With the Lightning Network for bitcoin, $22,000 is achievable! Once the bitcoin lightning network is implemented bitcoin is going to be bank on track running faster than ever. Lightning Network will speed up the bitcoin transaction speed with ZERO transaction fee like with was before. 

Yeah, there are so many big corporations and rich guys who invested in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. Let's talk about billionaires who invested huge amount of money in to bitcoin. Let's take the recent one as an example by Peter Thiel, the PayPal co-founder who invested about $20 million in bitcoin - January 1st, 2018. Plus, we also now billionaires like Lee Kun Hee, and Mike Novogratz that invested over $250+ millions each into the cryptocurrency market. In fact, they are too many, you can read more about number of billionaires who invested in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies here; https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2682836.0 

I kinda agree with this guys here, investing in bitcoin for long-term from 2018 to 2020 is a very good investment strategy because by doing so you can make a lot of profits. Imagine the guys that invested in bitcoin 3 years, the guys that invested in bitcoin 2014 - Do you know how much they make from bitcoin by now? I guess that must be huge amount.

No. Bitcoin price goes up and down that is how the market works. Some time the price is up and some time price is down is the nature of the market. When you see the bitcoin price is down that is a perfect opportunity to invest in bitcoin because the price will surely get back up in few weeks.

Yeah, i kinda agree with this bitcoin growth prediction chart but bitcoin value is going to be on another level once the "Lightning Network" is implemented because of that, i think bitcoin price could reach $1 million in less than 5 years, or let's say five years max.

Yeah, there is a possibility once the bitcoin "Lightning Network" is fully implemented, it will speed up the bitcoin transaction speed with ZERO transaction fee. With the LN bitcoin will be back on the track and continue shooting from where it stops to the moon. With LN every price is achievable over time. 

Peter Thiel’s VC Fund Invests Millions Into Bitcoin, Market Reacts



Peter Thiel’s San Francisco-based venture capital firm Founders Fund has invested millions of dollars into Bitcoin (BTC), the The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported today, citing sources “familiar with the matter”.

The Fund reportedly invested $15-20 million into Bitcoin, which has grown into hundreds of millions in the past year. Since Jan. 1, 2017, BTC has risen by almost 1,400 percent.

The WSJ report was unclear on whether or not Founders had sold any of its holdings to date.

Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and an early Facebook investor, also serves on President Trump’s technology advisory council. At an investment conference in October, Thiel spoke positively about cryptocurrency, and in particular about Bitcoin, saying:

“While I’m skeptical of most [cryptocurrencies], I do think people are a little bit underestimating bitcoin, specifically, because it is like a reserve form of money. If bitcoin ends up being the cyber equivalent of gold, it has great potential.”


The market reacts

Since the WSJ reported on the Founder Fund’s BTC investments, the price of the leading cryptocurrency has gone up, growing almost 14 percent in the past few hours to a peak of $15,444 a coin. BTC has been trading sideways since, priced at around $15,000 at press time.


Bitcoin Charts

The price boost today follows a volatile past few weeks, after the coin hit an all-time high of over $20,000 in late December and then crashed to as low as $11,833 on December 22. Today, BTC dominance reached a new all-time low of 34.97 percent, reflecting an increased market interest in altcoins.

Other well-known mainstream investors to bet on Bitcoin recently include Bill Miller, who told reporters in mid-December that 50 percent of his hedge fund’s money was invested in the leading cryptocurrency.

The launch of Bitcoin futures last month on two major American exchanges has also brought more mainstream investors into the cryptocurrency market.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/peter-thiels-vc-fund-invests-millions-into-bitcoin-market-reacts

The Cream of the Crypto Crop: 10 Best Performing Assets in 2017



With 2017 now firmly in the rearview mirror, it is time to take stock of the best-performing digital currencies of the year. Bitcoin grabbed plenty headlines on its way to a brief stop at $20,000, but in terms of percentage gains, it doesn’t even crack the top 10.

