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Cryptocurrencies Took A Hit, But Some Experts Say Now Is the Best Time to Buy

Cryptocurrencies took a hit Tuesday, with bitcoin and ethereum dropping significantly. However, many experts are advising investors to hold, and some are even advising people to buy now.

BLACK CRYPTO TUESDAY

Tuesday, July 11, was a rough day in the cryptocurrency world, with very few of the Top 100 Coin Market Cap list cryptocurrencies in green. At the time of this writing, bitcoin was still leading the market after plummeting by 8.8 percent on Tuesday; by Wednesday morning it climbed back a little, hovering above $2,300. Ethereum Classic fell by 18.4 percent, opening Wednesday just above $200. All of the other major cryptocurrencies did worse except for Litecoin, which dropped a relatively modest 11.4 percent.

However, it’s important to see this problem in context and remember where we were before this period of explosive growth that began just half a year ago. On January 1, 2017, bitcoin closed at $997.69; on January 3, ethereum closed at $8.35.

So while this is the first time since May that the price of ether has dropped below $200, for example, the values are still significantly higher than they were just months ago, and they have retained most of their 4,500 percent growth from this year.

HANGING IN

Some analysts predicted that July would be a critical month, given the ongoing Bitcoin network scaling issue. However, although this is certainly a time of turbulence in cryptocurrencies, many experts are advising investors to stand fast — and some are even saying that now is the best time to buy.

“This is the time for all those who thought they have missed the boat to get on board.” — Samuel Dwomfour

Initial coin offering (ICO) consultant Murray Barnetson told Coin Telegraph that holding remains the best choice even though things might still get worse, should people start to panic. ICO expert Priyabrata Dash agreed that the scaling issue underlies the overall drop in major cryptocurrencies, but told Coin Telegraph that August may well be positive.

Bitcoin Powpow’s Edward Cunningham also spoke to Coin Telegraph: “We have all known that July was going to be a bumpy month due to the BTC possible split drama which only adds to the ICO’s dumping for liquidity — let’s hope beginning August the trend changes and heads North. In the meantime, hold as best you can.”

Ghana Blockchain Institute president Samuel Dwomfour is among the experts who think now is a good time to buy. “I’m not perturbed at all. This is the time for all those who thought they have missed the boat to get on board,” he told Coin Telegraph.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Author: Karla Lant

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Crypto Calamity: Ethereum, Bitcoin Prices Sink as Market Plunges Below $80 Billion

July 12, 2017

Crypto Calamity: Ethereum, Bitcoin Prices Sink as Market Plunges Below $80 Billion

Litecoin fared better than most cryptocurrencies during today’s market plunge, only losing 3.8 percentage points where most cryptos suffered bigger hits, according to coinmarketcap.com. Among the cryptos with more than a billion in market capitalization, only bitcoin outperformed Litecoin in the most recent 24-hour period, losing only 2.82 points.

Litecoin, the fourth largest crypto with $2.377 billion in market capitalization, traded at $45.77 today. Second place Ethereum, by contrast, lost 10.2 points and continues its downward trend. Ripple, the number three cryptocurrency, lost 14.3 points.

Only 10th ranked BitConnect, with $387.854 in market capitalization, fared better than bitcoin and Litecoin in the 24-hour period, only dropping 0.57 points.

Market Suffers A Big Fallout

On Monday, the total cryptocurrency market cap fell below $90 billion for the first time in July. This market cap evaporation continued on Tuesday, as the total value of all cryptocurrencies plunged as low as $77 billion, a number not seen since late May. At present, the market cap is $84 billion.

Litecoin as been surging since March, when it began climbing from $4.04 to $53.60 July 4. Litecoin crossed the $1 billion mark in market capitalization for the first time ever earlier this month.

Longer term, Litecoin has rode bitcoin and Ethereum’s post-March surge, jumping from $3.85 on March 13 to $53.60 on July 4, at which point it well outdistanced its prior record of $33.72 on Dec. 1, 2013.

