Bitcoin Has a New Top Dark Market
A new study by a #blockchain analytics firm has identified the most popular #dark web markets.
Tagged: bitcoin Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
user
-
user
Is Blockchain Beating Bitcoin? TechCrunch’s New Series Weighs In
What is the #blockchain? Where did #bitcoin come from? And what is a bitcoin miner? #TechCrunch’s new web #series explores.
-
user
Zurich Bitcoin Blockchain Meetup with Andreas M. Antonopoulos
A computer scientist with a Master’s degree in Data Communications and has been coding since he was 11, Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and well-respected figures in #bitcoin. He is the author of Mastering Bitcoin, published by O&8217;Reilly Media and considered by many to be the best technical guide to bitcoin.
As an engaging public speaker, teacher and writer, Andrea makes complex subjects accessible and easy to understand. As an advisor, he helps startups recognize, evaluate, and navigate security and business risks.
From #antonopoulos.com
As a bitcoin entrepreneur, #Andreas has founded a number of bitcoin businesses and launched several community open-source projects. He is a widely published author of articles and blog posts on bitcoin, is a permanent host on the popular Let’s Talk Bitcoin Podcast, and a frequent speaker at #technology and security conferences worldwide.
Andreas offers strategic consulting to a small number of crypto-currency companies that are aligned with his interests. He also offers expert witness testimony as an expert in the security, technical details and use of crypto-currencies, worldwide.
He also spoke in front of the Banking, Trade and Commerce committee of the Senate of Canada.
Meet Andreas this October 26 at Blockchain Meetup Zurich at Stiftung zum Glockenhaus, #Zurich, Switzerland.
Watch Andreas last talk in Zurich: “The Future Of Money – Zürich”
Featured Image: THE BITCOIN BUBBLE &8211; Andreas Antonopoulos
The post Zurich Bitcoin Blockchain Meetup with Andreas M. Antonopoulos appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
-
user
Why Banks Want Own Cryptocurrencies
Amidst news of major #banks, both government and private, considering developing their own Blockchains for internal use, a question has to be asked: is there even a point? Given the seemingly self-defeating nature of using decentralized currencies in highly centralized operations, Cointelegraph asked top industry experts from Agentic UK, Lisk and Steemit about their opinion on the matter.
Lucas Cervigni, Managing Director of Agentic UK, explains:
“Recently, central banks have taken the #Cryptocurrency asset to the next level by starting to research Cryptocurrencies of their own. As modern banking works under the fractional reserve system, this research makes sense. Through this system, banks are able to issue loans as long as they keep 10% in reserve. In turn, this creates money with each loan. That is not possible with #Bitcoin and therefore the banks have begun considering centralized and government controlled cryptocurrencies. However this is a serious matter for the banks to consider, as should the central system issue all of the money, there is no doubt the dynamics of the fractional reserve system could change. Ultimately, the smaller banks could be left out of business.”
State banks eyeing Blockchain
People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced on their website about their own digital currency conference, urging their team to speed up efforts to release its digital currency. Bank of Englandand Bank of Canada have also considered developing digital currencies.
These types of currencies are called Central Bank-issued Digital Currency (CBDC). What are the implications of CBDC? To create a cashless society, steal the spotlight from Bitcoin and other privately-issued currencies, or to achieve a more accurate monetary policy?
Banks want control
Ned Scott, Founder of Steemit, thinks the bank-issued cryptocurrencies will differ from the protocols we got accustomed to:
“It would be interesting to see what design choices the banks make for their Cryptocurrencies’ protocols and how they integrate the currency with their business. With every cryptocurrency there are variables that developers massage in terms of emission and the way they release the protocol into the wild. My feeling is that the profile of these Bank-issued coins would be very different from many of the decentralized protocols we see today. Banks are likely entertaining the idea more seriously if they feel they can control the currency, as well as gain from its use and possibly their manipulation over it.”
A necessary evil
Max Kordek, Founder of Lisk, eхplains why banks may see in Cryptocurrencies a necessary evil:
“This topic requires the consideration of multiple perspectives. If I was a cryptocurrency user with little involvement in this space or knowledge of the current regulations, creating additional currencies could be difficult to comprehend. However, in reality certain laws and obligations could make a customized, maybe even private, Cryptocurrency a necessary evil.
On the other hand, maybe current Cryptocurrencies do not meet the technological requirements a bank deems necessary for a digital currency. For example, perhaps they require a specific peg, specific Block-time, or in fact multiple currencies on one single #Blockchain.
It is impossible to be certain of whether a bank-owned, government-owned or public Cryptocurrency will dominate in the future, but I do hope the latter is the case.”
Buterin: Private Blockchains have Advantages
When asked as to what the reason for the banks’ sudden interest in Cryptocurrency, the majority of our audience seem to agree that it is some combination of wanting to stay relevant and trying to control the future development of the Blockchain.
A reasonable stance, considering how Bitcoin, and other Cryptocurrencies have already proven their worth by enabling the users to send transactions faster, cheaper, and with less restrictions, compared to bank transfers.
However, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, argues that this trend is not entirely political. According to him, private Blockchains can, in certain contexts, offer several technological and financial advantages, compared to the public ones.
