half.” The Chinese demand, representing almost 80% of the trade volume, has remained strong, perhaps due to local currency issues and the Chinese economy slowing down. 2016 Could be a Banner Year For BitcoinBy JONATHAN BERR MONEYWATCH December 24, 2015, 6:00 AM The price of bitcoin digital currency, which more than doubled in 2015, is poised to surge even higher next year as investors have regained confidence in its stability after the collapse of the Mt. Gox exchange in 2014. Bitcoin is trading for about $443, an increase from its $200 level during the beginning of the year. That's better than the 12-month forecast of $400 Wedbush Securities made in July (the firm has since raised its forecast to $600). According to Adamant Research, bitcoin's price has surged more than 900 percent since it began trading 2010. Opinions vary about how high bitcoin will rise in 2016. An unscientific poll by CoinDesk, which follows the market, found 37 percent of respondents thought prices would hit between $500 and $1,000. Another 26 percent thought it might top $1,000 as demand continues to climb. But experts such as Michael Sonnenshein, director sales and business development for Grayscale Investments, which sponsors the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), were reluctant to provide a forecast. "I am not concerned about a bubble," said Sonnenshein in an interview. "If you go back and look at the bitcoin price chart, it's a series of bubbles and busts." Bitcoin hit its stride in 2015. Prices surged 80 percent during the last six months and are up 90 percent over the past three. Venture capital investments in the sector hit are running at over $900 million to date, according to Adamant Research. Among the big-named investors that have taken a shine to the online currency are venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who was an early backer of Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR), and PayPal (PYPL) co-founder Peter Thiel. "In the traditional markets we are seeing increased volatility and insecurity," said Tuur Demeester, Adamant's editor-in-chief and a bitcoin investor, in an interview. "Bitcoin's fundamentals are stronger than ever." The digital currency is designed to be scarce. About 15 million of the 21 million bitcoins that are planned to be minted and circulated have already been created. Supplies will be further tightened this summer during what industry insiders call a "halving event." That happens every four years, when the number of coins that bitcoin "miners" mint is cut by half. "The last time this happened, there was considerable movement in the bitcoin price," Grayscale's Sonnenshein said. "It will be very interesting to see how the market digests the halving event." Expectations for the sector are surging. By 2025, Wedbush expects bitcoin to account for 10 percent of the $5.9 trillion online payments market and 20 percent of the $744 billion remittance market. Wall Street is also keeping a close eye on the growing interest in "blockchain," the underlying technology used in bitcoin among the financial services sector. Spending on the technology is expected to hit $400 million in 2014, up from $75 million this year, according to consulting firm Aite. And SETL, a U.K.-based blockchain startup, on Wednesday announced the appointment of former Barclay's chairman as its chairman. Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/2016-could-be-a-banner-year-for-bitcoin/ |
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Interesting article on the American Express open forum. "Your mobile phone will be your branch", "New brands will capture significant market share", and "Global banking brands will emerge" all sound like the author is talking about cryptocurrency (he just may not know it yet).  Small Business Banking in 2016Banking in the United States is about to change. Big time. Over the next five years, a revolution in financial services will take place. Banking in the United States is about to change. Big time. Over the next five years, a revolution in financial services will take place. It’s already started, but unfortunately many big banks haven’t gotten the message. Consumers and small business owners are empowering themselves through technology to take more control of their money. Welcome to the future of banking. Traditional banks are facing an existential crisis A bank’s main asset has always been its reputation for security and safety. What other industry can convince consumers and businesses to hand over trillions of dollars for safekeeping based on a promise? Unfortunately, the events of the past few years have damaged – perhaps irreparably – the reputation of large financial institutions. Instead of being seen as a safe haven in an insecure world, many banks are now viewed as being complicit in the creation of financial insecurity. This isn’t the first time that the banking industry has faced a crisis. But this time, it’s different because consumers have alternatives. Technology gives consumers alternatives. According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), as many as 70 million people in the United States are unbanked or under banked. Unbanked refers to a consumer (or business owner) that operates entirely outside of the traditional banking system. Underbanked means that they satisfy only a small portion of their financial needs within the banking system. Most of these people aren’t keeping their money under a mattress. Instead they use prepaid debit cards to pay their bills; use PayPal and other online services to send money, receive money, and pay for purchases; use alternative lending services like Think Finance to cover shortfalls in cash. Many of these alternatives are expensive, but through competition and innovation even that is changing. Making matters worse is the fact that most large financial institutions are embracing technological change very slowly. In banking parlance, reaching a customer through any means other than a physical branch is called an “alternative channel." This betrays the internal belief that a branch should continue to be the main point of contact. The reality for most consumers is that checking your balance online or on a smartphone is far