Older altcoins like Dash posted impressive gains, reaching a 13,900% return at its mid-December all-time high. Dash’s price retreated somewhat, ending the year with a 9,265% gain to capture fifth place in the rankings. Likewise, Ethereum had a banner year, settling in at number six with gains of 9,162%. Litecoin, one of the oldest altcoins, closed the year with a 5,045% gain and took the number nine spot.

Newer coins also fared extremely well, with NEM and Ardor taking number two and three, respectively. Stellar, Binance Coin, OmiseGo and Golem round out the top ten. Bitcoin took fourteenth place with a 1,318% increase.



2017's Biggest Cryptoassets Ranked by Performance


Making more than a Ripple

Ripple, the centralized bank-focused digital currency, claimed the gold medal with a staggering 36,018% return over the past year. A $1,000 investment in Bitcoin on January 1, 2017 would have been worth $13,180 at the end of the year. That same $1,000 invested in Ripple would be worth an eye-popping $360,018.

While Ripple had good growth in the second quarter, the true surge happened in the last weeks of December, which saw the currency take the number two spot by market cap away from Ethereum. Though Bitcoin has seen the majority of headlines this past year, it cannot begin to compare with Ripple’s price performance.



Bitcoin Versus 2017's Biggest Cryptocurrency Gainer


What about 2018?

With the total cryptocurrency market cap hitting a record high of $673 bln today, there is no sign that 2017’s rally is coming to an end anytime soon. Digital currency enthusiast and journalist Max Keiser believes the total digital currency market cap will reach $5 trln or more, with Bitcoin itself hitting $100,000. Keiser argues that Bitcoin’s path to six figures is based on its status as digital gold. He argues that other currencies are better suited to focus on payments:

“Dash is emerging as the crypto payment rail while Bitcoin asserts itself as Gold 2.0. I suggest those frustrated by the Bitcoin scaling debate to embrace Dash for payments and leave Bitcoin Core alone to continue working on Gold 2.0.”

Famed stock picker Ronnie Moas is also optimistic about Bitcoin, believing the digital currency will see prices in excess of $28,000:

“The number (of Bitcoin available) is a lot lower than what people think it is. A lot of the Bitcoin has been lost, some of it hasn’t been mined and then you have a lot of people like myself that just won’t sell their Bitcoin at any price.”

And what of altcoins? Bitcoin’s so-called “dominance” factor is currently only 37.5%, which is near all-time lows. The Bitcoin dominance metric is a measure of how much of the total cryptocurrency market cap is “dominated” by Bitcoin. Bitcoin’s current market cap of $250 bln is divided by the $673 bln market cap of all cryptocurrencies combined. This nets the Bitcoin dominance percentage - 37.2% at press time. As recently as a year ago, Bitcoin’s dominance exceeded 90%.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-cream-of-the-crypto-crop-10-best-performing-assets-in-2017

Putin Adviser Says ‘CryptoRuble’ Will Circumvent Sanctions, Government Remains Divided



At a recent government meeting, Sergei Glazyev, economic adviser to President Putin, said the ‘CryptoRuble’ could help alleviate the pressure of Western sanctions, The Financial Times reported Monday. However, there is still no unified official stance from the Russian government on the question of issuing a national digital currency.

The Russian CryptoRuble is essentially a digital ruble -- a government-issued digital currency accepted as legal tender.

According to FT, Glazyev stated that a government-controlled cryptocurrency like the CryptoRuble would help Russia disregard Western sanctions:

    “This instrument suits us very well for sensitive activity on behalf of the state. We can settle accounts with our counterparties all over the world with no regard for sanctions.”


A divided front

Glazyev’s positive stance on the CryptoRuble is the latest position in the ongoing back and forth on the topic within the Russian government.

According to Russian news agency TASS, during a Dec. 28 meeting on legislation for digital currencies in Russia, government officials spoke negatively about the CryptoRuble.