Those advantages stem from the greater control that a bank is able to exert over a private Blockchain, and include less to no risk of a 51% attack, greater level of privacy for the Blockchain’s owner (duh) and even cheaper transactions.
All in all, currently there is no clear consensus regarding the value of privately-owned Blockchains, and their impact on the overall ecosystem, if any, it remains yet to be seen.
[linkedinbadge URL=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucascervigni” connections=”off” mode=”icon” liname=”Lucas Cervigni (Lucce)”] is Managing Director – AGENTIC GROUP UK
-
user
Blockchain: The Next Great Leap in Supply Chain Transparency
It’s no secret that transparency is the name of the game in today’s world-class Supply Chains. More and more consumers are demanding accountability and openness about where their products come from. More world-beating companies are recognizing that the goodwill you get from transparency in your #Supply Chain can be a major source of competitive advantage – while also helping to make the world a more humane place.
Today, we wanted to write about an emerging Supply Chain #technology – as we love to do – that’s poised to offer unparalleled transparency to companies and consumers. It’s a technology that the Supply Chain trade press is buzzing about, and also one that lots of companies are taking a closer look at:
#Blockchain.
If you’re a Supply Chain professional and you haven’t heard of Blockchain yet, it’s fairly safe to assume you’ll be hearing a lot more about it soon (starting with us!). It can be slightly difficult to wrap one’s head around, but maybe not for all those Supply Chain professionals who are at this point quite used to understanding the new software and database systems that have been providing additional value to Supply Chains for years. If you’ll follow us into the weeds for a second here, you’ll probably start to see some of the huge possibilities for transparency that this technology allows:
Blockchain is a database technology with its origins in #Bitcoin, the popular encrypted, decentralized alternative currency that seemed quite close to catching on in the mainstream a few years ago, but hasn’t quite made it there yet. Put simply, Blockchain began as the technology behind Bitcoin that allows the electronic currency to record transactions in a fool-proof way without a central entity (say, a central bank) keeping track of, and verifying, every transaction. It’s an encrypted ledger that’s distributed across a network, providing a concrete and verifiable record of transactions.
This Wall Street Journal definition works pretty well: “A blockchain is a data structure that makes it possible to create and share a digital ledger of transactions. It uses cryptography to allow anyone granted access to add to the ledger in a secure way without the need for a central authority. Once a block of data is recorded on the blockchain ledger, it’s extremely difficult to change or remove.”
In the past few years, Financial Services companies have begun to see the possibilities of Blockchain technology – not just for Bitcoin. Blockchains are full of transaction data that are extremely difficult to modify because the data exists on a number of systems at once. Any change in a Blockchain has to be verified by a majority of other systems on the network, and the data is also encrypted. This makes the technology ideal for secure, fast transactions like verifying contracts and cross-border payments. In Financial Services, another key factor is that the ledger data behind Blockchains is open. It’s transparent, which makes it valuable for audits.
Which is where the applications for Supply Chain transparency start appearing as well. More companies are recognizing that Blockchain has immense potential as a technology to boost Supply Chain transparency. More startups and social enterprises are offering Blockchain-based solutions to help companies track and monitor exactly where their products are coming from, with the goal of helping eliminate unsustainable practices, slavery and environmental degradation in their Supply Chains.
An article in CIPS’ Supply Management magazine recently profiled a social enterprise called Provenance, which has deployed Blockchain technology on a trial basis to help provide transparency in the notoriously opaque Tuna fishing industry – a sector that’s been known to carry a high risk of modern slavery in some east Asian countries. At the point of catch, fishermen used SMS to record the name of the fisherman, where it was caught, its material attributes, and other relevant audit info. This info then followed the product throughout the Supply Chain through RFID tag or QR code, and Provenance piloted a few different ways of making this data available to consumers. Another startup called Everledger has set up Blockchain technology to create a permanent record of transactions in the Supply Chain for diamonds, a notoriously slavery and conflict-prone good.
Pretty cool.
While the ideas behind Blockchain and its application still goes over the head of many in the corporate world, it’s clear that those who are able to harness this technology can make huge gains in innovation and transparency.
[linkedinbadge URL=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/bronwenhannargentussearch” connections=”off” mode=”icon” liname=” Bronwen Hann”], Bronwen Hann has over 35 years experience in the recruitment industry. She’s the President and Senior Partner at Argentus Supply Chain Recruiting, a Toronto-based recruitment firm that specializes in Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Logistics, Operations and Planning. Prior to starting Argentus, Bronwen founded The Pinstripe Group of Companies, which became one of the largest temporary staffing agencies in Canada.
-
user
Finding a Route to Real-Time Payments
Two weeks ago, we reviewed the fast-developing world of real-time #payments. Since then, NACHA launched Phase 1 of its same-day ACH program, activating same-day credit transfers. We have also had further activity in the space, as Citi joined ClearXchange. (Note: I understand that none of these systems are true “real-time,” but that is the terminology that has stuck, so we will use it. A more accurate term would be “same-day payments” or the UK’s “Faster Payments”)
Navigating a complex landscape
The real-time payments landscape is becoming more complex. By my count, we now have at least 7 major systems competing, with more on the way:
- Mastercard Send
- Visa Direct
- FIS PayNet
- Fiserv PopMoney
- Same-Day ACH
- Electronic Payment Orders?
