The cryptocurrency market size is set to grow ten-fold by 2025 according to a new research booklet published by US Equity Research analysts at Canadian investment bank, Canaccord Genuity.

At a time when other analysts are predicting the demise of bitcoin and its peers, and financial figureheads such as Jamie Dimon believe that bitcoin is a “fraud,” Canaccord’s positive outlook for crypto assets is a welcome relief for supporters.

Cryptocurrency Market Size To Grow To $1Trillion

According to the investment bank's analysis, by 2025, as crypto payment networks mature, and consumers, as well as businesses, gain trust in cryptocurrencies, " the total value of all cryptocurrencies required for payments and store of value will grow from $11.2 billion /$16.6 billion in 2017 to $1,132 billion /$92 billion in 2025," that's a Cryptocurrency market size growth of 9998% or a compound annual growth rate of 78% (see chart below exhibit 30 which seems to indicate Bitcoin going to near $500B compared to current market size of ~$72B and the total market cap).

Investors are throwing money at the industry to try and capitalize on currency market growth, at the early stages, before transaction volumes really take off. Canaccord's data shows that bitcoin venture capital investments have grown from an almost insignificant $2.1 million for 2012, to $601 million for 2017. Cumulative venture capital bitcoin investments have surged from $2.1 million to $1.6 billion.



Bitcoin's biggest opportunity is the payment market, and despite all of the media attention the alternative currency is receiving, as a share of the global payment's market, it's still insignificant. Canaccord's analysts note that the cryptocurrency's recent rise in value has been "at least partially by increased transaction volumes as BTC’s usage increases." The report continues "n BTC’s value was simply a matter of 'catching up' to the transaction volume" also the recent "correction correlates closely with a softening of transaction volume."








If this relationship continues to hold true (which is highly likely) then as bitcoin transaction volumes grow, investors in the asset should be well rewarded. Indeed, bitcoin daily transaction volumes were only $131 billion during 2016. In comparison, Western Union volumes were 461% higher at $735 billion, and Paypal volumes came in at $970 billion. MasterCard processes 202x more transaction volumes with bitcoin and Visa processes 172x. Put simply. bitcoin is still a speck on the global payments landscape.

As cryptocurrencies continue to grow their percentage share of total daily transaction volumes, the value of these assets should continue to expand concludes the report. Rather than placing a price target on bitcoin, Canaccord's analysts instead compute the estimated size of the cryptocurrency Market size by 2025 arriving at the figure of $1,132 billion based on current trends in both the crypto assets and traditional money markets.



http://www.valuewalk.com/2017/10/cryptocurrency-market-size/

Why Apple Is Fighting Not To Unlock iPhones For The Government

Yesterday, the FBI filed an order compelling Apple to unlock an iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of the attackers in the San Bernardino shooting incident late last year which left 14 people dead.

Shortly thereafter, Apple CEO Tim Cook published a bold statement indicating that Apple planned to fight the order. Apple was joined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which said it would aid  in the fight.

https://techcrunch.com/2016/02/17/why-apple-is-fighting-not-to-unlock-iphones-for-the-government/

ECB President: Bitcoin Not 'Mature' Enough to Be Regulated

Does Vanuatu allow dual-citizenship? Coz the issue is that your other country might still want money, haha.

Number of Americans renouncing citizenship reaches record high in 2016

A record number of Americans abandoned their US citizenship last year, according to official figures.

Statistics published by the US Federal Register showed that 5,411 people gave up their nationality, an increase of 26 per cent on 2015.

For many  the main motivation is tax.

Americans are liable for US tax even if they live abroad. Although in most cases they are unlikely to face a bill because they can offset what they pay to the taxman in their country of residence.

However high earners can face a bill from the US Internal Revenue Service even after they have paid substantial taxes to the Government in their adopted country.

In addition they are expected to file a US tax return every year, irrespective of what they earn.

Americans living abroad are also taxed on any profit they make on selling their home when they live abroad, even if they have no intention of ever living in the United States.

New laws passed in 2010 made life even more difficult for American expatriates.

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act - or Fatca for short - requires banks to declare savings held by US citizens to the American tax authorities. This requirement, which applies to Americans living abroad, has led some banks to refuse to open accounts for US expats or threaten to close them down.

