Welcome to the Crowdify digest of interesting and important news and views about Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency.
With bitcoin surge, cryptocurrencies top $100 billion in market capitalization
The investment category of cryptocurrencies hit a new milestone on Tuesday, one that would have been unfathomable just a couple of years ago: $100 billion in combined market capitalization.
The break above the 12-digit threshold is largely attributable to bitcoin, which is by far the largest digital currency in the still-nascent category, and which has been on a tear lately.
Bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.51% has more than tripled in 2017, according to crypto pricing site CoinDesk, and on Tuesday it rose more than 7% to $2,879.80. Earlier, it hit a record above $2,900. Those gains have brought its market cap to $46.68 billion, accounting for nearly half of the entire category.
At its current size, bitcoin has surpassed the market capitalization of such major companies as Ford Motor Co. F, -1.16% Deere & Co. DE, -0.22% and Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, -0.31% It is larger than more than two-thirds of the components of the S&P 500 SPX, -0.28%.
Full story at http://on.mktw.net/2seIfmL
Suddenly Vladimir Putin Meets Vitalik Buterin, Endorses Ethereum
The International Economic Forum, which just wrapped up in St. Petersburg, reportedly resulted in more than €30 bln of investments. The final and the most important result, however, is measured not in numbers, but in the mood and attitude of those who attended the Forum and who was keeping an eye on the events and meetings held in the North “capital” of Russia.
The cryptocurrency community is for sure left stunned by the recent meeting between Russian President Putin and the founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin.
As commented by Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, during the meeting, Putin and Buterin discussed the application of technologies in the country. Reportedly, the president supported the idea of establishing new business relationships following the road paved by Blockchain technology.
Earlier during the Forum, the first Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said that Putin is really enthusiastic about the idea of building a new digital economy in the country and shared that at the moment at least three directions of Blockchain application are being explored and tested, which include the tracking of goods, building identity as well as ownership rights protection systems.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2seHsCg
Is It Too Late to Start Investing in Bitcoins?
Bitcoin’s value is soaring. Over recent months, the cryptocurrency has hit record highs. In early May of this year, the open-source digital currency ballooned to almost $3,000 a coin. Last May, one coin fetched only $450. By no means is this growth a sudden trend. Bitcoin’s value has been steadily increasing since its inception in 2008, nearly a decade ago. Still, many remain hesitant to invest.
The theft of hundreds of thousands of Bitcoins from the now-infamous Mt. Gox may still haunt investors. Or perhaps the volatility, as the Bitcoin market is 26 times more volatile than the S&P 500, and the lack of governmental oversight have speculators forecasting disaster. This is understandable as Bitcoin is not backed by a precious metal, a country or a bank. It’s regulated by sentiment alone. Although there are clear advantages to a market structured like this, there are serious obstacles and dangers that cannot be ignored. If you’re willing to stomach the risk, however, investing in Bitcoin may be a worthwhile endeavor.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2seHkCR
The Present Scenario of Bitcoin Market in India
The Indian Bitcoin community, which initially had only a handful of people saw a sudden influx of new members following the government’s overnight decision to demonetize certain high-value currency notes. With two of the largest denominations, INR 1000 and INR 500 losing their value, many people decided to minimize their dependency on the country’ legal tender which is subject to the whims and fancies of the government, making Bitcoin the obvious choice. Since then, the country’s Bitcoin community has continued to witness untethered growth.
In spite of the positive growth, not many people are still convinced about the validity and legality of Bitcoin. A recent article on one of the country’s news publication attempts to clarify the present legal status of the digital currency and the recent initiative by the government to introduce cryptocurrency regulations.
The country’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India has on multiple occasions warned people about the risks associated with Bitcoin and other digital currencies. These warnings had many believe that it is illegal to use or possess Bitcoin in the country. The article clarifies that Bitcoin as of now doesn’t have a legal status and it is definitely not illegal in the country. The situation may soon change as the Ministry of Finance could soon introduce Bitcoin regulations to govern the use of cryptocurrencies within India.
The implementation of Bitcoin regulations will automatically bring cryptocurrency related dealings under the purview of Income Tax Act. Currently, profits or gains from trading Bitcoin is considered as income and applicable taxes as well as exemptions will be relevant to such transactions. The article further clarifies that there are no taxes applicable on purchase of Bitcoin and the same holds good for holding them as well, at least until they are sold or exchanged to avail other benefits in cash or kind.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2seHryc
There's a new way for casual investors to get in on the cryptocurrency craze
The 150 percent increase in bitcoin this year and 26-fold surge in the price of ethereum has attracted a whole new swath of investors to the cryptocurrency market.
