Bitcoin soars above $17,000, boosting worries and a worldwide frenzy

Bitcoin soared past the $17,000 mark on Thursday, a dizzying run for a digital currency that was worth less than $1,000 at the start of the year and was once largely the preoccupation of technologists or those looking to avoid scrutiny to launder money or buy drugs and weapons online.

The fast rise — it has gone up more than 40 percent this week alone — is creating a buying frenzy among eager speculators around the world and helping push bitcoin into the mainstream. And it is also forcing U.S. regulators to grapple with whether to legitimize a product that operates outside the control of any government or financial institution.

The run-up in price comes as bitcoin enthusiasts prepare to reach a new landmark. On Sunday, a bitcoin product will trade for the first time on a U.S. financial market, making it almost as easy to bet on the virtual currency as oil, corn or the euro.

The move will give it a “veneer” of legitimacy, said Mark Williams, a former Federal Reserve official who teaches finance at Boston University. “From an investors standpoint, that could give it a false sense of protection.”

Many industry experts warn that the United States is not prepared for bitcoin’s entry into the financial markets. As bitcoin prices were setting records, hackers this week reportedly made off with $70 million in the digital currency after targeting NiceHash, a cryptocurrency platform. The Futures Industry Association, which includes Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, has complained that the process for investing in bitcoin is moving too fast. “We remain apprehensive with the lack of transparency and regulation” of bitcoin, the group said in a letter earlier this week.





Such warnings have not stopped the craze surrounding the currency as the sharp rise in value creates ever more demand. In South Korea, people are pouring their life savings into bitcoin and other digital currencies. In Venezuela, after observing the rise of bitcoin, the government announced it would launch its own virtual currency called the “Petro” to get around U.S. sanctions.

Bitcoin was first created in 2009 under mysterious circumstances — little is known about who originally came up with the idea. It launched as a digital currency — without physical coins such as dimes or nickels — and was accompanied by an online payment network similar to PayPal. But unlike PayPal, the bitcoin transaction system is not owned by anyone.

Its decentralized, democratic nature gave it special appeal. Only buyers and sellers — rather than the central bank of a government — can change its value. Transactions between accounts are recorded on online ledgers, and prices are posted publicly on exchanges such as Coinbase’s GDAX, one of the 24-hour indexes that tracks the value of bitcoin. GDAX on Thursday reported bitcoin’s price, which can fluctuate sharply, crossed the $17,000 threshold.

Cryptocurrencies initially won fans among technology enthusiasts and people trying to avoid traditional currency markets. That includes people seeking to buy drugs on off-the-grid online marketplaces without being detected by the police. When federal authorities shut down one such marketplace called Silk Road in 2014, they seized 26,000 bitcoin worth about $3.6 million.

“The people who started to use bitcoin years ago were those that couldn’t use anything else,” said Nicolas Christin, a security researcher at Carnegie Mellon University.

Confidence in the virtual currency has been repeatedly shaken by spectacular failures, including the 2014 implosion of the largest bitcoin exchange of its time, Mt. Gox, which went bankrupt after $400 million in bitcoin was allegedly stolen. Hackers remain a threat, and sometimes bitcoin just disappear after their owners forget or lose the passwords for their accounts.

“Ten percent of bitcoin that has been generated to date has been lost forever,” Williams estimated. “That is billions and billions of dollars.”

But those hiccups have been followed by quick rebounds. Some retailers, such as Overstock.com and Subway, began accepting bitcoin as payment several years ago, and bitcoin ATMs are available in some cities, making purchase of the currency easier. Brokers such as San Francisco-based Coinbase have developed apps to make it easy to buy and sell bitcoin from a personal computer or smartphone.

Yet for Wall Street investors, bitcoin has remained a fringe product, too awkward — and potentially hazardous — to buy and sell. On a typical day, the price of a single bitcoin can rise or fall 10 percent or more, the kind of fickleness that would send panic through traditional stock markets.

But investors are finding bitcoin difficult to ignore as its collective value races past $250 billion, more than the gross domestic product of Vietnam and Greece.

The currency’s growing popularity has split the investment world. Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, has dismissed bitcoin as a “fraud.” “If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day,” he said last month.

Yet Bill Miller, a legendary investor famous for producing better returns than the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index for 15 years straight before hitting a rough stretch, has been investing in bitcoin for years. Bitcoin remains “speculative” and could easily fall 50 percent, he said. But “it’s been a big winner for us.”

Until now, investors who wanted to wager on bitcoin prices in traditional ways had to do so in Europe or Asia. But these overseas marketplaces are often too small and loosely regulated to attract large U.S. investors, said Michael Unetich, vice president of cryptocurrencies at Trading Technologies, which provides trading software. Some marketplaces have gone out of business or been victimized by hackers who steal their bitcoin, he said.

“They are not seen as legitimate by institutional investors” such as hedge funds, Unetich said.

There has been ambivalence in the United States. Earlier this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission rejected an application from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twins famous for suing Mark Zuckerberg over the creation of Facebook, to create a bitcoin product, over concerns such exchanges could be vulnerable to “fraudulent or manipulative acts and practices.”

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, another financial regulator, has been slow to adopt rules that could potentially legitimize the bitcoin market, industry experts say.