Those giving up their US nationality include “accidental Americans” who were deemed to be citizens because they were born in the United States, even if they lived their entire life elsewhere.

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary who was born in New York, is among those to have renounced their US citizenship.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/11/number-americans-renouncing-citizenship-reaches-record-high/

185 lbs.: Gegard Mousasi (42-6-2) vs. Alexander Shlemenko (56-9, 1 NC)

It’s staggering to consider that the two competitors in Friday’s main event have well over 100 professional fights between them combined. It’s even more staggering when you consider their respective ages: Mousasi is only 32 and Shlemenko is 33. It’s amazing just how indestructible these two men seem to be, especially given neither one has lost in five straight fights. The only thing that dogs either of these men is the fact Shlemenko failed a drug test, so some might wonder if any of his other performances up to that point were chemically enhanced. Since he tested clean before and after his dominant Bellator 162 win it may be his slate is now clean.

There’s a lot to prove for both men despite their recent win streaks. Only one of Shlemenko’s five wins came in a fight outside of Russia, so it’s hard to believe “Storm” Shlemenko didn’t benefit from some favorable booking via M-1 Challenge. Mousasi has an axe to grind after obliterating one top Middleweight after another via knockout from Vitor Belfort to Chris Weidman, yet despite his dominance he felt he was “getting screwed” on being paid what he was worth. That’s why when push came to shove and his contract ran out Mousasi signed a six fight deal with Bellator so he could show everybody that he deserves the money AND the main event spot.
Who takes advantage of the spotlight in Uncasville to further their agenda and potentially work toward a Middleweight title shot against Rafael Carvalho? Both men are knockout artists, with Shlemenko earning 31 in 56 wins (55%) and Mousasi earning 23 in 42 wins (also 55%). That suggests a coin flip in a striking exchange UNTIL you look at their size. Mousasi stands 6’2” and sports a 76” reach, while Shlemenko is 5’11” with a 71” reach. While Shlemenko was fed suitable opponents for his style including in his Bellator 162 return, Mousasi was facing submission artists like Thales Leites and men who had previously beaten him like Uriah Hall.
A fight is a fight and a win is a win but from where I stand Mousasi has faced and proven himself against much better competition. A failure here would vindicate UFC not matching Bellator’s offer to keep him and I can’t imagine more powerful motivation to do well. What motivates Shlemenko? Maybe he wants the title back at some point, but if he doesn’t earn a title shot, he can go home and get more fights from M-1 Challenge from now until whenever he retires.

Final prediction: Gegard Mousasi wins by technical knockout in the second round

155 lbs.: Ryan Quinn (13-7-1) vs. Marcus Surin (4-0)

Originally “Irish Bad Boy” Brennan Ward was looking for a quick rebound fight after being submitted at Bellator 182 in August, but an expected Welterweight tilt with “Caveman” David Rickels will have to wait as Ward withdrew from this card late due to injury. As a result a brand new fight has been bumped to the main card featuring both a familiar Bellator fight and a new prospect making his promotional debut on Friday.

Ryan Quinn’s tenure goes all the way back to Bellator 15 in 2010, where he picked up his first promotional win by unanimous decision against Matt Lee. Quinn had a mixed record outside of the promotion but inside of it he was 7-0 until he ran into Saad Awad in April. Quinn is an American Top Team veteran with a BJJ black belt, holding four wins by submission, but his opponent Surin is a knockout artist with 50% of fights in his young career leaving opponents flat. When the hard handed Awad tagged Quinn he repeatedly shot for takedowns and got swept. Surin won’t even give him that chance.
Final prediction: Marcus Surin wins by knockout in the second round

170 lbs.: Neiman Gracie (6-0) vs. Zak Bucia (18-8)

The name Gracie carries high expectations, expectations that decorated jiu-jitsu medalist Neiman Gracie has thus far managed to live up to. All but one of his six MMA wins have ended by submission, and a typical bout doesn’t get past the halfway point of the second round. He faces an opponent in Zak Bucia who obviously has more pro MMA experience. Somehow I don’t think any of that is going to matter once Gracie takes him to the ground. I’ve been watching him do this for four years now and he’s as good as billed so unless Bucia starts quick and lights him up standing it will go badly for him.