The price had fallen as low as $1.33 in January of 2015 before climbing to $7.76 in July of that year before tumbling steadily until June 26, 2016, when it reached $4.00.

Litecoin’s Long-Term Surge

Litecoin received a boost last month when BitGo, the leading multi-signature technology-based service provider that works with some of the largest bitcoin exchanges and trading platforms, began to support Litecoin and provide security services for the Litecoin platforms.

The BitGo boost came on the heels of Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin, announcing his plans to resign from his role as Coinbase director of engineering to solely focus on the development and innovation of Litecoin. Lee noted that the decision of the BitGo development team to implement Litecoin and provide multi-signature security services for Litecoin-based platforms and service providers is a major step for the Litecoin community and industry.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Author: Lester Coleman

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Is Solar-Powered Cryptocurrency Mining the Next Big Thing

July 11, 2017

Is Solar-Powered Cryptocurrency Mining the Next Big Thing

Cryptocurrency mining is a difficult and costly activity. Miners must pay to build rigs capable of vast amounts of processing power, and then the rigs themselves must be powered with large quantities of electricity. It's all a careful balance between how much the operation costs and how much profit it is able to generate. (See also: What Happens to Bitcoin After All 21 Million are Mined?)

With mining operations for Ethereum, one of the leading digital currencies on the market today, taking up the same share of electricity as that of a small country, miners have to be careful that they aren't spending more than they are making. Because of that, some mining operations have begun to look to solar-powered rigs, set up in the desert, in order to reduce mining costs and make the largest profit possible. (See also: Chinese Investment in Bitcoin Mining is Enormous.)

Solar Panels Provide Inexpensive Power

Mining operations with the tools and resources to be able to set up solar-powered rigs in the desert are finding that it is a good investment. Once you have paid for the solar panel system itself, the cost of mining is virtually free. Getting rid of a hefty electric bill which typically weighs down mining operations leaves more room for profit.

The Merkle recently documented a mining operation focused on Bitcoin in this manner. The setup has been running successfully for almost a year and currently uses 25 separate computing rigs. The process has been so profitable, in fact, that the miner running the operation plans to increase the number of computers to 1,000 this fall.

In the case of this particular desert miner, the individual mining rigs cost about $8,000. This cost has included all solar panels, power controls, batteries, and the Antminer S9 ASIC processor. When fully operational, each miner brings in a profit of about $18 per day.

Balance Between Mining Costs and Crypto Prices

Of course, a cheap mining operation is only part of the equation. In order for miners to make a tidy profit, the price of the cryptocurrencies they are generating must remain high.

In the case of the mining operation in question, Merkle suggests that Bitcoin prices must stay above $2,000 in order for the operation to be profitable. Considering that the price of most cryptocurrencies is highly volatile, and that drops of 205 or more have occurred in many individual days, this keeps a certain element of risk present in any mining operation.

It seems likely that more and more miners will turn to areas in which renewable energy is easily accessed. Iceland has already become a popular destination for Bitcoin miners thanks to its fast, virtually limitless internet. Miners looking to move to the desert should be cautious for other reasons, though: mining in the heat can cause rigs to break down more easily.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Author: Nathan Reiff

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin is Permanently Superior to Paper Money in Ways — German Business Magazine

July 10, 2017

Bitcoin is Permanently Superior to Paper Money in Ways - German Business Magazine

Bitcoin is Permanently Superior to Paper Money in Ways — German Business Magazine

While many mainstream media personalities and analysts remain skeptical about bitcoin (and often rehash misinformation), others are beginning to give cryptocurrency an honest appraisal.

The latest comes from leading German business magazine Wirtschafts Woche, which recently published an article praising bitcoin. “The Revolution of Cryptocurrency,” written by economist Thorsten Polleit, argues that the advent of cryptocurrency set off a monetary revolution that could eventually supplant fiat national currencies.

Public fiat money, he explains, possesses four inherent flaws:

1. Inflation

2. Monetary distribution inequality

3. The tendency to produce boom-bust cycles

4.The temptation to increase national debt

Polleit states that cryptocurrencies avoid these and other flaws due to market competition. As long as no currency has a state-mandated economic monopoly, consumer demand should favor better coins.