more desirable. So what will your bank look like in 2016? Given the pace of innovation in the financial sector, it’s realistic to expect an entirely new banking landscape in 2016. Expect: Your mobile phone will be your branch. Now considered an alternative channel, this will become your main point of contact with your bank. Nokia, for example, has developed technology that embeds directly into smartphone handsets and allows secure financial transactions to take place. Many large banks now offer mobile banking which represents a limited set of banking services. Expect all banking transactions – including credit transactions – to be available on your smartphone. New brands will capture significant market share. Given the growth of companies like PayPal, Xoom, Think Finance, and other innovative financial services companies, it is realistic to expect an entirely new bank (or bank alternative) to capture significant market share. At the moment, federal policy is to encourage consolidation in the banking industry. New entrants may opt to offer non-bank financial services to avoid regulatory delays and still capture significant market share. Global banking brands will emerge. As non-bank financial institutions grow in prominence, many will expand their reach globally. If your mobile phone is “your branch” and the institution isn’t regulated like a bank, there is no reason for these new banks to limit themselves to one country. Interest rates will become more attractive. As competition for deposits increases, financial institutions will see their Net Interest Margin (the difference between what they pay on deposits and what they charge on loans) decrease significantly. This will require greater efficiencies from banks, but provide more attractive interest rates on deposits and lower rates on loans to consumers. https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/small-business-banking-in-2016-1/Thanks, Chase. I wish I have more time to share my view. But, briefly, banks and credit card companies are facing a historic challenge from multiple fronts. New financial technologies (FinTech) Bitcoin, digital currency, security chip technology integrated with cell phones, advancement in computing, and telecommunication technologies are all converging too fast for our slow moving bankers. It reminded me how the Chicago Mercantile Exchange reacted during the early days of the internet and online trading just 15 years ago. CME is now gone. Quite a scary reminder. Why is DNotes trying so hard to build a trusted brand with a solid foundation? Because it is invaluable to have a solid brand in financial services and there will be major technical changes in the next 2 to 3 years. The security and mobile payment systems will be so different that everything being developed today will become obsolete. Being our own bank will be the norm. High dependency on banks will be the exception within ten years. |
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Question:
I'm conducting research on alternative investments that include crypto currency. Has anyone here invested in Bitcoin, in any manor other than simply buying and holding it? I'm talking about legitimate funds and traditional investment vehicles that now include Bitcoin, etc.
Public or private answers are fine, no personal info please.
I'm really liking the BTC Jam autoinvest program as a Bitcoin investment. Sometimes lending to margin traders on Poloniex works very well, but involves more management and last I checked rate of return was low. For other coins, Diamond cloud mining is great, but legally it's not considered an investment-yada yada... Neucoin has its growth funds which currently offer out of this world rates of return (NEU is a staking coin). Don't forget to mention DNotes vault Merry Christmas! EDIT: Almost forgot, the rental starter fund on Havelock is another good one. Not super high rate of return, but solid. They have a legal disclaimer about not taking US investments but I have not heard of that being enforced, probably just a necessary CYA statement. Thanks wiser, appreciate the info... Good morning. Hope you all had a great holiday. I had a delightful time, spending the whole day with family. Now I have a lot of catching up to do. RJF raised a very good question for discussion. Bitcoin and digital currency will be a viable and significant alternative investment. I certainly encourage our community to spend some time on this subject and share with us what you know as well as what you think. Wiser has given us a great start. Don't forget that our family CRISPs are specifically launched for the purpose of providing an alternative self-directed investment savings. We fully expect substantial growth in the coming years. |
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Good article for a slow day. 2016 will be a very interesting year with a lot of adjustments and new ideas. Many will be proven to have made the wrong bets, including VCs. Focus on those you can understand and believe in. Merry Christmas. Magister Advisors Global Leader Survey Findings Matthew Warner December 24, 2015 Magister Advisors, financial advisors to international FinTech companies, has carried out a survey of a number of bitcoin and blockchain companies and reported on the findings, with predictions of what this meant for the future. Jeremy Millar, partner at Magister Advisors and Etienne Brunet, analyst at Magister Advisors, provided the report, which was titled ‘Blockchain and Bitcoin in 2016 A Survey of Global Leaders’. To start, the report summarised a few key points, noting the fast maturation of bitcoin compliance and regulation. Additionally, the lack of clear bitcoin ‘native’ use cases in developed markets was mentioned as giving way to consumer finance apps with ‘bitcoin inside’, along with surge of developing economy applications. It also highlighted Magister Advisors’ estimate of investment in blockchain technology by financial institutions in the next 2 years. On the investment side of blockchain, Magister Advisers estimate that over $1billion will be spent by large financial institutions in next 2 years. Trends over the past 3 years were noted as seeing a huge growth in investment, with the total reaching