In 2013, I posed a question that seemed out of character (many also said that it was "irresponsible") for a financial journalist. The question was "Do Bitcoins Belong in Your Retirement Account?" I asked this question based not entirely on speculation, but with an eye on prudent asset-allocation strategies. It was my belief at the time that since bitcoins had a dollar-denominated value and were trading on worldwide exchanges, they could be considered an investable asset. I also believed that if I was to invest in something so speculative, they could be considered as appropriate for the alternative investment sleeve of my portfolio. After all, advisors were (and still are) advising clients to have a small portion of their portfolio (typically around 10%) invested into "non-correlated" assets such as gold, real estate or hedge funds to protect in order to manage the risk of your portfolio. At the time, I made the case that bitcoins could be considered an alternative investment, and as a writer focused on retirement, I took the added step of trying to find an investment that would be suited for my retirement account. You can read the columns here about this journey, but suffice it to say that I was able to invest into something called the Bitcoin Investment Trust (BIT), which was initially only for accredited investors and required me to hold the investment (without the ability to sell it) for one year. In 2014, six months after making a $25,000 SEP contribution into the BIT, I wrote of how I lost one-half of my investment due to the drop in the price of bitcoins. I invite you to read the comments to that column because I don't believe that any writer was ever called "stupid" or an "idiot" so frequently. To all of those who commented and showed me such love, I must say that I appreciate it because at least you read the column, so thanks! http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoins-are-the-best-investment-in-my-retirement-account-2016-06-17 |
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In my last post, I alluded to the fact that blockchain (specifically, public blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum) has capacity issues. This is not surprising, since a public blockchain records every single transaction since its inception. While it has a relatively small number of users and volumes are low, ever-increasing computing power is more than capable of accommodating the rising block size. But if the likes of Bitcoin were ever to become mainstream, handling the number of transactions that (for example) Visa handles every day, either performance would be degraded so much that people would abandon it, or it would become prohibitively expensive. Recording every single transaction on the blockchain is simply not efficient. One of the proposals to deal with Bitcoin’s capacity problem is called Lightning. It is being seriously considered by Blockchain.com, which is currently alpha testing its own version. Predictably, Blockchain’s version is called Thunder. It doesn’t appear to differ materially from Lightning. http://www.forbes.com/sites/francescoppola/2016/06/17/thunder-and-lightning-in-the-bitcoin-world/#1dad44ea6557 |
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ChangeIP, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and Virtual Private Server (VPS) provider, has started accepting bitcoin and Alipay which is China’s third-party online payment solution. "Due to popular demand and to serve the rapidly growing market in mainland China, ChangeIP has enhanced the company's transactional capability to accept Alipay,” Kapil Jain, general manager of ChangeIP said. The company website states, “We accept nearly all forms of payment—even the cryptocurrency bitcoin.” Bitcoin utilizes SHA-256 encryption for both its Proof-of-Work (PoW) system and transaction verification. It goes hand-in-hand with ChangeIP's focus on privacy and security. “The world faces complex technological privacy and security issues and all of ChangeIP's solutions—and now, payment methods—protect and promote our customers privacy, security, and freedom,” Jain added. http://www.econotimes.com/ChangeIP-now-accepts-bitcoin-and-Alipay-223325 |
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this week i read 2 news same news 1. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi says testing its own digital currency ( source) 2. Canada Has Been Experimenting With A Digital Fiat Currency ( source) so in future each country will have his own altcoin, what do you think about bitcoin ? bitcoin still be 1st crypto currency ? or the new altcoin from biggest country will replace it ? |
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Microsoft might not be keen on Bitcoin, but it's cock-a-hoop about the backend blockchain the currency uses and has given the first details of Project Bletchley, a plan to add the tech into Azure services via some new middleware. "Project Bletchley is a vision for Microsoft to deliver Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) that is open and flexible for all platforms, partners and customers," said Marley Gray, director of bizdev and strategy for cloud and enterprise at Redmond. "We're thrilled to be on this journey with the blockchain community, and are looking forward to helping transform the way we think about and do business today." The blockchain system, invented by the still-elusive Satoshi Nakamoto, records the movement of an asset and distributes the information in a nearly-tamper-proof digital ledger. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/16/microsoft_blockchainasaservice_for_azure/ |