However, it should be noted that not all cryptocurrencies resist the flaws Polleit finds in fiat money. Many cryptocurrencies are inflationary, although their rate of inflation is generally fixed rather than variable. Cryptocurrency distribution models can also exhibit inequality, and there is much debate about what constitutes a fair coin/token dissemination method. That said, by divorcing monetary policy from the national government, one will avoid the final two flaws of public money.

Polleit believes consumer demand for bitcoin will likely increase as fiat money loses purchasing power and national governments reduce or even eliminate cash transactions. He foresees the potential for blockchain-based currencies to “make…Fiat money worthless.”

Despite this bullish tone, Polleit urges investors to approach cryptocurrency speculation with caution. As he states (translated into English):

While many mainstream media personalities and analysts remain skeptical about bitcoin (and often rehash misinformation), others are beginning to give cryptocurrency an honest appraisal.

Whoever obtains [cryptocurrency] should know that he does not invest, but speculates. Unlike in the case of shares or bonds, they do not have a recognized and tested valuation formula — the same also applies to raw materials or art objects. You can not even estimate whether the price you pay is justified with regard to the “intrinsic value” of the [coins].

For this reason, he seems to favor colored coins tied to physical assets, such as gold.

Diverging from other pro-bitcoin analysts, Polleit encourages investors to avoid currency speculation. The sensible investor, he says, should instead continue to invest in “great companies” and take a long-term approach to the markets. The monetary revolution may cause economic upheaval, but he explains that solid companies will continue to bring positive returns no matter what currency–or cryptocurrency–they use to transact business.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Author: Josiah Wilmoth

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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$100 Billion Cryptocurrency Market Showing Signs of Maturity as Mainstream Investment Appeal Grows

July 9, 2017

$100 Billion Cryptocurrency Market Showing Signs of Maturity as Mainstream Investment Appeal Grows

Cryptocurrency has burst onto the financial scene like a blazing comet, offering investors a new asset class to grow their wealth, hedge against instability and escape the grips of central banking. As the market for digital coins crossed the $100 billion mark, hedge funds and major institutions suddenly found themselves scrambling to make sense of the shadowy world of cryptocurrency.

For the most part, investors no longer question the viability of cryptocurrency, but are instead exploring what shape this evolving market will take.

Cryptocurrencies Come Into Their Own

Though highly volatile, cryptocurrencies have been on a dramatic upward trajectory for the past year. In the case of bitcoin — the pre-eminent digital coin founded in 2008 by a person or entity called Satoshi Nahamoto — the bull market is at least seven years old. The success of bitcoin has spurred a bevy of other so-called altcoins, many of which have latched on to the success of the flagship digital coin.

Bitcoin’s share of the global cryptocurrency market has quickly diminished as alternative payment systems hit the market. At the time of writing, bitcoin represented roughly 41% of cryptocurrency market capitalization. By May, digital currency alternative Ethereum had surpassed half of bitcoin’s market value.

Several other currencies have also crossed the $1 billion mark this year, including Ripple, Litecoin, Ethereum Classic, Dash, NEM, IOTA and Stratis. Many more are worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Key Investment Drivers

The growth and widespread adoption of cryptocurrency-as-an-asset has dividend analysts and investors seeking to understand the nature of the bull market. The market’s dramatic rise through the first six months of the year has raised fears of an asset bubble with dangerous consequences. But proponents of digital currency say the market has plenty of room for growth as investors seek alternative asset classes. They cite several key investment drivers as proof that cryptocurrencies aren’t overbought, but are instead maturing.

1. Hedge against instability: Despite their volatility, cryptocurrencies are seen as a hedge against central bank intervention and other forms of fiat-currency related instability. China is the most prominent example, as mainland investors have poured into bitcoin to diversify away from yuan devaluation. This compelled the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) to initiate a four-month freeze on bitcoin withdrawals.