William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, recently said he remained cautious about the digital currency, saying it was not a “stable store of value and it doesn’t really have the characteristics that you’d like to have in a currency.”

Yet, he said, “it is something we are starting to think about: What would it mean to have a digital currency? What would it mean to offer it? Do we actually need it?”

An early test could come Sunday. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is allowing the CBOE Global Markets and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to offer a bitcoin product that will permit investors to bet on future price changes. The better-known Nasdaq could follow next year.

CBOE has already received significant interest about its new bitcoin product, said John Deters, its chief strategy officer.

“The interest we have seen is probably more broad-based than anything we have seen before,” Deters said. “We’re really offering something different, a truly regulated and well-surveilled (bitcoin) marketplace with transparent rules and cutting-edge technology.”

Yet, Deters acknowledged, the bitcoin craze that has sent the value of the virtual currency soaring could dissipate once it hits the regulatory rigors of a traditional trading market.

“Nobody knows. We will see what happens when people start to engage,” he said. “I think we’re modest in terms of the expectation.”

For now, experts are urging investors to be wary. There are dozens of venues that quote slightly different bitcoin prices, many of which are small and could be manipulated, they said. Also, some bitcoin enthusiasts are hoarding the virtual currency rather than using it to make a purchase, worried that its price will go up even further, rendering their purchase laughably expensive.

“As the price skyrockets, it is hard to justify selling your bitcoin to buy a piece of furniture when tomorrow you could afford to buy two pieces of furniture,” said Jai Massari, a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell who advises clients on financial regulation.

But those who are accumulating bitcoin could try to sell just as quickly, and there is no certainty they will find ready buyers, experts said, leading prices to fall as fast as they rose.


Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/bitcoin-soars-above-17000-boosting-worries-and-a-worldwide-frenzy/2017/12/07/439e71e8-db68-11e7-b1a8-62589434a581_story.html?utm_term=.67361a34e7cb

NiceHash CEO Confirms Bitcoin Theft Worth $78 Million

Cryptocurrency mining marketplace NiceHash has confirmed that yesterday's hack resulted in the loss of over 4,700 BTC, an amount worth more than $78 million at press-time prices.



In a video update streamed live on Facebook, CEO and co-founder Marko Kobal provided an update to yesterday's dramatic announcement that the company, founded in 2014, had incurred a hack and subsequent theft. The news followed growing reports of emptied wallets, as well as an extended downtime period for the service's website.

According to Kobal, the attack began in the early hours of Dec. 6 after an employee's computer had been compromised. Kobal, who said that the team is working with law enforcement, explained that "we're still conducting forensic analysis" to determine how it happened.

Over the course of several hours, Kobal said, those behind the theft gained access to their systems, and that at 3:34 am CET began to siphon off funds from the company's accounts. As reported yesterday, a wallet address circulated by users showed approximately 4,736.42 BTC being held – an amount worth approximately $78.3 million according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).

As of press time, the funds are still being held in the address in question.

Kobal went on to say he couldn't provide additional details, though he added that the attack appears to be "incredibly coordinated and highly sophisticated attack." He said the company would release additional details on possible recovery methods in the future.

"We are doing everything we can right now. However, this will take time," Kobal said.

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/nicehash-ceo-confirms-bitcoin-theft-worth-78-million/

I'm being serious here, trust me...
Forget about the donations that is not enough!
We should at least do something to show him we appreciate his work here.
We come from different angles of the world that is the least we can do to him. 
If can't show our appreciation to the people who deserve it, who are we then?

Indeed, we might as well do the same to "theymos" someday!
He seems like a nice guy and has done more than enough to this community.
Nobody cares about the people how manages this community, but at least some of us know that is not an easy job.

More than $60 million worth of bitcoin potentially stolen after hack on cryptocurrency site

    - Users highlighted the cyber breach on Reddit and Twitter Wednesday, with some saying they could lose hundreds of dollars.
    - While NiceHash was unable to specify how much bitcoin had been stolen, users have pointed to a bitcoin wallet which holds 4,736.42 bitcoins — equivalent to $67 million.



Hackers may have gotten away with $60 million worth of bitcoin after a cyber attack hit the cryptocurrency mining platform NiceHash.

Users highlighted the cyber breach on Reddit and Twitter Wednesday, with some saying they could lose hundreds of dollars.

NiceHash lets people offer computing capacity for bitcoin miners to mine digital currencies. Cryptocurrency miners work out complex mathematical equations to add cryptocurrency transactions to decentralized public ledgers called blockchains.

The mining marketplace initially said its service was undergoing "maintenance"on Twitter, later adding it was "working hard" to resolve issues affecting the site.

NiceHash said in a statement it was "investigating the nature of the incident," and that it would close down its site for a day.

"We are working to verify the precise number of BTC (bitcoin) taken," the company said. "Clearly, this is a matter of deep concern and we are working hard to rectify the matter in the coming days.In addition to undertaking our own investigation, the incident has been reported to the relevant authorities and law enforcement and we are co-operating with them as a matter of urgency."

While NiceHash was unable to specify how much bitcoin had been stolen, users have pointed to a bitcoin wallet which holds 4,736.42 bitcoins — equivalent to $68 million.