Both the Deputy Minister of Finance Alexey Moiseev and first Deputy Governor of Russia's Central Bank, Olga Skorobogatova, stated that they did not see a need for issuing a national digital currency.

However, in June 2017 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Skorobogatova held the opposite position, saying:

    “We will definitely get to a virtual national currency, we’ve already started working on it.”


Not a new question

The Russian government has been publicly discussing the idea of a government-issued digital currency as legal tender as far back as 2015. Originally, Qiwi, a publicly traded Russian payment service provider, initiated the idea for a Russian national cryptocurrency called ‘BitRuble.’

The Russian State Duma has an official working group in place that looks at cryptocurrency risks and regulations. Though there have been reports about possible outright cryptocurrency bans in Russia in the past, the government’s official stance remains unclear, leaning toward regulation of digital currency use.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/putin-adviser-says-cryptoruble-will-circumvent-sanctions-government-remains-divided

Bitcoin Billionaires Hiding in Plain Sight



Bitcoin’s anonymous yet transparent nature makes for some interesting reading when trawling through the easily accessible information on the top wallets out there. While these top 10 wallets, do not have names attached to them, some are easy to figure out.

The Winklevoss twins made history in early December by becoming the first widely accepted Bitcoin Billionaires. It was estimated at the time of print that the twins held 91,666 which equated to $1.063 bln.

However, these high profile twins are one of the few that are solidly in the spotlight that it is easy to speculate on their wealth. It is believed that there could be far more Bitcoin Billionaires out there, lurking in the shadow.


Distributed funds on a distributed ledger

If it was the norm to hold all our funds in one wallet, it would be easy to put together a rich list and speculate who belongs where. However, not only does Bitcoin’s anonymity but its practices of good coin storage, also make things difficult.

The normal procedure, especially for those whose funds are closer to billions than hundreds like most mere mortals, is to split the wealth over a number of wallets and other storage methods.

It is a lesson that everyone should heed when it comes to keeping one’s fortune on the wild west that is Bitcoin exchanges.


As many as 200 Billionaires

A representative for BitInfoCharts, who wished to remain anonymous because of security concerns, told MSN in an email that, given Bitcoin’s current overall market capitalization and that most people hold Bitcoin at multiple addresses, there may actually be as many as 200 Bitcoin billionaires, and possibly no fewer than 35.

The rep noted that it’s likely most of these addresses are owned by exchanges or hedge funds.

A billionaire could keep on being created without much work needing to be done by some of the more than 100 addresses that already have over $100 mln in Bitcoin currently. The growth of Bitcoin has turned many people into millionaires and is doing the same with those people taking the step up to billionaires.


Better to hide in plain sight?

If there are so many of these billionaires out there making a massive profit from some savvy early investing or clever trading perhaps, why are they so hidden and secretive?

The king of secrecy and anonymity is, of course, Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto who has been estimated to be sitting on one mln Bitcoins.

Much has been made over Nakamoto's reasoning for remaining hidden and seemingly out of all Bitcoin activity, but there is also speculation mounting over his fortune which could be rivaling some of the richest men in the world.


The circling regulatory wolves

Of course, one of the biggest reason for remaining hidden when you are sitting on enough money to buy an island is the tax and regulatory implications that could come into play if you were to suddenly show your face.

Regulators are playing a game of treat the symptom, not the disease when it comes to Bitcoin as they struggle to keep up. This has seen tax agencies still scratching their heads, leaving massive loopholes for Bitcoiners.

However, those with massive fortunes who are publicly known would most likely be the first in the firing line.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-billionaires-hiding-in-plain-sight

Wow, for me that was a very long story... I first came across bitcoin around February 2013 on YouTube via my mentor's channel - EliTheComputerGuy. Eli is a real geek so i love his teachings a lot, then one day he made a video talking about bitcoin, blockchain, bitcoin wallet, private and public keys, that sounds interesting to me that was how i got started with bitcoin. 