2. Increased regulatory certainty: Earlier this year, the Japanese government legalized bitcoin as a form of payment and initiated capital requirements, cyber security laws and annual audits. Japan’s Accounting Standards Board is also in the process of developing a standard government digital currencies.

3. Store of value: Digital payment systems like bitcoin are mined, which makes them scarce digital resources that offer many of the same investment benefits as commodities. Bitcoin has a fixed issuance schedule with a finite supply of 21 million coins.

4. Greater investment appeal: Bitcoin’s success has triggered a fresh wave of buying interest from various segments of the market. Institutional investors and banks have expressed a greater interest in buying bitcoin. Nine of the world’s biggest banks — including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse — are developing a common standard for blockchain that could also hasten the appeal of cryptocurrency-as-an-asset.

5. Decentralized payment system: Today, more than 100,000 merchants accept bitcoin as a form of payment. As the evolution away from fiat currency continues, demand for distributed digital money that exists beyond the purview of central banks will likely grow.

Price Volatility Continues

Despite their widespread appeal and unrelenting gains, cryptocurrencies are prone to dramatic price swings. This trend is expected to continue as the market slowly matures.

Cryptocurrencies sold off again on Friday, with five of the world’s top-ten coins posting weekly losses of 9% or more. Ethereum suffered the largest setback, while bitcoin managed to pare losses. IOTA, BitShares, NEM and IOTA also faced heavy losses.

With more than 700 digital payment systems on the market, analysts caution that not every cryptocurrency offers investment value. Some are clearly riding the coattails of bitcoin, while others are benefiting from speculation.

At the same time, there’s still plenty of room for disruption as alternatives to bitcoin vie for capital. Analysts observe that the the cryptocurrency market will likely see significant diversity for the foreseeable future.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Author: Sam Bourgi

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

China and Japan Are Largely Responsible for the Current Success of Cryptocurrency

July 8, 2017

China and Japan Are Largely Responsible for the Current Success of Cryptocurrency

The adoption of digital currencies on both the individual and institutional level in China and Japan is propelling cryptocurrencies to ever greater heights. However, some are still skeptical that they are the finance systems of the future due to their current volatility.

CHINA AND JAPAN’S CRYPTO CRAZE

The age of cryptocurrencies is upon us, and two countries in particular have been instrumental in their stratospheric rise: China and Japan.

Cryptocurrencies have become popular in China due to the government’s stringent control of the yuan — a power they occasionally exercise by artificially devaluing the currency for trading purposes. With private wealth in China growing, affluent individuals have found a more stable and accessible alternative to the yuan in cryptocurrencies.

Additionally, China has an abundance of cheap energy and hardware, which facilitates crypto mining (the process through which new blocks in the blockchain are created and transactions are verified). Chinese exchanges run mining “pools” to generate these blocks, and these efforts constitute 60 percent of Bitcoin’s total hashrate (the speed at which Bitcoin operations are completed).

Japan got its foot in the cryptocurrency door at the beginning of 2017 when the market in China experienced an institutional and systematic crackdown, with the most potent measure being a ban on all cryptocurrency withdrawals. This caused an increase in Japan’s trading volume, which grew from one percent to as high as six percent.

Cryptocurrency adoption was further amplified by currency turbulence in the country. Quantitive easing lead to extremely low interest rates, which have occasionally even become negative, meaning that it costs an individual to save money. As in China, cryptocurrencies therefore became viewed as a more stable asset than the native currency, so more people have chosen to invest and store their money in them.

The final piece in the cryptocurrency success puzzle for both countries is increasing institutional acceptance. In China, this takes the form of the country’s Royal Mint, which has invested resources and money into digitizing the yuan and promoting blockchain technology. Japan, meanwhile, began accepting payments in stores using cryptocurrencies earlier this year, and its three largest banks — MUFJ, Mizuho, and SMBC — have all backed the country’s largest Bitcoin exchange, bitFlyer.