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Bitcoin may have been built to “avoid banks” but the blockchain technology behind it could end up helping if not transforming them. That’s the tentative conclusion of a senior economist at the International Monetary Fund. An article called “The Internet of Trust” in its Finance and Development magazine co-authored by senior economist Hunter Monroe and senior communications officer Andreanas Adriano tries to assess the case for blockchain. Unsurprisingly, the article looks most keenly at the technology’s financial-sector potential and wonders whether blockchain could make payments and trade-settling cheaper and simpler. It’s hardly the first to do that of course. Banks and exchanges all over the world are stretching every sinew to see what the technology could do for (or against) them. The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ said just last week that it was nearly ready to issue its own virtual currency. The IMF team concludes that, “it is probably too early to say whether blockchain is ‘the next Internet’ or just an incremental evolution.” But it does admit that we are only at the beginning of the technology. The European Central Bank’s director general of market infrastructure and payments, Marc Bayle, is quoted. Asked whether the blockchain can really live up to its promise and speed up the world of finance, he says: “There’s nothing in the current technologies preventing instant settlement. The problem is the structure of markets.” https://news.markets/bitcoin/blockchain-bitcoin-banks-imf-19750/ |
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In a letter late last week to the US Internal Revenue Service the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) called for the tax authority to issue more guidance on the taxation of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. Explaining the need for extra guidance, Troy Lewis, the chair of the AICPA, said “Virtual currency transactions, in which taxpayers increasingly engage, add a new layer of complexity to the analysis of a client’s reporting requirements. The issuance of clear guidance in this area will not only reduce the confusion and burden for tax preparers but also allow taxpayers to accurately comply with IRS rules.” The clarification requested were regarding the valuation of coins for the purposes of taxation; the treatment of the expenses incurred in obtaining or mining the coins; tracking of gains and losses during transaction involving cryptocurrency; whether property transactions rules apply to coins; whether coins held by a merchant are to be considered property or assets; the treatment of coins during donations, whether coins are regarded as commodities; whether coins can be treated as foreign currency during personal transactions; whether retirement savings accounts can hold virtual coins; and the treatment of coins for the purposes of foreign reporting requirements. http://www.taxationinfonews.com/2016/06/irs-urged-to-give-guidance-on-bitcoins/ |
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Last month, BitCoinIRA was revealed as a new retirement tool that presents bitcoin as an alternative to the traditional IRA and other retirement savings options. What separates BitCoinIRA from others is that bitcoin is an actual currency that investors can hold, compared to other companies that rely on bitcoin-related stocks and ETFs. Appointed to the position of chief strategist was Ed Moy, a former director of the U.S. Mint. I had the pleasure to reach out to Ed Moy regarding his move to BitCoinIRA. Below are his responses sent via email where he discusses his thoughts on including bitcoin as part of a self-directed IRA and the general trend toward digital currencies. https://coinreport.net/conversation-ed-moy-chief-strategist-bitcoinira/ |
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One interesting fact that could be contributing to bitcoin’s present level of sustainability is its recent (and indirect) partnership with altcoin competitor Ethereum. Following a massive crowdsale that saw Ether’s rise to the top, many wondered if Bitcoin was destined for a twisting vacation down south. However, bitcoin quickly recovered, and while Ethereum earned its 15 minutes of fame, trading did not reach levels of epic proportions. Counterparty Now, as one source puts it, all of Ethereum’s functionality will soon be available via the bitcoin blockchain through the use of bitcoin’s new Ethereum-style smart contracts with Counterparty. The company has instilled a new port of the Ethereum Virtual Machine to “extend Bitcoin’s capabilities to include smart contracts – allowing decentralized autonomous organizations, social networks and identity systems, programmatic escrow systems, gambling and prediction markets.” http://bitcoinist.net/counterparty-fuel-bitcoin-price/ |
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This week has been kind of interesting for traders keeping a close eye on the gold futures charts. With the best day in over seven years on Friday, the future hasn’t look brighter in a very long time. A big upswing was noted in the GDX fund, which saw a price increase of 11.24% in one day. This was the highest increase since the end of November 2008. But there was more good news, as all of the 25 ETfs’ US equity components saw a price increase, and over half of them saw a double-digit increase. GDX was also the most actively traded stock across all US exchanges on Friday, with a volume of over 170 million shares. An excellent day for traders of gold futures, to say the least. Financial experts attribute this increase to the weak jobs data which was published earlier this week. The US economy is still far away from recovering to its previous levels, and the poor prognosis did not put investors’ minds at ease. Treasury yields, on the other hand, saw a significant drop in value once the news broke. http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/06/05/gold-futures-bitcoin-price-skyrocketing/ |