- ClearXchange (Zelle)
- Dwolla
- PayPal (sort of)
- Venmo (sort of)
- The Clearing House
- #Bitcoin/Ethereum/other #blockchain-related systems
The first six systems are built on existing rails, either card or ACH or e-check, and bank support has been mandated. That is not to say that consumers can actually use them; in most cases, the user interfaces have not been built, or are in the process of being built. That’s what I mean when I refer to PayPal and Venmo as (sort of) faster payments; they act like real-time systems for certain use cases, but integration with the underlying funds transfer mechanisms is not yet seamless. This is why the recent announcements of integrations with Mastercard Send and Visa Direct that I discussed two weeks ago are important.
This is definitely a case of too much of a good thing, and I’m sure I’ve missed some important players. What are the terms of competition here, and where should #banks be placing their bets?
Structure of a real-time payments transaction
I think it’s helpful to think of the market in terms of layers, like this:
The top layer is what the end user sees, and might be a digital wallet like PayPal, or a mobile wallet like Apple Pay, or an app, or a web form or button on a web page that interacts with a cookie in the browser. Its purpose is to collect information about what payment the user wants to make.
Next in the stack is a routing and directory layer. The job of this layer is to find the “best” route for the payment to take, based on the options available. The answer to this question will depend on several factors:
- What real-time services the user interface recognizes
- Where the payment is going
- Which of the real-time services recognized by the user interface can reach the destination
- How much it will cost to route the payment over a particular real-time service (this will be a bundle of costs, including switching, interchange, settlement and other fees)
- How fast the payment can be authorized and posted using a particular real-time service (this will probably be related to the cost – faster posting is more expensive)
- How fast the payment needs to be posted (this can be an option at the user interface level)
- Whether there is an incentive to use a particular real-time service, such as a volume agreement or a prepaid fee
Note that settlement is not typically going to be a factor here; I am assuming that any consumer-grade real-time payments service will in fact be using net settlement at regular intervals throughout the day, with ultimate money movement occurring over a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) like Fedwire. This is how faster payment systems like the one in the UK are architected.
Brief introduction to “net” and “gross” settlement
Parenthetical for those not familiar with the terms “net” and “gross” settlement: gross settlement is what most people think of when they think of a payment. A certain amount of money is taken out of one account, and is put into another account. Net settlement is a system where you record all the transfers out (debits) and the transfers in (credits) for each account, and sum them up periodically. This is more efficient, because a typical account will have both debits and credits over a period of time, and rather than settle each one individually, you can do them all as a batch. For example, suppose that you get paid $1,000, and you pay bills in the amount of $100, $200, and $300. The bank could do four separate settlements, or it could bundle them together and pay you the net amount: $1,000 in credits minus $600 in debits, or $400. Since each transfer costs about 79 cents, the savings really add up when you are talking about thousands of transactions.
Faster payment systems need to balance speed, risk and cost
The frequency of net settlement itself depends on how much risk can be tolerated by the system. As credits and debits accumulate, exposure grows, until net settlement occurs and balances are reset to zero. Authorizing a transaction by checking available balances will be an important feature for a real-time system to have; otherwise, the risk of a non-sufficient funds (NSF) event is greater. Gross settlement risk is usually covered by prefunding reserve accounts.
Any faster payments system can emulate true real-time performance by posting immediately and taking some risk that the net settlement phase will return some exceptions. This is essentially what the credit and debit card systems do, which is why they appear to operate in real-time at the point of sale (and also one of the big reasons they charge so much for interchange).
This sounds like a good job for a payments hub, and it seems to me that payment hubs are going to be in greater demand very shortly. Banks, processors, and wallets will all need ways to pick from a plethora of options using a range of criteria, and a payment hub is the best way to do that.
-
user
Switzerland & the Blockchain: A Match Made in Heaven
The #Blockchain is a revolutionary #technology that’s likely to change our lives even more than the internet has over the last twenty years. Ironically – or perhaps appropriately – it was born at a time when the global economy was hitting rock bottom with the collapse of Lehman Brothers in fall 2008.
In November that year, somebody called Satoshi Nakamoto published the white paper ‘#Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash system’. The paper boldly proclaimed that, in the future, online payments could be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.
With the release of this whitepaper, the Blockchain technology was born and the 1999 vision of legendary economist Milton Friedman became reality: “One thing that’s missing but will soon be developed is a reliable e-cash, a method whereby on the Internet you can transfer funds from A to B without A knowing B or B knowing A – the way I can take a $20 bill and hand it over to you, and you may get that without knowing who I am”
Since then, Bitcoin has had a rocky ride due to a number of scandals and a lot of price volatility. Despite these problems the technology has grown in popularity. It has run stably without any outages since the first Bitcoin was mined (i.e. self-sufficiently produced) in January 2009. The total market capitalization of all Bitcoins mined since its release is now approx. US$10bn (September 2016).
In the meantime, many different versions of the original Bitcoin Blockchain have been developed and released – the most prominent examples being Ethereum and Ripple. Even the middlemen that were supposed to be replaced by it – financial institutions – have begun to embrace the Blockchain’s ‘distributed ledger technology’. They see the benefits of an efficiently run, shared, self-sufficient and self-governing distributed ledger infrastructure, and have begun to embrace it with a view to saving billions of dollars in future infrastructure costs.