A WORLDWIDE REVOLUTION

The enthusiasm with which China and Japan have embraced cryptocurrency systems has contributed to their worldwide success. Virtual currencies have become more popular and valuable than the vast majority of people could have anticipated upon their inception around a decade ago. The value of a single bitcoin has risen from roughly $0.00075 to $2,500, and the market cap for all cryptocurrencies has exceed $100 billion.

The success of cryptocurrencies is also reflected in their increasing adoption by formal institutions. Wall Street is making moves to start using cryptocurrency systems by next year, a Swiss town called Zug has begun to accept payments in bitcoins, and the Gemini Trust in New York has been licensed to trade ether.

However, some worrying news concerning cryptocurrencies has emerged as well. Recently, in spite of claims that the systems are highly secure, hacks have lead to personal information being leaked and exchanges have been robbed, one to the tune of $79 million.

In addition, while cryptocurrencies may be more stable assets than the native currency in Japan and China, they are not absolutely stable. In fact, they are currently far from it, and though prices continue to rise, rapid drops are not uncommon, and public opinion can have a major impact on value.

Mark Cuban illustrated the issue perfectly — when he took to Twitter to assert that Bitcoin wasn’t a currency, its valuation dropped rapidly. Even more recently, Ethereum lost $4 billion worth of market value when a bogus story that its founder, Vitalik Buterin, had died in a car crash was published on 4chan.

Cryptocurrencies are clearly on the rise, and due to their successes, they can no longer be dismissed as a niche monetary system. The pertinent question is will this rise will lead to the worldwide adoption of an entirely new currency and finance system?

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

david Ogden Entrepreneur

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

How Balanced Cryptocurrency Portfolio Looks Like: Investment Tips

July 7, 2017

How Balanced Cryptocurrency Portfolio Looks Like: Investment Tips

A large number of investors have started to purchase cryptocurrencies as a short-term and long-term investment, a safe haven asset and an experimental investment to develop a proper understanding of the market and the technology behind cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

As a result, even the initial coin offering (ICO) market, which is yet to showcase a viable product or a decentralized applications with an actual active user base, have begun to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in the past few months.

In fact, Tezos, Bancor and EOS, the three largest ICOs to date, have raised more than $485 mln, with the ICOs of EOS and Tezos still ongoing. However, none of these three ICOs have completed the testing phase of their software, leading many analysts to describe the ICO market as a bubble.

Still, the vast majority of investors in the cryptocurrency market are purchasing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Ethereum Classic as long-term investments.

A large portion of investors within the cryptocurrency market wholly support the monetary policy, vision and purpose of popular cryptocurrencies that have evolved into useful alternative financial networks and decentralized infrastructures for decentralized applications.

What is a balanced cryptocurrency portfolio?

As mentioned above, the purpose of investing in cryptocurrencies varies greatly for investors. Most Bitcoin investors consider Bitcoin as a safe haven asset and a digital currency and have purchased Bitcoin expecting it to become a major alternative financial network which could compete with global banking systems and reserve currencies such as the US dollar in the far future.

If an investor remains unclear about the structure, purpose and monetary policies of certain cryptocurrencies and is investing in specific cryptocurrencies as an experimental investment to learn more about the market and various cryptocurrencies, it will be smart decision to maintain a diversified portfolio of a few different cryptocurrencies.

Investment tip from Andreas Antonopoulos

On June 13, Bitcoin and security expert Andreas Antonopoulos revealed his personal investment strategy in establishing a balanced portfolio of crypto assets. Antonopoulos wrote:

“Yes, I own a few different crypto assets as part of a small but diversified portfolio. I only risk as much as I'm willing to lose.”

The latter part of Antonopoulos’ statement is what most investors in the cryptocurrency market fails to consider. The entire cryptocurrency market is still at an early stage, and most cryptocurrencies remain extremely volatile. Hence, investors should not be investing more than they are willing to lose, especially if their investment is experimental and speculative.