Andrej P. Škraba, head of marketing at the firm, confirmed to news agency Reuters that around 4,700 bitcoins — worth roughly $68 million at current prices — were lost in the hack.

CNBC reached out to NiceHash Chief Executive Marko Kobal for comment but he was not available at the time of publication.

This wouldn't be the first time people have lost millions in cryptocurrency. In November, millions of dollars worth of Ethereum were "accidentally" frozen on the cryptocurrency wallet provider Parity after a user "suicided" the wallet, deleting its code and freezing all ether tokens contained within.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/07/bitcoin-stolen-in-hack-on-nicehash-cryptocurrency-mining-marketplace.html#

Bitcoin soars past $15,000, just hours after crossing $14,000

   - Bitcoin rocketed higher Thursday, crossing the $15,000 mark just 10 hours after topping $14,000.
   - The digital currency's latest swing higher comes after a 20 percent plunge last week
   - The overall pace of gains have accelerated in the last several weeks ahead of the launch of bitcoin futures by major exchanges




Bitcoin rocketed higher Thursday, crossing the $15,000 mark just 10 hours after topping $14,000.

The landmark happened on the Coinbase exchange at 10 a.m. London time on Thursday, and it traded as high as $15,200 on that platform.

That said, there are often significant price differentials on different bitcoin exchanges. CoinDesk, a widely regarded industry site, still showed the cryptocurrency below the $15,000 level, according to its average of prices across leading exchanges.

Bitcoin now has a market value of more than $256 billion, meaning it would rank among the 20 largest stocks in the S&P 500.

The latest swing higher came as bitcoin topped $12,000 Tuesday night in a rapid recovery from a 20 percent drop last week.

The digital currency began the year below $1,000 and its gains have accelerated as investor interest grows. Chicago-based Cboe Global Markets is planning to launch bitcoin futures on Sunday, while the world's largest futures exchange, CME, is set to launch its futures product the following week. The addition of bitcoin futures by two respected exchanges marks another step towards establishing the digital currency as a legitimate asset class.

"While we launched [in the U.S.] just a week ago, bitFlyer has already seen strong interest from institutions looking to gain exposure to bitcoin. We're glad to have expanded to the US at this time with so much interest due to the impending Bitcoin futures launches," bitFlyer COO Bartek Ringwelski, said in an email. The Tokyo-based digital currency exchange is the largest in the world by trading volume and announced last week it received a "BitLicense" to operate in New York.

However, many remain critical of bitcoin. JPMorgan Chase Jamie Dimon has called bitcoin a "fraud." Digital currency investor and former Fortress hedge fund manager Michael Novogratz also said last week that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are "going to be the biggest bubble of our lifetimes." Novogratz also predicted last week that bitcoin could reach $40,000 by the end of next year.


Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/06/bitcoin-tops-13000-surging-1000-in-less-than-24-hours.html

The world’s biggest banks reportedly want to halt bitcoin futures launch

   - Bitcoin futures are set to be introduced by CBOE Global Markets and the CME
   - The Futures Industry Association says there has not been enough scrutiny of the product
   - Concern exists that clearing houses, funded by banks, may take on too much risk



Wall Street banks have raised objections to the introduction of bitcoin futures trading, highlighting fears that the financial system can't cope with the cryptocurrency's volatile price swings.

Bitcoin has rocketed higher Thursday, crossing the $15,000 mark less than 48 hours after topping $12,000.

The U.K.'s Financial Times has reported that a letter from the Futures Industry Association, which counts the world's biggest banks among its members, is to be sent Thursday to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the U.S.

The letter reportedly criticizes the introduction of bitcoin futures and states that the Chicago exchanges, CME Group and CBOE Global Markets, should not be allowed to launch bitcoin futures under a self-certifying regime.

The FT reported that a draft version seen by the newspaper said proposed rules for bitcoin futures trading do "not align with potential risks that underlie their trading."

CBOE Global Markets is due to launch its bitcoin futures exchange on Sunday. The CME group is due to launch its version on December 17.


Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/07/bitcoin-futures-push-back-by-wall-street-banks.html

Lightning At Last? Bitcoin Scaling Layer Almost Ready



Bitcoin's long wait for the Lightning Network is almost over.

Announced today, the startups behind the three most active Lightning implementations have revealed test results, including live transactions, proving their software is now interoperable.

The findings, released by ACINQ, Blockstream and Lightning Labs, effectively bring Lightning (the mechanism many see as the best solution for increasing bitcoin's capacity) closer to public launch.

And while admittedly technical, today's announcement offers evidence that makes it seem like enthusiasts will soon get their wish.

Firstly, the Lightning specifications, in progress since last September, have entered version 1. These describe the rules of the network, comparable to the standards that prop up the internet.

While that's not to say the specifications won't evolve over time, they've now been deemed good enough to support the first real Lightning Network.

According to the founder of ACINQ, Pierre-Marie Padiou:

    "This is the Lightning standard we've been working on for more than year. There's been a lot of work from us and from all participants. It's a big milestone."

Secondly, all the implementations have been shown to be compatible with one another, based on Blockstream engineer Christian Decker's over 70 tests, which he put together over the summer.