Unfortunately however, many #banks have yet to understand the benefits of the original version of the technology – the Bitcoin Blockchain. This original version has the potential to open up radical new ways of doing business, allowing cross-border payment services that, through using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, could eventually become free – just as communication via emails, voice over IP and other communication services became free through the internet.
The key principles behind the original Bitcoin Blockchain include decentralization (the network of participants run the technology and everybody can participate with their computer by downloading the open-source software package), trust (through algorithms and cryptography rather than middlemen like corporations acting as ‘agents of trust’), immutability (all transactions in the ledger are non-revocable once confirmed by the consensus mechanism of the Blockchain), transparency (all transactions are publicly observable) and privacy (the only aspect that is not publicly visible are the parties involved in the transactions).
So what does #Switzerland have to do with all of this?
Among the core values of Swiss society are neutrality, politico–economic stability,empowermentof its citizens through direct democracy and federalism and, above all, the right to privacy. While the latter is often confused internationally with the ‘right to hide and cheat’ when it comes to financial matters, this right is close to every Swiss citizen’s heart and has a strong historical pedigree. The fact that this right was abused by many, leading to the abolition of the Swiss banking secrecy law (for non-Swiss domiciled clients) in 2012 after severe international pressure has left many Swiss worried that this may be the beginning of the end of Swiss privacy laws. The loudest critics already believe Switzerland is heading in the direction of an NSA-like future of total government surveillance, and have launched a referendum campaign around protecting the privacy of the Swiss population through constitutional law.
When one compares the key principles of Blockchain technology with these traditional Swiss values, it becomes clear that there’s an almost magical symbiosis between the two. Blockchain aims to empower the individuals who use it, for the first time allowing peer-to-peer transactions to take place without the need for a middleman as an ‘agent of trust’. Early participants in the Bitcoin movement even dreamed of a future without banks and nation states. That future may be some way off. For now, a political system like the Swiss one, with its federalism and direct democracy, would already constitute a step forward for citizens that are suffering under government and public sector corruption.
Blockchain technology provides the possibility of transacting peer-to-peer in the public eye, thus preventing theft, fraud and corruption while theoretically* protecting the individual’s privacy in such transactions. These features of Blockchain technology go hand-in-hand with Swiss privacy laws that protect individuals from government surveillance while also defending them with from criminal activity.
Switzerland has a wonderful opportunity to build on this magical symbiosis between a revolutionary technology and the nation’s core values. In an area around Lake Zug, an area called the ‘Crypto Valley’ is emerging. The valley is home to a myriad Bitcoin and Blockchain companies. It counts more than 20 Blockchain companies, making it one of the biggest clusters in the world for this unique technology. Globally leading companies like Xapo and Ethereum are already calling the Crypto Valley their home.
Another key ingredient making Switzerland a leading Blockchain hub is that it’s home to some of the world’s best universities, both technical, like ETH Zurich and EPFL Lausanne, and business universities, like the University of Zurich and the University of St. Gallen. All these universities have already established dedicated teams that look closely into the technical and business aspects of Blockchain technology and how it will affect future business models of Switzerland’s Financial Services companies.
Switzerland boasts a vibrant innovation ecosystem which takes top spots in global league tables when it comes to competitiveness and innovation. As one of the world’s leading financial centers, Switzerland could play a leading role in supporting the development of Blockchain technology, with a view to making it a competitive advantage for its financial center and beyond. Switzerland could reap the benefits of the Blockchain in other key sectors of its economy too – such as its strong pharmaceutical and watch industries – by proactively embracing this technology for securing supply chains of medical and luxury goods.
But Blockchain technology will not only impact the Swiss economy – it will eventually impact every company and individual on this planet once Blockchain services for supply chain management and digital identity have matured. Once the provenance of any good can be publicly and safely registered on the Blockchain, counterfeiting goods will be a thing of the past.
- Access to Blockchain services can and should be regulated to protect consumers from criminals and as such KYC/AML rules should become applicable to Blockchain services as well.
[linkedinbadge URL=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/gasteiger” connections=”off” mode=”icon” liname=”Daniel Gasteiger”] is Co-Founder of nexussquared – Accelerating Blockchain Ideas
-
user
Bitcoin Defender Speaks Out at London Blockchain Event
Simon Dixon, CEO of BnktotheFuture, lays out his vision for #blockchain startups and makes the case for #bitcoin.
-
user
Demystifying Bitcoin – The Magic Internet Money
What Makes Money Worth Anything?
I am completely fascinated by the concept of money. What makes a picture of our first president on a piece of paper worth a dollar? I used to believe that our money was backed by gold. Turned out this hasn’t been the case for almost a half century. The only thing that makes a dollar worth a dollar is because of faith. People have faith that a dollar today is worth a dollar tomorrow. If I exchange that piece of paper with a picture on it for goods, the person that received it believes they can exchange it for the same amount of goods tomorrow. Faith.
What Makes Currency Work?