Also, it will be beneficial and efficient for investors to utilize platforms such as Cyber Fund’s cryptocurrency portfolio builder Satoshi Pie, which allow investors to track their investments in real time in terms of change in value and performance against other assets.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Author: Joseph Young

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Bitcoin could nearly double and reach $5,000 soon, says Standpoint Research

July 6, 2017

Bitcoin could nearly double and reach $5,000 soon, says Standpoint Research

Bitcoin traded near $2,600 Wednesday, according to CoinDesk.

Standpoint Research founder Ronnie Moas said the digital currency could rise to $5,000 "in a few months."

"This is not something I could keep my hands off of," Moas said.

Stock research analyst Ronnie Moas said he bought bitcoin this weekend and thinks it could reach $5,000 within a year.

"$5,000 could happen in a few months. It's only starting to gain traction right now," Moas, founder of Standpoint Research, told CNBC in a phone interview Wednesday. "It's starting to spread like wildfire right now."

He pointed out that since only 21 million bitcoin can ever exist, increasing demand for the digital currency will naturally drive its price up.

Bitcoin briefly tripled in value this year, hitting a record $3,025.47 on June 11, according to CoinDesk. The digital currency traded Wednesday near $2,600, still more than double its Dec. 31 price of $968.

"This is not something I could keep my hands off of," Moas said. "What would be more painful than losing [money in cryptocurrencies] is not acting."

The research analyst said he invested a few hundred U.S. dollars each in bitcoin, ethereum and another digital currency called litecoin through Coinbase.com. After he releases a 40-page report on cryptocurrencies in the next few weeks, Moas said he plans to invest more in them.

The research analyst's view on bitcoin joins the optimistic views of others on Wall Street. On Sunday, Goldman Sachs' technical analyst Sheba Jafari said in a note that bitcoin could rise as high as $3,915.

300

Bitcoin could nearly double and reach $5,000 soon, says Standpoint Research Bitcoin could nearly double and reach $5,000 soon, says Standpoint Research

Stock research analyst Ronnie Moas said he bought bitcoin this weekend and thinks it could reach $5,000 within a year.

He pointed out that since only 21 million bitcoin can ever exist, increasing demand for the digital currency will naturally drive its price up.

"This is not something I could keep my hands off of," Moas said. "What would be more painful than losing [money in cryptocurrencies] is not acting."

Goldman Sachs says bitcoin could rise another 50% Goldman Sachs says bitcoin could rise another 50%

"In the next 6 to 12 months you're going to have a little bit of a hysteria," Moas said. However, "this has a long, long way to go before it gets to bubble territory."

Moas' reasoning is so little of global capital is in cryptocurrencies right now that the young digital currencies can absorb more of those funds without becoming overvalued.

McKinsey Global Institute estimated that the value of the world's stocks and debt rose to $212 trillion in 2010.

On the other hand, CoinMarketCap data showed the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has grown from below $20 billion at the start of this year to about $100 billion, still less than a tenth of a percent of global capital markets. Bitcoin has a market value of about $42 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

"There will be scams, there will be accounts wiped out, there will be people that get hurt, like every other technology that is going on," Moas said. But "I think the cryptocurrency is here to stay. I think we're in the second inning of a 9-inning ball game."

Many, including some on Wall Street, believe that the blockchain technology behind bitcoin can fundamentally change the way the world operates, just like the internet did.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Author: Evelyn Cheng

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Bitcoin and Decentralized Networks are the Future, Says University Professor

July 5, 2017

Bitcoin and Decentralized Networks are the Future, Says University Professor

Lorenzo Fioramonti, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Pretoria (South Africa), who also directs the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, recently published a write-up stating that money systems are in the process of transitioning from “centralized authority to decentralized networks.”

Cryptocurrencies represent a significant part of such decentralized networks. According to Fioramonti, there is a growing demand for digital currencies. On one hand, he exemplified with the recent adoption of cryptocurrencies in the world. Japan regulated bitcoin in April 2017, while the Russian government — who threatened virtual currencies last year — made a U-turn and even President Vladimir Putin met with Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin. In addition, China halted its initial freeze on bitcoin exchanges in the country, therefore, the major BTC exchanges in the country resumed trading in June 2017. In the United States and Australia, digital currencies are experiencing higher adoption rates, in addition, the Oceanian country will soon exempt traders and investors from goods and services tax.