And last, but not least, as displayed with the two live transactions, the three main implementations of Lightning are indeed interoperable, a piece of the puzzle that developers have been working on since last year.

"We've been able to make successful payments on the mainnet that goes all around the world, and which involves different compatible implementations," Padiou said. "That's kind of a big deal."


Interoperable, at last

While Lightning is still not ready for public use, Padiou emphasized that interoperability between the implementations is key to continuing development.

With the specifications complete, other developers now know what rules to implement to build their own Lightning networks. Bitcoin startup Blockchain's Thunder Network and MIT's Lit, for example, are two other well-known Lightning projects that could one day also implement the specifications.

And this compatibility between implementations has now been demonstrated with two test transactions, showing how Lightning could be used in the future for small value payments.

One transaction was routed through Blockstream's C-Lightning nodes to ACINQ's fake coffee app Starblocks (a play on Starbucks), which sells "Blockaccinos" for 0.015 mBTC.

The other transaction unlocked a blog post on the content platform Yalls. The process used ACINQ's Eclair wallet to send a tiny fee through C-Lightning to Yalls, which runs on Lightning Labs' LND software.

The engineers conducted both of these Lightning payments with nodes scattered across the globe, Padiou said.

"It's a very small network, but it demonstrates how the interoperability works," Padiou said, adding that this highlights a live proof-of-concept for the scaling mechanism.


No rush

But there's still one more step before users can take advantage of Lightning: releasing mainnet software.

According to Padiou, each implementation needs to release beta software for the mainnet that allows bitcoin users to make real payments over the Lightning Network for the first time.

And while many are excited about the opportunity, that software will need plenty of work before the dream of paying for morning lattes (and everything else) using bitcoin is realized.

In conversation, Lightning developers stressed there are kinks left to work out with the user experience before they recommend businesses adopt it.

Padiou argued that this cautious approach to development shows developers are making sure they get the technology just right, so as to eliminate the chance of users losing funds.

"It also demonstrates the approach has been very conservative. We're not going to rush anything," he told CoinDesk, adding:

    "We're almost there."

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/lightning-last-test-shows-bitcoin-scaling-solution-almost-ready/

Bloomberg: Bitcoin smashes past $15,000





Bitcoin is on the steroid!
Bitcoin is setting the new record, the all-time high almost everyday.
Perhaps, bitcoin value can reach $30,000 before January 2018.
Where do you think the value of bitcoin will end-up this year?
Share with us what you think... thanks

Bloomberg: Bitcoin smashes past $15,000





Bitcoin is on the steroid!
Bitcoin is setting the new record, the all-time high almost everyday. Perhaps, bitcoin value can reach $30,000 before January 2018.

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/BcZggE_AMhq/?taken-by=bloombergbusiness

Billionaire Mark Cuban Says Futures Contracts Are a “Positive” for Bitcoin



As recently covered by CCN, the CME Group, the $51 billion U.S.-based financial institution and the world’s largest options exchange, is set to open bitcoin futures for trading by December 18 on its platform. Recently, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) also received approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to list bitcoin futures contracts on its platform, and Nasdaq Inc. is reportedly also planning on adding bitcoin contracts next year.

According to Bloomberg, billionaire venture capitalist Mark Cuban says bitcoin futures trading on these major exchanges will potentially have a positive impact on the flagship cryptocurrency. He stated:

    "It will be interesting. I think it’s generally positive. What they charge is critical. Transaction costs are relatively high for BTC. If this pushes transaction costs lower, it will be a benefit to the BTC market.

Naem Aslam, a chief market analyst at TF Global Markets in London, added to Cuban’s analysis, saying that transaction costs, including cryptocurrency exchange fees and custody services charges, could decline if bitcoin demand increases as a result of futures trading on these platforms.

Per Cuban, how these exchanges “will buy, sell, hold, and manage the BTC is critical”, just like what they charge. The CME Group will, in the first few weeks of operations, be limited to initiating trades with an initial margin of 35 percent on its bitcoin futures exchange. It will use a daily price from the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate, which will use prices from various cryptocurrency exchanges, namely GDAX, Kraken, ItBit, and Bitstamp.

Cuban, a majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and a star on the investing theme show “Shark Tank,” has in the past revealed that despite being a bitcoiner, he believed the market was in a bubble. He later on seemingly changed his opinion on bitcoin, as he advised “true adventurers” to invest 10% of their holdings in cryptocurrencies- Cuban himself has invested in cryptocurrency hedge fund 1Confirmation, in bitcoin, and in other cryptocurrencies.

Tim Draper, another billionaire who’s netted over $110 million from his bitcoin investments and whose Draper Associates backed Hotmail, Tesla, and Skype, was also eager to see bitcoin futures on these exchanges. In an email to Bloomberg he wrote:

    “Bitcoin is a currency and should be treated as such. It makes perfect sense that a currency should be able to be hedged.”

Draper, who in the past enthusiastically represented bitcoin, finished his email applauding the exchanges, writing: “Bravo CBOE! Bravo CME!”

Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/billionaire-mark-cuban-says-bitcoin-futures-are-generally-positive/

Katy Perry Talks Bitcoin with Warren Buffett, Tells 175 Million Followers About it



American pop singer and songwriter, Katy Perry recently took some time out of singing to sit down with Warren Buffett to find out his thoughts on bitcoin.

The ‘Swish Swish’ singer posted a curious photo on her Instagram account recently. There, her 68 million followers saw the moment Perry met the Berkshire Hathaway CEO where she had the opportunity to hear his views on the digital currency market.



‘nbd asking Warren Buffett his thoughts on cryptocurrency,’ the singer wrote in her post, which was also sent out to her nearly 110 million Twitter followers. What he said regarding the topic is unknown, however, Buffet is known for his outspoken remarks relating to bitcoin.

As one of the world’s richest men and a well-known value investor, Buffett has criticised the digital currency market in the past, in particular, bitcoin. As early as 2014, the ‘Oracle of Omaha,’ was reported as saying that people should ‘stay away from it,’ claiming that it was a mirage and ‘just a joke.’

Last month, Buffett once again remarked on the cryptocurrency, this time arguing that the price of bitcoin is a ‘real bubble,’ adding that he wasn’t optimistic about the potential of initial coin offerings (ICOs) either. At the time, he said:

    "You can’t value bitcoin because it’s not a value-producing asset.

At the time of Perry’s discussion with Buffett, the digital currency market is experiencing a massive surge in value, soaring to $327.2 billion, at the time of publishing. This has been greatly pushed along by bitcoin’s rising price, which is currently trading at $10,779. The highest it has reached, to date, is over $11,000.

Yet, the fact that Perry has posted a photo of her meeting with Buffett to talk about the digital currency market, could mean that it’s further cementing its foray into the mainstream. With nearly 110 million Twitter followers and 68 million on Instagram, Perry may possibly be opening up a new way of transacting to millions of potential investors who are keen to follow the lives of celebrities.

Rather than listening to a stuffy Wall Street banker about the benefits that this technology has, they’ll be more likely to take on board what a celebrity has to say about it. This, in turn, could help boost the price of bitcoin up as a new wave of investors start turning to it.

Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/singer-katy-perry-meets-warren-buffett-to-discuss-bitcoin/

Keiser - Bitcoin like 'Moses' for Gold



Following the announcement that the renowned Old Mutual Gold & Silver Fund will be investing funds in Bitcoin, RT’s Max Keiser says they’re a bit late to the party.

The American broadcaster is arguably one of Bitcoin’s biggest advocates and has been bullish on his stance and predictions for the cryptocurrency’s future.

Ned Naylor-Leyland, head of Old Mutual’s Gold & Silver fund, has been slow on the uptake of Bitcoin. With most of their investments in precious metals, the fund has decided to invest five percent of its portfolio in Bitcoin and will reinvest the profits back into the gold and silver markets.

Speaking in the latest episode of The Keiser Report, the host made a jibe about Naylor-Leyland’s about-turn in sentiment on Bitcoin:

    “Ned is talking about Bitcoin effectively being gold, that it was designed to be gold. Now he’s invested in it, putting money to work in it.”

Keiser said the fund manager should have taken his advice years ago when the price was a fraction of what it is today:

    “We’ve spoken to him many times about Bitcoin, he’s been reluctant and hesitant, resisted the idea that it’s gold 2.0. Now he’s been sucked up into the vortex, into that black hole that is Bitcoin.”

Keiser believes that more mainstream, institutional investors will be changing their tune on cryptocurrencies sooner rather than later.

    “Now the old gold fund has become the new crypto-fund. Ned is now a convert, all these names that have been crypto skeptics will get sucked up and become converts - I guarantee it’s going to happen.”


Bitcoin like Moses, parting the ‘sea of derivatives’ for gold

Known for his animated and charismatic humor, Keiser believes Bitcoin is going to change the way gold is being traded on Wall Street. He hit out at short selling and manipulation which he insists is rife in current times:

    “Bitcoin is helping gold by shattering the matrix of Wall Street that is incurring the naked short-selling and financial manipulation that is going on in the futures market of gold.”

Keiser believes this could lead to a surge in the gold price:

    “We’re going to obliterate all the machinery that is killing the gold price. Bitcoin is like Moses, parting the sea of derivatives and through the gap, the gold price will finally get to two or three thousand dollars an ounce- thanks to Bitcoin.”


Bitcoin meets Aristotle’s definition of good money

Reflecting on Naylor-Leyland’s statement that Bitcoin will see the world “revert to sound money” as quoted by Bloomberg, Keiser goes back to Aristotle’s definition of money.

The Greek philosopher wrote that money must meet four characteristics. It must be durable, portable, divisible and have intrinsic value. Keiser says like gold, Bitcoin also meets those conditions:

    “The condition of scarcity is the one that people have trouble with. They don’t understand how you can have digital scarcity. But that is the genius of the protocol, it creates for the first time in history digital scarcity that is scalable and immutable - it fulfills all the characteristics of money.”

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/keiser-bitcoin-like-moses-for-gold

JPMorgan Switches Tact, Backs Bitcoin as New Gold



After Jamie Dimon drew a line in the sand for JPMorgan, calling it a ‘fraud,’ the company has once again stepped over that line, praising the digital coin as a ‘new gold.’