Currency is nothing more than a token of value and that value is based purely on supply and demand. As the supply of currency increases, the value decreases. If demand should decrease, so will the value. However, if supply decreases or demand increases, the value increases. Sheep were used as currency. As sheep became more plentiful, you needed more sheep to purchase land. If there was famine and you had sheep, your wealth, the value of your holdings, skyrocketed. Moving sheep around was very difficult and sometimes messy. So, tokens of value were used instead. If I have 8 sheep, and exchange them for a token that says I own 8 sheep and everyone is on board with that token being worth 8 sheep, then I could use that token for exchange of goods. For currency to work, it doesn’t need to be backed by anything but the faith of those who use it as an exchange medium.
Increasing the supply – Inflation
The problems with currency are well known. Counterfeiting currency occurs. This causes the value of the currency to go down as it actually increases supply. A decision to just print more money by the issuing agency will decrease value. If we decide to print twice as many bills as we have in circulation currently, the value is cut in half. What would happen if the decision was made to never print another bill?
What is this Magic Internet Money?
8 years ago next month, a computer programmer or group of them using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto released #Bitcoin. They released a very technical white paper that can be found at https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
The gist is Satoshi set up tokens of value on the internet. To address the problems of inflation, he first set a limit of 21,000,000. There will never be more than 21,000,000 created or in circulation. Denominations of Bitcoin can be divided down to a millionth of a bitcoin, known as a Satoshi. If the wealth of the whole world is stored in Bitcoin, a satoshi would be worth about $0.04. With a finite supply, the only way value is decided is by demand.
To get these in circulation, computers must have special software to confirm transactions. Anyone can own these computers and software. The transactions are broken up in blocks that go to different computers to be confirmed. This allows no one full access to a bitcoin and the network of many confirms the transaction. The incentive of confirming these transactions is gaining bitcoin through fees or through confirming enough transactions to release a bitcoin which is then in this “miner’s” wallet. Almost 16,000,000 are currently in circulation using this method. Once all 21,000,000 are in circulation, the miners will be paid by fees alone.
By not having the flow controlled by an issuing agency and the ledgers and balances not being kept by a bank means there is no risk of inflation, no mistakes by one central authority, and a conglomerate of network miners verifying transactions based on simple supply and demand. A miner in New Zealand may confirm the first part of a transaction while a second part may be confirmed in Argentina and a third in Kenya.
To prevent counterfeiting, the code of bitcoin is based on all the transactions being recorded along with when it was transacted. The code is considered unhackable because it is constantly changing, complex, and decentralized. You would need to get the right codes off of many different miners to recreate the chain of transactions, then put them in the right order, and then get it confirmed before another transaction occurs. A virtual impossibility.
If value is increasing, then demand is increasing, right?
So, the question becomes demand. Why would anyone want Bitcoin? The average amount of currency is “taxed” by #banks at 3% through fees. If you take $50 out of an ATM, you could pay anywhere between 6-10% in fees. When you use a debit card at a store, that store is paying 1.5% in fees. A credit card average fee is 3% for the store plus any interest accrued by the consumer. If a store is netting 8% of its revenue, then these fees are taking 20% of its profit. Those costs are passed onto the consumer in 2-3% price increases.
With Bitcoin, the fees can vary between 0-0.2%. I sent $18.00 worth of Bitcoin to a bookseller in Austria for $18.01. This transaction was confirmed in 8 seconds. International transfer fees from banks can be as high as 21%. If I travel from the US to Jamaica, I will now have more to spend through Bitcoin as I will not have exchange rates and bank fees to pay for. Wiring money can have fees of over 10%. With bitcoin, it is a transfer of data from one virtual wallet to another with fees less than .2%. $582 billion dollars were sent in remittances to home countries last year. This means the fees for that were at least $58 billion. With bitcoin, $1 billion in fees MIGHT be paid. If your family will receive 10% more value, you are more likely to use bitcoin.
So, yes, demand is rising. As is speculation. People are buying bitcoin to sell later at a profit. Unfortunately, this also is causing fluctuations in value. In 2010, a Bitcoin was worth $0.08. In 2011, it went from $1 to $31 and then back to $2. It has gone as high as $1000 and has hit a low of $200 since then. As I write this, the value has varied between $570 and $630 just in the last month. How much faith would you have in a dollar if it could be worth $0.95 or $1.05 in a month? With wild fluctuations like that, merchants will fear accepting bitcoin. It does not have the faith needed yet to make it a viable currency, but its demand and acceptance is growing.
Well, Where Do We Go From Here?
The Yap in the Eastern Pacific used large limestone as currency. Instead of moving handheld currency, the stone was a public ledger that was used to show who owned what value. A riveting story to read up on if you ever get the chance. It had me doing a ton of research as to what makes money have any value. We use the dollar today instead of gold because of fluidity and a common value. We can go almost anywhere and get something in exchange for a dollar. The value of that dollar is generally accepted as fact only because IT IS GENERALLY ACCEPTED. If we were dealing with a culture that does not know of a dollar, they would laugh at you for attempting to exchange those pieces of paper for work or goods. Just as you would laugh at the Yap for offering a piece of their stone for your computer.