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(Reuters) - A Washington state man was sentenced on Friday to eight years in prison for his role in helping the management of the successor website to Silk Road, an online black market where illegal drugs and other goods were sold. Brian Farrell, who prosecutors say was a staff member for Silk Road 2.0, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle after pleading guilty in March to a charge of conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Farrell, 27, was arrested in January 2015 as trial was under way in the case of Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the original Silk Road, which authorities say Ulbricht ran under the alias "Dread Pirate Roberts." Ulbricht, 32, was sentenced in May 2015 to life in prison after a federal jury in Manhattan found him guilty on charges including distributing narcotics. Silk Road 2.0 was launched late in 2013, weeks after authorities had shuttered the original Silk Road website and arrested Ulbricht. http://www.streetinsider.com/Reuters/Key+player+in+Silk+Road+successor+site+gets+eight+years+in+U.S.+prison/11709165.html |
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Blockchain Summit 2016 is here. From June 4th through June 7th many thought leaders of blockchain tech will converge on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island. No doubt idea exchange will be flowing. So too will the irony that the future of blockchain, a tech that is defined by enabling trustless exchange, is being discussed on a private island. Summer is a great season. Sun, surf, longer days…all of which sum to a wink and a nod that it is ok to kick back perhaps just a bit more than usual. Those of us in tech get excited for another reason. Summer also brings with it the annual Blockchain Summit, truly a banner event in the crypto/ blockchain space. Last year’s event was attended by 37 industry heavyweights, but received some criticism for the lack of diversity in attendees as only 1 woman was in attendance. The attendance list this year includes a headcount of 40, folks ranging from former PM’s to engineers and of course the veteran blockchain elite and boasts a more varied crowd. https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/industry-convenes-to-talk-public-blockchain-on-a-private-island/ |
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OpenBazaar Man-in-the-middle Attack To put this into perspective, a malicious JSON update reply could trick OpenBazaar users into downloading a fake payload. If the platform conducting the update does not enforce code signing, a hacker would theoretically be able to execute remote code. If that were to be the case, it is impossible to predict what the consequences may be. The issue was initially reported on the OpenBazaar GitHub a few days ago. The person responsible for discovering this flaw also wrote a very simple script that could exploit this opportunity. As it turns out, it would not take an assailant much effort to pull off a man-in-the-middle attack during the update process. What is even more disconcerting is how this exploit can be used on every operating system and platform, albeit it was only tested on OS X 10.11.4 so far. It also does not matter what hardware is used to run OpenBazaar, as this is a software-side exploit that works in the same manner for every device. Moreover, this vulnerability can always be reproduced, and the OpenBazaar developers have issued a hotfix earlier today. http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/06/03/openbazaar-man-middle-attack-vector/ |
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Colbitex, Colombia’s first Bitcoin exchange has launched its platform in testnet mode on June 3, 2016, to provide Colombians a simple and efficient method of exchanging Bitcoin to local pesos. One of the startup’s main focus in developing an established and robust Bitcoin exchange in the region is to help Colombians familiarize with Bitcoin, and fully understand the benefits of using it to settle both international and local transactions. As of now, the Testnet version of the Colbitex Bitcoin exchange platform is not able to handle transactions and settlement of orders. However, the company intends to release a beta version of the platform in the near future – possibly in June – which will allow Colombian users to trade Bitcoin to Colombian pesos with ease. http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/06/03/colbitex-launch-first-bitcoin-exchange-colombia/ |
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Will the Price Stay Flat at $530? Will the currency continue to rise in the coming days? It’s hard to say, exactly. Bitcoin is certainly on the rise. This past week has shown that, but a pause seems to be occurring in what can be called the Bitcoin assembly line. As several sites and platforms reiterate, there appear to be three major things influencing the price of bitcoin, all of which we’ve covered in previous segments, so this won’t be news to regular readers. The first is the halving set to occur next month. There’s not much else to say that hasn’t already been explained. Production on bitcoin is slated to be cut in half beginning in July. There will be fewer transactions, and the value is expected to spike. http://bitcoinist.net/bitcoin-price-stability-rally/ |
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