Analysts at JPMorgan believe that Bitcoin has changed its shape and that it could soon be joining gold as a reliable, long-term way to store wealth. Recent growth and recent changes have seen Bitcoin lean more towards being digital gold, and this is where JPMorgan see its value.

“Potential to elevate cryptocurrencies to an emerging asset class”

According to JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, the incredible spike in the value of Bitcoin is allowing it to start competing as an asset class; and seemingly at the same time drop out of the currency race.

There are changes afoot in the Bitcoin market, especially when it comes to making the digital currency easier to invest in. Panigirtzoglou said:

    “The prospective launch of Bitcoin futures contracts by established exchanges, in particular, has the potential to add legitimacy and thus increase the appeal of the cryptocurrency market to both retail and institutional investors.”

Still chasing gold

There is an ongoing debate over which is more popular, and if one can kill the other when it comes to talking about investing in gold and Bitcoin. However, the precious metal may be steady and safe, thus not as exciting as Bitcoin, but it still holds a large chunk of influential sway.

Bitcoin still falls short of Gold’s $6 tln valuation, however, it is the speed at which it has grown which is more impressive. The huge growth spurt could make cryptocurrencies match or even surpass gold quite soon as an investable asset.

Good news for banks

Around the time Dimon was spurting his rhetoric on Bitcoin, there was a feeling that the banks and Bitcoin were in a battle royale. The one was being challenged by a young upstart of a digital currency, and losing ground.

Banks were nervous of Bitcoin as a currency and how it could liberate people from the clutches of the government-backed fiat, however, that fight has died down somewhat as the future is now aimed at accumulating the valuable asset.

Instead of a flying in the face of the institutionalized banking system, Bitcoin looks like it has outgrown its angsty teen stages.There is now a literal digital gold rush as the fear of missing out sweeps the globe.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/jpmorgan-switches-tact-backs-bitcoin-as-new-gold

Bitcoin Price Will Hit $20,000 Before Tanking: Financial Expert

Michael Spencer, CEO of NEX Group Plc, a London financial expert, sees bitcoin’s price reaching $20,000 before reversing steeply, joining the cadre of financial leaders who claim bitcoin is a bubble,

Spencer told Bloomberg TV's Guy Johnson in London that he has no idea if bitcoin’s price will double before it halves, but said it could hit $20,000 “pretty damn quickly.” Johnson began the interview referring to bitcoin, which surpassed the $11,000 mark on Wednesday, as “irrational exuberance.”


Crypto Is Here To Stay

Spencer acknowledged that cryptocurrencies are here to stay, but said bitcoin is a bubble.

In July, Spencer said he prefers Ripple and Ethereum to bitcoin and that he might introduce NEX trading platforms for cryptocurrencies. The problem with any bubble, he said, is that you don’t know if it’s going to double before it halves.

“At some point, it’s going to go a hell of a long way back down,” he said.

Bull markets typically hit a point where everyone is bullish, he said, and he doesn’t think bitcoin has reached this point. , SaAcknowledging that bitcoin has broad momentum, Spencer said there are signals that it is not the time to invest in it just because others are doing so.


Thumbs Up For Blockchain

Spencer, like many other bitcoin naysayers, is optimistic about blockchain’s future, noting that it has enormous implications that extend beyond the financial markets.

He said blockchain technology could be used to provide real-time settlement of securities transactions.

The fact that a technology has implications in many industries where it can improve efficiencies does not mean the bull market “can’t roll on a bit,” he said, hinting at bitcoin. He said there are signals that this is not a time to be “chasing everything the way everyone else is.”

Spencer also addressed the volatility of stocks, Brexit and other financial topics. NEX Group’s shares tumbled earlier in November after claiming market conditions were creating challenges for its post-trade services and electronic trading.

Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-price-will-hit-20000-before-tanking-financial-expert/

CBOE to Launch Bitcoin Futures Trading on Sunday



Traders, start your engines. The first bitcoin futures contracts on a regulated U.S. exchange are set to launch on Sunday.

In an unexpected development, the Chicago-based CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) has announced it will list bitcoin futures contracts for trading on December 10. The futures will begin trading at 5 p.m. CT under the ticker symbol “XBT”.

The move is clearly intended to steal the thunder from fellow Chicago derivatives exchange CME, which announced on Friday that it will list bitcoin futures on December 18. Consequently, Cboe will become the first U.S. exchange to support trading for a cryptocurrency-derived futures product.

    “Given the unprecedented interest in bitcoin, it’s vital we provide clients the trading tools to help them express their views and hedge their exposure. We are committed to encouraging fairness and liquidity in the bitcoin market,” said Ed Tilly, chairman and CEO of Cboe Global Markets, in a statement.

The contracts will be cash-settled, and the price will be based on the daily auction price from Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange based out of New York. Cboe will waive trading fees for these products for the duration of December.

    “Developing a regulated derivatives market is the next logical and crucial step towards advancing the broader digital asset market. We have been working for years to build infrastructure to grow the digital asset market and today’s news marks a significant milestone,” said Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini.