almost $1bn (majority in North America), with a lot of interest from financial institutions. The majority of investment was found to be raised by the top 11 companies, which include such names as Coinbase, BitPay and ripple. European scene was noted as being smaller; however, there were still a number of companies, like BitFury, which had raised a considerable amount of investment funding. Magister Advisors said the past 12-18 months had seen a division between bitcoin and blockchain, with the cryptocurrency becoming the leading digital currency where blockchain is being investigated for its uses in other applications. Each are heading in their own direction, with bitcoin growing as a means for transactions and a rapid adoption in developing economies, whereas blockchain is being investigated by financial institutions to see whether it can replace or enhance existing infrastructure and if it can be used to cut down on costs. Blockchain is providing software and data to ecosystems; bitcoin is being used for a variety of purposes from remittance to global micropaymemts. The research gave an overview of bitcoin’s history, both the development and value, stating that whilst bitcoin price had fluctuated wildly previously, it had been relatively stable in 2015 and, noting the Central Bank of Barbados’ paper, predicted that by 2030, bitcoin had the potential to become the 6th largest reserve currency. An increase in liquidity and confidence was also speculated. Other statistics found by surveys Magister Advisors carried out pointed to the difference in its use, with 90% of transactions being for commercial purposes vs. 90% of the value held for speculation. On the issues bitcoin has faced with its image and association with crime and fraud, the report noted that the ‘leaders’ are attempting to address concerns as quickly as possible. Related to this, the speed at which regulation is being churned out was picked out as being very high. The state of the different areas of the market were analysed. Mining was found to be moving towards a monopoly, with 5 miner companies (including 2 European ones) generating almost 80% of the revenue. In contrast to this, exchanges were noted as having become an oligopolistic market with a number of consolidations having already occurred – something Magister Advisors expect to continue over the next 12 months. Wallets, with Coinbase being used as an example, were described as evolving into banks, with Shift even issuing Coinbase a bitcoin debit card. Emerging areas in bitcoin use were noted as including financial products such as hedge funds, ETFs, savings accounts and derivatives. For blockchain, different types of blockchain were identified as being tested with financial institutions, with any of them having the potential to be used depending on how the results turn out; however processes such as repurchasing agreements and making international payments were mentioned as being areas that blockchain had the potential to streamline. Citing The FinTech 2.0 Paper: Rebooting Financial Services, the survey highlighted the potential billions of dollars of saving that blockchain technology could bring in the next few years; a fact banks are aware of as a number of large financial institutions like Barclays were mentioned as having started projects to take advantage of the new technology. The report predicts that many of the companies used by these early adopters (and, by extension, the financial institutions that back them) may prove successful. Bitcoin companies involved in the survey were: Abra, Bitcurex, Bitex.la, Bitonic, Bitstamp, Blockchain.info, Chainalysis, Circle, Coinbase, Coinfloor, Cryptopay, Elliptic, Fuzo Limited, KnCMiner, Magnr, Rivetz, Safello, SoftSwiss and Xapo. Blockchain companies involved were: ascribe.io, Chain, ConsenSys, Credits, Eris Industries, Everledger, Factom, Funderbeam, Guardtime, R3 CEV and Ripple. Source: http://allcoinsnews.com/2015/12/24/magister-advisors-global-leader-survey-findings/ |
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nice atmosphere here guys ! i make a re do , and do my best! to spam over socialmedia, hope you like it too  Thanks Infovortice!!! Really appreciate the extra effort to share the DNotes Holiday message! Very nice Infovortice. Thank you and Merry Christmas! |
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Hey everyone! Merry Christmas! Lot of news to catch up on in here, wow. Was just reading this article, http://dcebrief.com/bitcoin-alternative-dnotes-announces-company-launch-and-book-for-small-business-owners-in-2016/A special thanks again to Dnotes and Dyna for the help they provided in regaining control of this account "MMNC" which was hacked and stolen early this past spring. The help provided was enough for one particular forum member (shorena) to take notice and put a little faith in my efforts to prove I was the original account owner. With that help and from the friends here in Dnotes forum, and a couple of other forum members I was eventually able to get it back! But it all began here from a web screen shot of MMNC in this thread, with my btc address displayed. Thank you Dnotes and Dyna for finding and providing that, forever grateful. Was above and beyond the call of duty. Ill be around again more often Looks like 2016 should be a great year for the whole Dnotes family! Merry Christmas! MMNC Wow, MinnermanNC! What a pleasant surprise to see you back posting. I am thrilled to see that you finally regained your Hero status. I know that you went through a lot for no fault of yours. We are happy to be of help. Your presence made my Christmas even more special. Merry Christmas to you and your family. 2016 will be a great year for us. We will be needing a lot of help and I trust that you will be there for us. |
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Merry Christmas to all!
Merry Christmas to you and your family, Ken. Thank for your great contribution and support. Very much appreciated. |
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Thanks for the interesting article. Nice to have a change of subject sometimes. Merry Christmas, kold678 and have a very Happy New Year too! |
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