Forget about the FUDs and all the negative posts about bitcoin because this year 2018 is also going to be great for bitcoin. Bitcoin was in mood for the last few days and even today due to the bitcoin high transaction fee and very slow transaction speed issue, but not for long. The bitcoin "lightning network" is about to be implemented to speed up the bitcoin transaction speed with ZERO transaction fee, how good is that, huh? With the lightning network bitcoin is going to be back on the track running faster than ever. All these guys that are saying bitcoin is dead they should go and hang themselves, then!

I have big plans for this year 2018, I'm saving my money in bitcoins for building a medium sized bitcoin mining farm that can produce at least 1.2 PH/s with about 100 bitcoin miners before the end of the year 2018. Bitcoin mining is very profitable these days that is why i have this plan which i want to execute before the end of the year.

Bitcoin value was dropping recently because it under market correction. Thankfully, the bitcoin price started recovering very strong today with about 13% increase in value reaching up $15,000. That is a good sign showing bitcoin will soon be out of the correction period.

Japan is the safe haven for cryptocurrencies, new crypto startups and the investors as well. Japan was the first country to show major concern about  the development and implementation of the virtual currencies to the public. No doubt, bitcoin ‘adds 0.3%’ to Japan’s GDP in 2017. Perhaps, that will be double in this year 2018.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-adds-03-to-japans-gdp-claim-nomura-analysts

Record-breaking 2017 Brought Bitcoin, Altcoins Drastically Increased Mainstream Acceptance



As non-profit cryptocurrency research institution CoinCenter’s Neeraj K. Agrawal wrote, 2017 was the year in which Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies went mainstream.


Wall Street

Numerous major financial institutions have integrated support for Bitcoin, with elite investment banks like Goldman Sachs contemplating the creation of Bitcoin trading desks in 2018. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) and CME Group, the two largest futures exchanges in the world, successfully launched Bitcoin futures trading last month.

    Things to look out for in 2018 in #Bitcoin:

    1. Nasdaq Bitcoin Futures
    2. NYSE Bitcoin ETFs
    3. Cboe Bitcoin ETFs
    4. Scaling / Lower Fees
    5. More Adoption Due to ↑
    6. Many Billion of Institutional Money Coming to Bitcoin / Crypto

    No wonder analysts are so optimistic!
    — Joseph Young (@iamjosephyoung) December 26, 2017

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the biggest stock market in the world in terms of daily trading volume, has applied two launch two Bitcoin-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Cboe has applied to launch six such ETFs themselves. Bitcoin futures are strictly regulated investment vehicles that can provide institutional investors and high profile individual investors immediate access to the Bitcoin market. Bitcoin ETFs, on the other hand, will provide easy access to Bitcoin for retail investors and some classes of institutions that do not trade on the futures market.


Regulatory environment

In March 2017, as Cointelegraph reported, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected a Bitcoin ETF filing submitted by the Winklevoss twins, the first confirmed billionaire Bitcoin investors, because of the Bitcoin market’s lack of regulation. However, the global Bitcoin market and its regulatory landscape have drastically changed since then. The Japanese government recognized Bitcoin as a legitimate currency while other large markets like South Korea have introduced practical regulations for local cryptocurrency businesses and investors.

Most importantly, the SEC left the door open for approval of a future Bitcoin ETF in the event that regulated Bitcoin futures markets should be developed. As such, it is highly likely that Bitcoin ETFs will be approved in 2018, given that Cboe and CME have proven that Bitcoin can be traded on strictly regulated platforms with proper investment protection.


Mainstream media

Mainstream news publications around the world have drastically increased their coverage of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies in the last year. Several news publications, including CNBC and Forbes, have created cryptocurrency-specific media channels to address the rapidly growing demand for Bitcoin and other digital currencies.