Although the futures have yet to begin trading, Cboe president Chris Concannon has already hinted that the exchange may soon launch futures contracts for ether and bitcoin cash, according to a Business Insider report.

Last week, a JPMorgan global markets strategist forecast that the introduction of bitcoin futures would legitimize cryptocurrency in the eyes of both institutional and retail investors, transforming the cryptocurrencies into “an emerging asset class.”

Following the launch of these products, many analysts predict that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will grant approval to the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in bitcoin futures contracts, potentially turning bitcoin into a mainstream financial instrument and portfolio asset.

Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/cboe-to-launch-bitcoin-futures-trading-on-sunday/

Winklevoss Twins: The First Verified Billionaire Bitcoin Holders



Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, better known as the Winklevoss Twins, are the first verified billionaire bitcoin holders.

Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin, holds about five percent of the bitcoin’s total supply. However, it remains unclear whether the bitcoin Nakamoto had previously mined in 2009 is spendable and since then, for nearly eight years, Nakamoto’s bitcoin has not been moved or spent.

City AM, a UK-based publication, revealed that the Winklevoss Twins are estimated to hold 100,000 bitcoins, given their $11 million investment in 2013. At today’s price of $11,200, 100,000 bitcoins are worth $1.12 billion.

Winklevoss Twins’ Contribution to Bitcoin Market

For many years, Tyler Winklevoss emphasized his belief in bitcoin as a store of value. In an interview with the Telegraph, Tyler noted that bitcoin is a better version of gold, sharing the same sentiment as other investors and analysts in the space, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Like billionaire technology angel investor Tim Draper, the Winklevoss twins have allocated a significant portion of their resources and capital in providing a better infrastructure for the bitcoin market, specifically for investors in the traditional finance market.

One of the most successful projects of the Winklevoss Twins is Gemini, a leading and well-regulated US-based bitcoin exchange, which has served the US market with its sophisticated and professional trading platform.

Earlier this year, Gemini entered into a strategic partnership with the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the largest US options exchange with an annual trading volume of 1.27 billion contracts, to list bitcoin futures. CBOE revealed on December 4 that it has received the approval from the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and will enable bitcoin futures trading on December 10.

In August, Tyler Winklevoss stated that Gemini and his partners are focused on providing liquidity and a trading platform for institutional and retail investors.

“Gemini’s key concerns in the cryptocurrency ecosystem have always been security, compliance, and regulatory oversight. By working with the team at CBOE, we are helping to make bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies increasingly accessible to both retail and institutional investors,” said Tyler.

The listing of bitcoin futures by CBOE through Gemini’s bitcoin exchange will drastically increase bitcoin’s liquidity in the mid-term, as tens of billions of dollars in institutional money flow into the bitcoin market.

Large Bitcoin Holders are Big Believers

As bitcoin and security expert Andreas Antonopoulos said Coinscrum, a conference hosted by the prestigious research institution Imperial College in London, investors are encouraged to invest an amount of bitcoin that is proportional to their understanding of bitcoin.

“What percentage of your wealth should be tied up in bitcoin? A percentage that is equivalent to your understanding of how the technology works and your ability to absorb the risks it entails, which for most people is a small percentage,” said Antonopoulos.

In 2013, the Winklevoss Twins invested $11 million in bitcoin, which was then an immature market, because of their belief in that bitcoin could compete with traditional assets like gold and reserve currencies in the long-term.


Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/winklevoss-twins-first-verified-billionaire-bitcoin-holders/

Looking Heavy? Bitcoin Eyes Correction After New High

After reaching a fresh all-time high yesterday, bitcoin could be losing its upside momentum.

The world's largest cryptocurrency by market value clocked a high of $11,831 at 20:30 UTC Sunday, but closed below the previous record high of $11,377, according to CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index. At press time, BTC was trading at $11,238 – up 0.5 percent for the session.

As per CoinMarketCap, week-on-week, bitcoin (BTC) is up 18 percent, while on a monthly basis, it has gained more than 50 percent.

But while the bull market is still intact, bitcoin's failure to close above the previous record high indicates bull market exhaustion. Further, a look at the price chart indicates the cryptocurrency could be in for a short-term pullback.




The above chart shows:

   - Bitcoin did clock a fresh record high yesterday, but could not close above the previous record highs near $11,500. Similar price action is seen today, as the cryptocurrency clocked a high in the $11,600 region, before falling back below the previous record high.
   - Yesterday's candle has a big upper shadow (gap between intraday high and daily close), which indicates bullish exhaustion.
   - A break above the last Wednesday's big doji candle high (previous record high) lacked volume support (i.e. trading volumes remained well below the level seen on last Wednesday).
   - The relative strength index (RSI) shows overbought conditions.

View

   - Bitcoin could re-test the psychological support level of $10,000. The ascending trendline (drawn from Nov. 12 low and Nov. 24 low) could offer support (today) around $9,900 levels.
   - However, the 5- and 10-day moving averages are sloping upwards, indicating a drop below $10,000 could be short-lived.
   - Only an end-of-day close below the rising trendline could be considered a sign of short-term trend reversal.
   - In the larger scheme of things, the chart remains in favor of the bulls. As history shows, majors tops have been formed on the back of bearish price RSI divergence.