The professor stated, in the near future, cryptocurrencies will “become much more common as methods of payment for a wide range of purchases, from online shopping to the local supermarket.” Not just developed, but developing countries are making efforts to implement digital currencies in their economies, Fioramonti wrote.

In Venezuela, where the current economy is facing major problems, bitcoin has become “the leading parallel currency”, the professor wrote. While the official national currency of the South American country is worth almost nothing, bitcoin can be used to perform transactions, buy food along with other basic necessities, and to purchase products from overseas countries bypassing the strict controls on capital.

Local innovators in East Africa implemented the use of cryptocurrencies in cross-border transactions. An example for this is BitPesa. According to the professor, the popularity of cryptocurrencies in South Africa is also on the rise. Since the Nigerian government failed its citizens by conventional money, local traders and activists believe digital currencies has a potential to democratize the economy. Verengai Mabika, founder of BitFinance in Zimbabwe, stated bitcoin is an attractive alternative for conducting online payments and remittances, which “constitute the backbone of the economy.” Verengai told Fioramonti that 37 percent of BitFinance’s customers use cryptocurrencies for savings since the 2008 hyperinflation resulted in the collapse of the Zimbabwe’s financial institutions.

Fioramonti stated that decentralization is the “core of this new trend.” According to the professor, the use of cryptocurrencies “will make economies more resilient against shocks and will support more equitable and sustainable development, by putting users in the driver seat and reinforcing local economic development.”

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Author: Benjamin Vitáris

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

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Cryptocurrencies Could Reach $5 Trillion in 5 Years, Says Wall Street Billionaire Bitcoin Investor

June 30, 2017

Cryptocurrencies Could Reach $5 Trillion in 5 Years, Says Wall Street Billionaire Bitcoin Investor

Billionaire investor Michael Novogratz, a former hedge fund manager who has been supportive of bitcoin, claims cryptocurrencies could be worth more than $5 trillion in five years, speaking at the CB Insights Future of Fintech conference in New York,

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For this to happen, companies have to develop business principles that satisfy regulators. The recent cyberattack that disabled computers and demanded $300 bitcoin ransom payments is one reminder of the challenge bitcoin faces, following May’s WannaCry attack. Such events reinforce bitcoin’s reputation as a currency favored by hackers and criminals.

Bitcoin Needs A Better Reputation

Novogratz, who formerly managed liquid strategies for Fortress Investment Group LLC and has addressed bitcoin investments since 2013, is among Wall Street’s most visible cryptocurrency supporters, according to Bloomberg. He urged cryptocurrency companies to pay their taxes since “nobody in that space” pays taxes. He said a core group of developers have good intentions, however.

The Nasdaq reached $5.4 trillion in 1999, he noted.

Hack’s Impact Not Great

The recent cyberattack did not impact bitcoin’s price, which at 2 p.m. Tuesday was $2,339.66. Some makers of chips used for bitcoin mining equipment did retreat, however. Bitcoin has gained more than 140% on the year, while Ether has skyrocketed from $8 to $240.

Challenges still face cryptocurrencies, Novogratz noted. The cyberattack struck amidst questions about the strength of the current cryptocurrency rally and about the scalability of digital assets, Novogratz noted.

This week’s downturn in crypto values shrunk the total market cap from $110 billion $90 billion, according to coinmarketcap.com.

Novogratz Bets On Bitcoin

Novogratz said he has profited on the bitcoin and ether surges, and still has 10% of his net worth in cryptos, including assets he acquired in initial coin offerings. He hopes to add more bitcoin if the price falls to $2,000, and more Ether should the price drop between $200 and $150.

Bitcoin could emerge as a store of wealth similar to gold, he said, while Ethereum could provide the foundation for future Facebooks and Googles. He suspects money transfers to securities settlement will discontinue using blockchain technology.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Author: Lester Coleman

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member