Bitcoin’s value is solely based on demand as supply is finite. Miners are inflating the amount of bitcoin in circulation by 4% per year currently. This will be cut to 2% in 2020 as the amount of bitcoin released is cut in half every 4 years. This is programmed in and cannot be changed. Once that 21,000,000th bitcoin is released, then no more bitcoin can be mined.
Demand far outweighs supply currently and continues to grow. The factors that can stop this are still plenty. Banks and financial institutions drastically dropping fees. Another #cryptocurrency being created that makes Bitcoin look like Atari or MySpace. A buyer hoarding bitcoins suddenly sells all theirs (It is estimated that Satoshi holds 1,000,000 bitcoins).
Use and acceptance has been doubling almost every year since bitcoin crossed parity with the dollar. If I believe bitcoin will double in value every year, that makes a bitcoin worth 5 figures in 5 years. I believe this will occur and invested in bitcoin. However, I also know that something better may come along and make bitcoin valueless. I can’t put all my eggs in one basket.
The Bottom Line
Cryptocurrency is the future of money. The evolution is upon us and occurring as we speak. The internet of the early 90s is the cryptocurrency of today. Whether we like it or not, this is happening. I believe the market share bitcoin owns ($9.6 billion of $12.1 billion) and 8.5x larger than the next cryptocurrency forces bitcoin to be more readily accepted than the others. Putting speculating on the future aside, I see cryptocurrency becoming the world standard of value and that will occur sooner than we ever expected. Le Roi Est Morte, Vive Le Roi.
-
user
FinTech DACH News Rückblick der Woche 38
Fintech.Li präsentiert hier wöchentlich die wichtigsten #News rund um #Fintech in der Schweiz, Liechtenstein, Deutschland und Österreich.
Fintech DACH Top News
Deutsche Bank boss Cryan tells staff to work like a tehnology company
Deutsche Bank chief executive John Cryan says staff working for the giant bank have to change their way of thinking as “we want to see ourselves increasingly as a #technology company”. Mehr erfahren
&8220;Hypi&8221; entdeckt die Schwarmfinanzierung
Die Hypothekarbank Lenzburg lanciert eine Plattform für Online-Privatkredite. Dazu arbeitet das Institut neu mit einem Schweizer Fintech-Unternehmen zusammen. Mehr erfahren
19 Swiss #Banks As Solutions For Fintech ChallengesDie Schweiz hat mehr und mehr Fintech Startups und Initiativen. Schweizer Banken versuchen aufzuholen oder sich gegen grosse Player zu positionieren (bspw. ApplePay) und haben eine Vielzahl von (Gegen)-Initiativen gestartet. Teils zusammen mit den Fintech Startups oder im Alleingang. Mehr erfahren
Multibanking: Die Finanzzentrale der Zukunft – Interview mit comdirect-CEO Arno Walter
Jeder zweite Deutsche verfügt über mindestens zwei Girokonten, jeder Vierte hat seine Gelder sogar auf drei oder mehr Konten liegen. Dazu kommen Kreditkarten, Depots, Baufinanzierungen, Ratenkredite. Mehr erfahren
Fintech: Startups am Staatstropf
Laut beklagt die Fintech-Branche das Fehlen staatlicher Anschub-Finanzierung. Umso mehr sorgte die Förderung eines #Blockchain-Projekts für Aufsehen – schüttet der Staat nun sein Füllhorn aus? Mehr erfahren
Easycredit stellt Ratenkauf für den Onlinehandel vor
Easycredit steigt ins E-Commerce-Dienstleistungsgeschäft ein und stellt einen benutzer- und verbraucherfreundlichen Ratenkauf für den Onlinehandel vor. Mehr erfahrenDeutsche Bank und Axel Springer investieren gemeinsam in Start-ups
Die Deutsche Bank und der Axel Springer Verlag fördern künftig gemeinsam junge Technologieunternehmen aus der Banken- und Versicherungsbranche. Das gaben die Unternehmen am Montag bekannt. Mit der Kooperation wollen das Geldhaus und der Verlag über den Start-up-Entwickler Axel Springer Plug and Play schneller Wachstumsfirmen auswählen, entwickeln und finanzieren. Mehr erfahren
Wie die Deutsche Post versucht, die Startup-Konkurrenz kaltzustellen
Fintechs machen der Post das Geschäft mit digitalen Identifizierungsverfahren streitig. Nach erfolglosen Übernahmeversuchen wehrt sich der Konzern jetzt mit einer fragwürdigen Preispolitik. Mehr erfahren
Der Wandel einer Bank zum Start-Up – Interview mit CreditPlus-Bank-CEO Jan. W. Wagner
Vor wenigen Tagen überraschte die CreditPlus Bank mit einem vollständig digitalen Konsumentenkredit per Smartphone-App – und der Ankündigung, mit einem kulturellen Wandel den bankinternen digitalen Erfindergeist zu fördern. Eine Start-up-Atmosphäre soll die Bank bekommen. Das wollen wir genauer wissen und sprachen mit Jan. W. Wagner, dem Vorstandsvorsitzender der CreditPlus Bank über den Weg zur digitalen Bank. Mehr erfahren
Crealogix: Umsatzplus dank Digital Banking Hub
Der Bankensoftware-Hersteller Crealogix hat zwar im Geschäftsjahr 2015/2016 noch Verluste geschrieben. Der Umsatz hat aber deutlich angezogen. Mehr erfahren