Source: https://www.coindesk.com/looking-heavy-bitcoin-price-eyes-correction-after-new-record-high/

Trader tries a clever way to cash in on the bitcoin boom

Suddenly everyone is going crazy for crypto, and as bitcoin futures are becoming a reality, one trader has a way to cash in on the action.

Bitcoin has been on a tear this year, surging at least 1,000 percent in 2017. As the cryptocurrency gained even more attention from investors recently, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced on Friday that it would allow the CME and Cboe to launch bitcoin futures. The Cboe plans to launch on Dec. 10 and the CME intends to launch on Dec. 18.

This is "very good news for the exchanges when you start listing products that everybody is excited about … I think it's safe to say that bitcoin is attracting a great deal of attention," Mike Khouw of Optimize Advisors said Friday on CNBC's "Options Action."

Since announcing it would launch bitcoin futures on Oct. 31, CME has surged 11 percent to fresh all-time highs. Bitcoin is up about 85 percent during that period, according to CoinDesk.

As the exchange race for bitcoin continues, Khouw expects these stocks to continue to soar, and he offered an options strategy to get in on the boom.

One way to play the upcoming launch of bitcoin futures is by selling put options on the CME, he said. Khouw noted that this type of trade structure allows one to buy a stock at a lower price than where the stock is currently trading.

"If we look at CME, obviously the stock has had quite a run here, and where it really broke out from, in my perspective, is right around the $140 level," Khouw added. "When you sell a put, you're selling somebody else the right to sell you a stock at the stock price," he explained.

Another reason to sell a put according to Khouw is if options prices are expensive. He pointed out that the price of CME options has spiked recently as the price of bitcoin surged. "We want to capitalize on the fact that options are high and have an opportunity to buy [CME] stock at a lower price," Khouw said.

Suddenly everyone is going crazy for crypto, and as bitcoin futures are becoming a reality, one trader has a way to cash in on the action.

Bitcoin has been on a tear this year, surging at least 1,000 percent in 2017. As the cryptocurrency gained even more attention from investors recently, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced on Friday that it would allow the CME and Cboe to launch bitcoin futures. The Cboe plans to launch on Dec. 10 and the CME intends to launch on Dec. 18.

This is "very good news for the exchanges when you start listing products that everybody is excited about … I think it's safe to say that bitcoin is attracting a great deal of attention," Mike Khouw of Optimize Advisors said Friday on CNBC's "Options Action."

Since announcing it would launch bitcoin futures on Oct. 31, CME has surged 11 percent to fresh all-time highs. Bitcoin is up about 85 percent during that period, according to CoinDesk.

As the exchange race for bitcoin continues, Khouw expects these stocks to continue to soar, and he offered an options strategy to get in on the boom.

One way to play the upcoming launch of bitcoin futures is by selling put options on the CME, he said. Khouw noted that this type of trade structure allows one to buy a stock at a lower price than where the stock is currently trading.

"If we look at CME, obviously the stock has had quite a run here, and where it really broke out from, in my perspective, is right around the $140 level," Khouw added. "When you sell a put, you're selling somebody else the right to sell you a stock at the stock price," he explained.

Another reason to sell a put according to Khouw is if options prices are expensive. He pointed out that the price of CME options has spiked recently as the price of bitcoin surged. "We want to capitalize on the fact that options are high and have an opportunity to buy [CME] stock at a lower price," Khouw said.

Specifically, Khouw targeted the January 145-strike puts for $4.50. Because Khouw is selling a put, he is willing to get long the stock at $145, but he stands to profit if CME stock closes at or above $140.50 by January expiration.

Khouw will face losses if the stock closes below $140.50 by the expiration date. "The nice thing about this trade is, you make profits if it stays [at $140.50] or goes higher and even if it declines a bit," he said.

CME shares were trading in the $152 range midday Monday.


Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/04/trader-tries-a-clever-way-to-cash-in-on-the-bitcoin-boom.html

The Winklevoss twins are now Bitcoin billionaires
From an $11 million investment in 2013



The Winklevoss twins, famously known for suing Mark Zuckerberg after claiming he stole their idea for Facebook, are now Bitcoin billionaires, according to a few reports. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss won $65 million from the Facebook lawsuit, and invested $11 million of their payout into Bitcoin in 2013, amassing one of the largest portfolios of Bitcoin in the world — 1 percent of the entire currency’s dollar value equivalent, said the twins at the time. Their slice of the Bitcoin pie is now worth over $1 billion after Bitcoin surged past $10,000 last week to now trade at $11,100, according to CoinDesk. The cryptocurrency has surged over 10,000 percent since the Winklevoss’ investment, when one coin traded at around $120.

"If Bitcoin is a better gold or seen as a type of gold-like asset, then it could be in the trillions on a market cap," Tyler Winklevoss told CNNMoney in 2015. "We do feel those are very real possibilities." The twins have never sold a single Bitcoin, reports The Telegraph, noting that only a handful of Bitcoin wallets hold more than $1 billion worth of the cryptocurrency. One of those wallets belongs to the mysterious inventor, known only under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto.


Source: https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/4/16732952/winklevoss-twins-bitcoin-billionaires-surge