Big institutions like endowments and pension funds are still on the sidelines as they try to assess how to approach this emerging asset class and, more importantly, whom to trust with their money.
But for wealthy individuals and family offices, there are exchange-traded funds and other types of listed funds popping up to offer some level of exposure.
Another type of fund — the special purpose vehicle — hit our radar on Friday.
Full story at http://cnb.cx/2sez6dT
New Bitcoin-Inspired Project From Gavin Andresen, Former Bitcoin Lead Developer
Charles Dearing is a veteran tech journalist with over 15 years of experience using words to move people to act. He has written for various publications such as ProBlogger, Big Think, Apps World, to name a few. You may connect with him on Twitter.
Gavin Andresen, known as the former lead developer of Bitcoin, has recently broken his long silence on his Twitter account with the following tweet mentioning a recent project that is known as the Random Sanity Project.
While the Random Sanity Project’s (RSP) main vision is to secure the Internet by verifying sources of randomness that comes from different entities, Andresen also aims to solve the problems that monetary software systems like cryptocurrencies experience due to the lack of available data on the Internet.
Andresen also mentioned that he is well aware of the importance of the security of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Once the security has been breached, people will lose money which will result in a lot of users reacting violently. Andresen makes this claim as he has been keeping tabs on Bitcoin and has observed a lot of system problems that have stemmed out, such as faulty data generation. Even the smallest mistake and small breaches like these have already negatively affected the whole Bitcoin community.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2seQNKj
Bitcoin Mining Craze Sees US Sell Out Of AMD Graphics Cards
A resurgence in cryptocurrency mining is causing a shortage of graphics cards, several US distributors report.
AMD, which manufactures cards traditionally used throughout consumer computing and beyond, is seeing what it calls “solid demand” for both its new and older products.
"The gaming market remains our priority. We are seeing solid demand for our Polaris-based offerings in the gaming and newly resurgent cryptocurrency mining markets based on the strong performance we are delivering," a spokesperson told CNBC Monday.
A renewed uptick in prices which has caused both Bitcoin and top altcoin Ethereum (ETH) to reach new all-time highs is no doubt fuelling appetite to get a piece of the action.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2seyhBQ
Bitcoin surges 8% to record near $3,000
Sean Walsh, a partner at Redwood City Ventures, which invests in bitcoin and blockchain companies, said in a note that bitcoin's price should continue rising.
"It may sound like hyperbole, but I simply cannot emphasize enough how mismatched the quantity of whole Bitcoins and the population of potential global buyers is. Bitcoin is available for purchase to 3 Billion Internet-connected adults across every country in the world," Walsh said. "We produce just 1 new Bitcoin each month for 55,000 of these people to fight over."
Brian Kelly, CEO and founder of BKCM and a CNBC contributor, echoed Walsh's comments in an email. "We are in the first years of what is likely to be a multi-year bull market. Of course there will be corrections and even crashes along the way, but bitcoin is here to stay."
In fact, the bitcoin performance has come with greater volatility. On May 25, it plunged more than $300 after skyrocketing more than 12 percent in that session.
Full story at http://cnb.cx/2seHsSM
Suddenly, Everybody Loves Bitcoin
Earlier this week, China’s largest mainstream media company People’s Daily defined Bitcoin as digital gold, further validating its legitimacy. Suddenly, investors and mainstream media outlets across the world have started to endorse and adopt Bitcoin.
In the past month, Bitcoin has received more extensive mainstream media coverage than it did in 2013 when interest in Bitcoin peaked.
Media companies and investment firms in South Korea, India, Australia and Japan have started to discuss the possibility of Bitcoin surpassing the value of certain reserve currencies in the far future as an alternative monetary and financial system.
Most recently, ABC News, a national news service in Australia produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, reported that it is possible for Bitcoin to replace reserve currencies such as the US dollar in the next 10 years if it sustains its current exponential growth.
Full story at http://bit.ly/2seHkTn
Bitcoin Price Resilient to Economic Uncertainty, Hits $2,600 as Markets Plunge
Bitcoin price demonstrated resilience to economic uncertainty over the past week, while markets in the US plunged and struggled to recover.
In May, various sources revealed that the US only added 138,000 jobs, dipping significantly lower than the expected number. On average, the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent, declining to a 16-year low.
Diane Swonk, a Chicago-based economist, said in an interview:
“The overall report still leaves the Fed on target for June, but it underscores their trepidation about moving in December. They’ve got good reason to be cautious.”
Full story at http://bit.ly/2sf2X69
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