6 Best Swiss Fintech Startups 2016 in Top 100 Startup List
Startup.ch puts together a list of Top 100 Best Swiss Startups 2016. Several notable names in the Fintech industry made it into the list. Knip and Bexio even into the Top 3 and 10. Mehr erfahren
28 Mio. US-Dollar für das Schweizer InsurTech Startup FinanceFox
Die Resonanz auf Geschäftsmodell und der Geschäftsgang der unabhängigen Service- plattform für Endkunden und Versicherungsvermittler überzeugen die Investoren: Der deutsch-schweizerische InsurTech sichert sich weitere 28 Mio. US-Dollar am Kapital- markt. Das Investment fliesst in die Internationalisierung, das Produkt und das Marketing. Mehr erfahren
DKB: Eine Bank als FinTech-Hub – Interview mit Bereichsleiter Karsten Traum
Cringle, Barzahlen.de, FinReach-Kontowechsel, VISA-Wallet, Kooperation mit SOFORT-Überweisung und einiges mehr: Die DKB scheint immer vorne mit dabei zu sein, wenn es um FinTech-Kooperationen geht. Warum macht die Bank das? Wir fragten Karsten Traum, Bereichsleitung Privatkunden der DKB – er ist unter anderem für die Kooperationen mit FinTechs zuständig. Mehr erfahren
Twint-CEO: «Unser grösster Feind ist das Bargeld»
Die grossen IT-Anbieter wie Apple oder Samsung bereiten Thierry Kneissler nicht allzuviele Kopfschmerzen. Stattdessen kämpft der Chef der Bezahl-App Twint gegen die Gewohnheiten der Schweizer Bevölkerung an. Mehr erfahren
Daniel Keller wird Chief Product Officer der solarisBank
Mit Daniel Keller gewinnt die solarisBank einen erfahrenen Digitalexperten als Chief Product Officer (CPO), um die Skalierung der Banking Plattform und des Produkt Portfolios weiter voranzutreiben. Er wird dabei unter anderem die Entwicklung und Umsetzung einer fokussierten Produkt-Strategie vorantreiben, die Planung und Steuerung der Banking-Baustein-Initiativen vornehmen sowie das Produkt-Team weiter ausbauen. Mehr erfahren
Neuer GKB Finanzassistent – bequem und sicher die Übersicht behalten
Die Graubündner Kantonalbank bietet ihren Kunden neu mit dem persönlichen Finanzassistenten einen neuen Online-Dienst an. Dieser analysiert und kategorisiert automatisch alle Transaktionen. Mehr erfahren
UBS verliert Kickstart-Accelerator-Macher
Bei der UBS war er für den Aufbau des ersten branchenübergreifenden Startup-Beschleunigers zuständig. Nun wechselt der ehemalige Entrepreneur zur Swisscom, wo er einen bekannten Fintech-Spezialisten der Schweiz ersetzt, wie finews.ch erfahren hat. Mehr erfahren#BITCOIN / BLOCKCHAIN News
“Blockchain might be like the Internet”
DZ BANK Vorstand Thomas Ullrich hat in seinem Grußwort über den Status quo beim Thema Blockchain in der DZ BANK Gruppe berichtet, u.a. am Beispiel der Reisebank. Die DZ BANK Tochter hat im Juli innerhalb von acht Sekunden eine transatlantische Zahlung zwischen Calgary in Kanada und Frankfurt-Rödelheim mittels Blockchain-Technologie abgewickelt – ein Vorgang, der bisher vier Tage gedauert hat. Mehr erfahren
BREXIT – A Catalyst For Blockchain Technology?
Brexit — this topic has been in everyones mind for the prior weeks as I traveled across Germany and the US, not only in financial services. Nevertheless, today the first shock in financial services has gone and according to my opinion the Brexit has the potential to become THE game changer for implementing Blockchain Technology — fast track. Not only in financial services. Mehr erfahren
Traditional investment banking model ‘no longer an option,’ states McKinsey & Company ‘blockchain technology could deliver a broad range of benefits’
Global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, recently published a report outlining strategies that could help the capital markets and investment banking (CMIB) industry. “Time for Tough Choices And Bold Actions” defines the industry’s ailments and proposes initiatives that banks could implement, including the adoption of blockchain technology. Mehr erfahren
Reisebank mit Ripple: In acht Sekunden über den Atlantik
Das Fintech-Thema Blockchain wird vielerorts diskutiert und gerne auch in den Innovationshochburgen wie Silicon Valley verortet. Doch erstmals in die Tat umgesetzt wurde es jetzt zwischen Kanada und Deutschland. Genauer gesagt zwischen der ATB Financial in Calgary und der ReiseBank mit der Zentrale in Frankfurt-Rödelheim. Und darauf sind wir mächtig stolz. Mehr erfahren
The biggest bitcoin hacks and thefts of all time
The story of bitcoin’s biggest hacks and thefts is the story of bitcoin itself. From its early days and its first hack, to the biggest theft of all time, bitcoin’s utopian promises often turned into a dystopian reality where scammers, thieves, unaccountable and often amateur exchanges, some, even fully anonymous, proliferated in a wild west of euphoria and hope for a new future combined with devastating, and at times, tragic loss. Mehr erfahren
Blockchain: Steht Vitalik Buterin vor seiner schwierigsten Aufgabe?