Frenzy

In some countries, cryptocurrency mania has formed, as investors of all ages have begun to engage in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading. In South Korea, speculation around the cryptocurrency market has reached a point in which the South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon released a public statement addressing the sudden increase in demand for digital currencies.

Several months ago, the South Korean government formed a task force to draft regulations to cover the digital currency market.

    South Korean govt's #Bitcoin regulations from this week:

    1. Gov't will impose regulations based on global trend.
    2. Special cryptocurrency law drafted, *exchanges not compliant with policies* cannot operate.
    3. Open towards Bitcoin / blockchain tech development.

    Optimistic.
    — Joseph Young (@iamjosephyoung) December 28, 2017


Extraordinary rise of altcoins

Over the past few months, the entire cryptocurrency market has experienced a drastic trend-shift as altcoins have surged in value. The “Bitcoin Dominance” metric has reached an all time low of 37.3%, indicating that the number one cryptocurrency now accounts for just over one third of the market cap of the entire digital currency sector. While there is some controversy over the use of market cap numbers to estimate the size of the market, it is clear that Bitcoin is no longer the only major player. Alternate digital currencies like Ethereum and Dash have increased in value over 100x in the past year.

Ripple in particular had an spectacular rally throughout 2017, as its value skyrocketed from $0.006 to $2.38, a 360-fold increase. While its current $88 billion market valuation is being questioned by analysts like Ryan Selkis from ConsenSys, it still remains as the second largest digital currency by market cap.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/record-breaking-2017-brought-bitcoin-altcoins-drastically-increased-mainstream-acceptance

Bitcoin Adoption by Businesses in 2017



2017 was a big year for Bitcoin. CBOE launched the first Bitcoin futures market, the NYSE filed for two Bitcoin ETF’s, and Bitcoin price rose over 1,300 percent. In 2017, Bitcoin became too big to ignore, as Bitcoin became more valuable, there were sizable increases in the amount of brick and mortars that accepted Bitcoin all over the world. Let’s take a look at the data.

Q1/17: Slight growth - 5.5%

According to Coinmap.org, on Jan. 3, 2017,  8,207 brick and mortar businesses accepted Bitcoin as a payment method for their goods and services.  On March 28, 2017, three days before the end of the first quarter, 8,665 businesses accepted Bitcoin. For the first three months of 2017, there was a 5.58 percent increase in Bitcoin accepting businesses.  

BTC Price Data: Calm growth - 7%

On the first day of the year, Jan. 1, 2017, Bitcoin was worth $979.5, roughly 13 times less than what Bitcoin is worth today - $13,390. On March 31, the last day of the first quarter, Bitcoin’s price was $1,045.03. The Bitcoin price rose 6.9 percent within the quarter.  

Q2/17: Steady growth - 5%

On April 4, 2017--8,682 businesses accepted Bitcoin. On June 27, 2017, three days before the end of Q2, 9,143 businesses accepted Bitcoin - all in all, an increase of 461 brick and mortars that accepted Bitcoin, which represents a 5.3 percent increase in the amount of businesses that started accepting BTC in the spring of 2017.

BTC Price Data: Boost - 135%

On April 1, 2017, Bitcoin’s price was $1,069.78; on the last day of the quarter--$2,519.27. Bitcoin’s price increased by $1,449.49; equivalent to a 135 percent increase in price.


First Half of 2017: 11% more businesses accept BTC while BTC price increased by 147%

When combined, the data from Q1 and Q2 represent the first six months of 2017. In the first half of 2017, there was an 11.4 percent increase in the amount of Bitcoin accepting businesses. 936 brick and mortar businesses added Bitcoin as an acceptable payment method for their goods and services.  The average quarterly increase in the amount of brick and mortar businesses that accepted Bitcoin was 5.44 percent.  And from the first day of Q1 to the last day of Q2, the Bitcoin price climbed a total of $1,501.1--a 147.43 percent increase in price.


