Is big banking getting ready to take another look at bitcoin? That’s the big question as the near-$6,000 bitcoin, proliferating ICOs and growing mainstream investor interest has hedge funds starting to assess digital currencies more closely.
There’s no question bankers like blockchain – a lot. Many major banks are exploring blockchain technology for a variety of applications including settlements, payments, cross-border transactions and more.
Investors are pumped and putting in lots of money into bitcoin, other Altcoins as well as ICOs. At times though, the enthusiasm seems irrational and even manic. So, let’s look at the latest buzz about bitcoin from our news sources around the world.
Latest buzz about bitcoin
A new report from fintech research firm Autonomous NEXT, says institutional investors are still wary of the lack of regulations, volatility and liquidity of cryptocurrencies. There’s no doubt in Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed’s mind about bitcoin as he told CNBC: “It’s Enron in the making.” Royal Bank of Canada CEO, David McKay, is also bearish on bitcoin but bullish on blockchain technology.
In what might be a familiar theme to teenagers, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank says cryptocurrencies are not yet “mature” enough to be regulated. UK cryptocurrency companies are forced to look to Gibraltar, Poland, Bulgaria and other countries to find financial services willing to work with new industry, despite the UK desire to be recognized as the world’s fintech center.
Big banker pessimism hasn’t stopped Mark Cuban from supporting e-sports betting startup Unikrn which is fresh from a $31 million ICO. ARK Investments CEO Cathie Wood is keen on bitcoin and compares it to the early days of VOIP before it became widely adopted. In a Vanity Fair feature article, Nick Bilton writes about why Silicon Valley is gaga for bitcoin. Over at CNBC, Josh Brown has a must-read feature about a recent lunch that brought together the latest experts in cryptocurrency and blockchain and led to some fascinating bitcoin tabletalk.
Institutional Investors Still Steering Clear of Bitcoin: Research
Digital currency’s market share has reached nearly $170 bln this year, and that figure puts them out there as a major asset. However, despite the huge amount of money flowing into this market, and the seemingly mainstream interest springing up globally, the thought is that traditional big money investors have not quite entered the market yet. Institutional investors are steering clear of the nascent market, taking the view that it is too lightly regulated, too volatile and too illiquid to risk investing other people’s money in. via Cointelegraph
Saudi Prince Al-Waleed: Bitcoin Is ‘Going to Implode’
Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal sharply criticized bitcoin during an appearance on CNBC today, saying that he agrees with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s assessment that the cryptocurrency is a “fraud. I just don’t believe in this bitcoin thing,” Al-Waleed said, according to a transcript published by CNBC. “I think it’s just going to implode one day. It’s Enron in the making.” Via coindesk.com
Bitcoin does not solve a main need in society Royal Bank of Canada CEO
Royal Bank CEO David McKay doubts bitcoin’s legitimacy in the face of the pound, euro or dollar. “The purpose it [bitcoin] seems to serve today is really to help move money in a hidden way and facilitate, potentially facilitate, criminal activity of moving money in an undetected way,” McKay told CNBC in an episode of Life Hacks Live. It’s the technology underpinning bitcoin rather than the cryptocurrency itself that excites the CEO. Via CNBC.com
ECB President: Bitcoin Not ‘Mature’ Enough to Be Regulated
Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has said that cryptocurrencies are not “mature” enough to be regulated. Speaking at a press conference last week, CNBC reports, Draghi told reporters: “With anything that’s new, people have great expectations and also great uncertainty. Right now, we think that – especially as far as bitcoins and cryptocurrencies are concerned – we don’t think the technology is mature for our consideration.” Via coindesk.com
UK Crypto Companies Forced to Bank Elsewhere
Companies that deal in cryptocurrency, or even handle the digital asset, are being shunned by the traditional banking system in the United Kingdom. Gibraltar, Poland and Bulgaria are hotspots for these companies that are not being accommodated, but the real issue being raised is the ambition the UK has to be a global hub for the fast-growing fintech sector. Because of its disruptive nature, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies sit very uneasily with the traditional banking sector as there is a fear the digital currency could make them obsolete. Via cointelegraph.com
Mark Cuban-Backed Unikrn Raises $31 Million in E-Sports Token Sale
E-sports betting startup Unikrn has raised roughly $31 million in an initial coin offering. The firm collected 112,720 ethers – an amount worth approximately $31.4 million at press time – in a token sale that took place in two phases, including 56,000 ETH (roughly $15.6 million) in a pre sale backed by celebrity investor Mark Cuban. The startup was founded in 2014 with backing from investors like Elisabeth Murdoch and Ashton Kutcher. Via coindesk.com
Bitcoin Bigger Idea Than Apple, Amazon Says Ark Investments CEO
ARK Investments CEO Cathie Wood says: “The network value of Bitcoin when you include Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash is little over $100 billion. This actually is increasing the public’s interest in bitcoin.” Comparing the technology to VOIP, Wood remarks that no one understood that voice transmissions could be free over the internet, but now they are. Via cointelegraph.com
Why Silicon Valley Is Going Gaga for Bitcoin
Not too long ago, the predominant question was Should I buy the new iPhone? Today, at their current market valuation, bitcoin units are worth around $5,800 each. No one—and I mean no one—knows exactly which digital currency will be successful in the future. It could be bitcoin, it could be Litecoin, it could be something that hasn’t even been created yet. But, the other resounding feeling is that these currencies are here to stay in one form or another and there is nothing anyone can do to stop them. Which brings me back to that question that I’m often asked these days: “should I buy bitcoin?” Via vanityfair.com
Josh Brown goes down the bitcoin rabbit hole — commentary
If the setting for the recent crypto currency summit was quirky, the conversation was downright otherworldly. The rules for how things work in the crypto realm are being written in real time. We pick up a phrase or a bit of terminology, and we begin to use it authoritatively moments later – as though we’d been doing so our whole lives. We’re hanging onto people’s words who’ve become experts in a thing that didn’t exist just a few years ago. For a couple of hours I had stepped into Wonderland, the moveable center of the crypto currency universe. Seemingly everyone who purports to understand what’s going on is up in this second-floor private dining room. Via cnbc.com
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