Der Gründer der Zuger Blockchain-Schmiede Ethereum plant den nächsten grossen Sprung mit der als bahnbrechend geltenden Technologie. Doch dazu braucht er Hilfe, die schwer zu finden scheint. Mehr erfahren
Santander Vies to Become First Bank to Issue Cash on Blockchain
Spanish banking giant Santander is working on a project that explores how it could digitize customer cash using the public ethereum blockchain. Revealed today during a panel talk at Devcon2 by Ether.camp founder and ethereum Java client developer Roman Mandeleil, the news was confirmed by representatives of Santander. In statements, Santander said its goal is to open up its bank-issued funds to a community of innovators as a way of tapping additional efficiencies. Mehr erfahren
SIX holt Blockchain-Diva Blythe Masters an Bord
Die Börsenbetreiberin SIX Group will die Blockchain-Technologie einsetzen – und hat dafür in der amerikanischen Star-Bankerin Blythe Masters die Partnerin gefunden. Mehr erfahren
ÜBERSICHTEN / INFOGRAFIKEN / STUDIEN
Studie von Hays und PAC: Digitalisierung – gefragt sind Generalisten statt Nerds
Stehen wir im Private Banking vor einer Zeitenwende? Zwar werde die persönliche Beratung unverzichtbar bleiben, so Stephan Paxmann (TME Institut) „…. aber sie wird durch digitale Unterstützung bald ein Vielfaches für neue Kundengruppen leisten können.“ FinTechs und Non-Bank-Start-ups liefern dazu zahlreiche innovative Geschäftsideen. Mehr erfahren
SAP/IDC-Studie: 6 von 10 globalen Banken wollen Partnerschaften mit FinTechs – oder sie übernehmen
Sechs von zehn globalen Banken stehen einer Partnerschaft mit FinTechs aufgeschlossen gegenüber. Dies ergab eine Umfrage über den digitalen Wandel bei Banken, die von SAP veröffentlicht wurde. Jede dritte der befragten Banken (34 Prozent) würde mit einem FinTech-Unternehmen zusammenarbeiten, während jede vierte (25 Prozent) auch eine Übernahme in Betracht ziehen würde. Mehr erfahren
CommerzVentures Report: Blockchain Tech, Wearables & AI to Transform Insurance
CommerzVentures, the fintech venture capital fund of Commerzbank, has released a white paper highlighting the key technologies which it believes will transform the insurance industry. Aimed at providing insights into their potential uses in the insurance sector, CommerzVentures’ ‘Emerging Technologies Transforming the $ 4tn Insurance Industry’ paper explores how the insurance chain value will be transformed by technological innovations. Mehr erfahren
GFT-Studie: Mobile Payment – Aktuelle Marktanalyse, Auswirkungen und Empfehlungen für den Bankensektor
Mobile-Payment kommt. Als Vorreiter gelten die Region Asien/Pazifik und der afrikanische Raum. Dort besitzt kaum ein Einwohner ein klassisches Bankkonto. In Europa gelten vor allem Großbritannien sowie Spanien und Italien als Treiber, während es in Deutschland noch Optimierungsbedarf im Handel und Vorbehalte bei den Konsumenten gibt. Das aktuelle GFT-Whitepaper „Mobile Payment 2016: Aktuelle Marktanalyse, Auswirkungen und Empfehlungen für den Bankensektor“ nimmt die Entwicklung unter die Lupe und will wichtige Empfehlungen für den Finanzsektor geben. Mehr erfahren
New Report Highlights Germany’s Fintech Industry’s ‘Impressive Growth’
The Germany’s burgeoning fintech industry is quickly emerging as a regional leader with a number of startup gaining international recognition and Berlin becoming a “strong contender for London’s fintech crown,” according to a new report by UK payments startup GoCardless Ltd. Mehr erfahren
Finanz-App „MoBox“ für Jugendliche – comdirect-Studie untersucht das Finanzwissen junger Menschen
The Germany’s burgeoning fintech industry is quickly emerging as a regional leader with a number of startup gaining international recognition and Berlin becoming a “strong contender for London’s fintech crown,” according to a new report by UK payments startup GoCardless Ltd. Mehr erfahren
Fintech: Der Hype weicht der Ernüchterung
The Germany’s burgeoning fintech industry is quickly emerging as a regional leader with a number of startup gaining international recognition and Berlin becoming a “strong contender for London’s fintech crown,” according to a new report by UK payments startup GoCardless Ltd. Mehr erfahrenFintech EVENT Hinweis
Zum Abschluss noch Informationen in eigener Sache von Fintech.LI.
Das Programm zur Fintech Konferenz in Liechtenstein finden Sie auf der Homepage.
Fintechnews Leser erhalten einen exclusiven Discount von 20% mit dem Code &8220;fintechnews20&8221;.
The post FinTech DACH News Rückblick der Woche 38 appeared first on Fintech Schweiz Digital Finance News – FintechNewsCH.
Reply