Bitcoin Accepting Businesses 2017


Q3/17: Cryptomania begins - 8.5% growth

On July 4th, 2017, 9,176 businesses accepted Bitcoin; while on Sep. 26, 2017--the number grew to 9,972 entities; an increase of 796 brick and mortar businesses that accepted Bitcoin as a payment method, which is equivalent to an 8.67 percent increase.

BTC Price Data: Another boost - 74%

On July 1, the first day of Q3, the Bitcoin price was $2,458.14, by the end of September it reached $4,286.64. From July 1 to Sep. 30, 2017, Bitcoin price increased by $1,828.5 which is equivalent to a 74.38 percent increase in price.


Boost and buzz, made by Bitcoin

In Q3 we began to see the Bitcoin price and the amount of Bitcoin accepting businesses increase at a larger rate than in previous quarters. A rise in price means that there is a rise in demand, and a rise in demand should be no surprise for the Bitcoin market considering the events that took place in Q3/17. The media began to cover the astronomical returns that investors were receiving from ventures in digital currencies; Bitcoin began to receive worldwide media coverage, and for the first time, Bitcoin was presented in a positive light opposed to its precedented association with money laundering and illegal drug purchases. Additionally, when Bitcoin hit new all-time highs, the news spread like wildfire, this may have influenced a number of people who felt as if they were missing out on massive returns to invest in the Bitcoin themselves so they would not miss out on the generous return on investment.

Q4: Always more BTC for business - 12%

On Oct. 3, 2017, three days into Q4/17, 10,040 brick and mortar Businesses accepted Bitcoin. On Dec. 19, 2017, 11,291 businesses accepted Bitcoin. A 12.4 percent increase in the amount of businesses from the beginning of the quarter.

BTC Price Data: Roller-coaster - 224%

Q4 experienced the largest increase in Bitcoin accepting businesses with an increase of 1,251 brick and mortar establishments accepting Bitcoin for their goods and services. At the beginning of Q4, Bitcoin’s price was $4,317.24. Around Dec. 17, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $20,000, but in the last days of December, the cryptocurrency market experienced a correction in price--Bitcoin dropped to $14,000. Regardless, Bitcoin’s price rose $9,685.7900 a 224.35 percent increase from the beginning to the end of the quarter.

Second half of 2017: Nearly twice as many new BTC-friendly businesses compared to the first half of 2017

In the second half of 2017, the amount of businesses that accepted Bitcoin as a payment method increased by 2,115 establishments. This is equivalent to a 23 percent increase in Bitcoin accepting businesses from July 4, 2017 to Dec. 19, 2017.

The amount of Bitcoin accepting businesses increased by an average of 10.57 percent per quarter, almost two times the average quarterly increase in Bitcoin accepting businesses from the first half of the year (Q1 and Q2).

Price data: BTC is a record breaking currency

On Jan. 1, 2017--Bitcoin price was $979.53, and by the end of December, Bitcoin’s price was around $14,000; from the first day of Q1 to the last day of Q4 the overall price increase was around 1,329 percent and the priced increased by over $13,000 overall.


Crypto-mania and BTC adoption

It is possible that Bitcoin’s price dropped recently because retail investors who were new to the cryptocurrency market were not aware that cryptocurrencies have a much higher Beta--systematic risk--than the NASDAQ or the NYSE. As Bitcoin’s price dropped significantly, the market began to shake out the weak hands and many retail investors who were new to investing panicked and sold their coins.

Those who hodl’d obviously knew not to be worried, be scared, or feel the need to sell when the price shifted downward by a significant amount, because those who are not new to the crypto-community know Bitcoin’s price moves like the best roller coaster at your favorite theme park. The ups are astronomical and may even make you feel as if you have left earth’s atmosphere, but the downs are terrifying, leading you to believe the coaster is going to plummet straight through the earth and travel into the depths of hell, inducing anxiety, restlessness, and pumping up your adrenaline levels.