Final prediction: Neiman Gracie wins via rear naked choke in round one

125 lbs.: Heather Hardy (1-0) vs. Kristina Williams (0-0)

I don’t think we need to expound upon this one for very long. Although their MMA records suggest a nearly equal amount of inexperience it couldn’t be further from the truth. Hardy is an undefeated pro boxer with a 20-0 record nicknamed “The Heat.” She showed exactly what kind of heat she can bring to mixed martial arts by beating Alice Yauger at Bellator 180, and I expect her to showcase more of the same against a fighter ill equipped to make a debut against such a seasoned striking veteran.

Final prediction: Heather Hardy finishes Williams with strikes in round one

125 lbs.: Ana Julaton (2-2) vs. Lisa Blaine (1-0)

Don’t let Ana Julaton’s record fool you. Even though her mixed martial arts line may be middling, the boxer turned MMA fighter compiled a 14-4-1 record in the ring before transitioning to the cage, winning the Women's WBO Super Bantamweight and IBA Super Bantamweight titles in the process. Her hand speed has earned her the nickname “Hurricane,” but the “Hurricane” must face the “Insane” Lisa Blaine on Friday. Even though Blaine only has one pro fight, she beat Tammy Worrick by TKO at 2:23 of the second round, so her hands might be “alright.” It may be a theme here for the Flyweights but I’ve got to pick the boxer with the better striking experience here.

Final prediction: Ana Julaton finishes Lisa Blaine by knockout in the second round
That’s a wrap!

https://www.mmamania.com/2017/10/19/16341524/bellator-185-predictions-preview-mousasi-vs-shlemenko-spike-tv-mma

The rules for money management for me:
1. Make goals that could actually be achieved with your skill level
2. Always trade with a stop loss
3. Never over trade your account
4. Trust your indicators
5. Always protect profits
6. Trade with investment capital, not grocery money

Russia is Trying to Build a Major Bitcoin Mining Industry to Compete With China

Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of the Russian Leningrad region, has encouraged bitcoin miners to create, develop and deploy mining centers in Leningrad at the third annual Energy of Opportunities conference.

Local news publications including 47News reported:


Earlier this year, several trusted sources including Bloomberg revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Internet advisor has been planning to launch an initial coin offering (ICO) campaign for a project called Russian Miner Coin (RMC) with a long-term vision of competing with the Chinese bitcoin mining industry and large-scale bitcoin mining equipment manufacturers such as Bitmain.

At a news conference, Putin’s aide Dmitry Marinichev announced his plans to raise over $100 million to establish a bitcoin mining center and a manufacturing line to produce ASIC miners. He stated:


Marinichev further emphasized the importance of Russia’s cheap electricity and explained that with lower costs, Russian mining centers would be able to compete with key players in the global bitcoin mining industry like Bitmain.

However, analysts remained skeptical regards to the model of RMC and the vision of Marinichev as Bitmain has recently raised $50 million from leading venture capital firms IDG and Sequoia. In an interview with Bloomberg, Bitmain representatives revealed that the company is valued at several billion dollars, which if true, would make Bitmain the most valuable company in the global bitcoin industry ahead of Coinbase.

It will be a challenge both financially and technologically for new companies like RMC to compete with Bitmain even with massive capital because Bitmain has remained as the leading bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer in the global mining market for the past three years and to create a replica of a mining equipment manufacturing line would require hundreds of millions of dollars.

But, RMC and the Russian mining industry could compete with China if the Chinese government decides to heavily regulate and restrict the bitcoin mining industry. Although key figures such as Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu have noted in the past that a ban on bitcoin mining in China is highly unlikely, recent reports suggest the Chinese government is actively considering the potential of restricting its bitcoin mining sector.

If China does restrict bitcoin mining operations and provides a difficult ecosystem for local miners, regions like Russiacould evolve into a major bitcoin mining market especially with the help of the government and with efficient regulations. While it is unlikely that the Chinese government will restrict its mining market, if emerging mining equipment manufacturers and miners in Russia can match the Chinese market in terms of technology and hashpower, there exists a possibility of Russia evolving into a major mining market in the future.