The data shows us that Bitcoin’s price is correlated with the number of businesses willing to accept Bitcoin as a payment method at a 0.7994 Pearson Correlation coefficient. This means that when there is an increase in Bitcoin price, it is highly likely there will be an increase in the number of businesses that accept Bitcoin.

The best part is, the Bitcoin fun is just beginning. We could call it “crypto-mania;” however, the fun also could end anytime soon.

Although interest in digital tokens is increasing at a rapid pace, the market capitalization of all digital assets is $560,456,007,471, and is still far below the market cap of the NYSE: $19.6 tln.

2017 was a great year for Bitcoin. Not many assets can boast of having returns of over 1,300 percent, there was an overall increase of 3,084 Bitcoin accepting businesses, and the overall increase in Bitcoin’s price was $13,023.53.

In 2017 we began to see institutional investors incorporate digital asset investing options into their platforms for their clients, but the support from the largest institutional investors has not even become a market factor yet. Institutional investors--the ones on wall street with the big money-- are looking to get into the crypto game in the first half of 2018 with a number of Bitcoin ETF’s that they have proposed. Furthermore, the retail investor and the layman are beginning to learn of digital currencies, and are becoming interested in incorporating digital assets into their portfolio.

It will be interesting to see what Blockchain technologies, especially Bitcoin, the first Blockchain technology, have to offer in 2018. But at this point in time, with Bitcoin being talked about daily on our local news channels, in our local supermarket, at our nearest barber shops and inside of classroom settings, it is safe to say we have entered a bull market.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-adoption-by-businesses-in-2017

Russian Bishop Condemns Cryptocurrencies



Cryptocurrencies have crept into all walks of life and as a result, we have pundits from almost every sphere of influence throwing their two cents into the mix.

Banking and traditional financial institutions have been the loudest critics of virtual currencies but the list of naysayers ranges from politicians to actors.

The latest, obscure voice comes from Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of the Russian Orthodox Church. Speaking in his role as chairman of the department of external church relations, Alfeyev hit out squarely at cryptocurrencies as well as the US dollar.

It’s not surprising to see a Russian clergy taking a stern stance on the dollar but according to RT, the bishop also believes cryptocurrency value has been based purely on sentiment:

    “I personally think that cryptocurrency is a new financial bubble, a new Ponzi scheme, behind which there is nothing.”

His apathy towards cryptocurrency stems from what he describes as a natural progression brought about by the banking system, which has gradually evolved alongside digital technology.

The theologian said the church would do well to steer clear of cryptocurrencies:

    “This innovation is representative of the entire banking system, where real assets are converted into virtual ones. This paves the way for usury, which the church has always spoken out against, but can do nothing about – we all have to keep our money in banks.”


Value in sentiment

As of January 2018, the overall market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market sits at just over $630 bln, according to Coinmarketcap.com.

While that number pales in comparison to the biggest players in the world’s stock exchange, the value represents the growth in sentiment towards cryptocurrency over the past five years.

Nevertheless, the Russian bishop says there is a disconnect between the perception in value of virtual currency compared to tangible, traditional assets.

    “Cryptocurrencies are another step in this direction – now with electronic numbers instead of paper. We see that among a certain group of people, these cryptocurrencies have value, but this is divorced from reality and this is perhaps the greatest danger.”

Alfeyev also hit out at the current valuation of the dollar, which he claims is difficult to gauge given the circulation of the currency around the world:

    “But now there are more dollars in the world than any gold reserves could guarantee. In a way, the dollar is already a cryptocurrency. We don’t know how that currency is controlled, how its price rises and falls, and even how many dollars are in circulation.”


Food for thought

The Russian bishop’s sentiments may not be founded on empirical market research, but its the voicing of his views that are the most important thing at this juncture.

His voice joins an ever-growing chorus that is calling for better financial practices worldwide. Whether it’s having a go at cryptocurrency, the dollar or even the ruble, influential people are far more outspoken about the current economic climate.

Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology have the potential to transform the way we transact in the digital world and institutions from banks to churches are being forced to educate themselves and take stock of what is becoming a part of everyday life.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/russian-bishop-condemns-cryptocurrencies

David Stockman Says Cryptocurrency Investors Are “Stupid Speculators”



President Ronald Reagan’s Former Director of the Office of Management David Stockman has told CNBC’s Futures Now in an interview that investors in the cryptocurrency market are “stupid speculators” and will suffer a “spectacular crash.”

Stockman stated:

    "It's basically a class of really stupid speculators who have convinced themselves that trees grow to the sky. It will burn out in a spectacular crash. All of these latter-day speculators will have their hands burned to a crisp, and they will learn the proper lesson."


Weak argument

Over the past few months, Stockman has also expressed his bearish stance on the global stock market and predicted a “gigantic, horrendous storm” to hit stocks. Essentially, Stockman has predicted literally every asset and cryptocurrency in the global market to fall in value in an indefinite period, making his prediction and argument significantly weak.

Economists like Stockman and Paul Krugman have continuously failed to provide compelling arguments as to why investment in the cryptocurrency market and crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are “stupid.” Stockman and Krugman have stated that Bitcoin is a bubble and that cryptocurrencies do not have underlying value or intrinsic value.

However, as Billionaire Investor Mark Cuban explained, the lack of intrinsic value is true for any asset and currency in the market. Even fiat currencies that are fully controlled by governments in terms of supply and circulation also do not have intrinsic value, as their valuation depends on the market and the demand from investors. If businesses, individuals and investors decide not to utilize the US dollar, its value will also inevitably fall.

At the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit 2017, Cuban noted:

    “It is interesting because there are a lot of assets which their value is just based on supply and demand. Most stocks, there is no intrinsic value because you have no true ownership rights and no voting rights. You just have the ability to buy and sell those stocks. Bitcoin is the same thing. Its value is based on supply demand. I have bought some through an ETN based on a Swedish exchange.”

It is relatively easy to condemn an asset class or a particular stock with basic arguments like the lack of intrinsic value and speculation in the market. But, it is difficult to provide specific reasons as to why assets are overvalued and are caught up in short-term bubbles.

Moreover, it is not possible to generalize investors in the cryptocurrency market as speculators. Many investors in the cryptocurrency market could understand the technology behind decentralized currencies like Bitcoin and their potential to challenge multi-trillion markets like the offshore banking and gold markets, which is sufficient to justify their investment in the sector.


Cryptocurrencies are not bubbles

While it is possible for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies to experience short-term bubbles, cryptocurrencies in general are not bubbles. The cryptocurrency market is one of the liquid markets in the world and Bitcoin, the most valuable cryptocurrency in the market, is already more liquid than the most liquid stock on earth in Apple, with a $12 bln daily trading volume.

Cryptocurrencies also experience major corrections several times a month, and their values fall by nearly 30 percent on a regular basis, before recovering. Corrections prevent short-term bubbles from forming, as speculators drop off and the market solidifies.

    This pattern will repeat all the way to Bitcoin $100,000 and beyond... pic.twitter.com/o9Wj4reBtv
    — Max Keiser (@maxkeiser) June 2, 2017

Stockman also claimed that cryptocurrencies are not real money because transactions are not stable. Transactions on leading public Blockchains like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin are processed on a stable network with a well-structured fee system and consensus protocol algorithm.

"I have no idea. I mean it could double or triple from here or it could fall to zero. But the point is that it's not real money because real money for transactions has to be stable," Stockman added.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/david-stockman-says-cryptocurrency-investors-are-stupid-speculators

Indeed, with the Lightening Network update fully working - we are back in the game, baby! Very soon bitcoin will be shooting to the moon again. Where are the "bitcoin prophets" you should start your new predictions for bitcoin price of the year 2018.