Tag: bitcoin exchanges

Chip Maker Hits Target, Beats Rivals and Bitcoin

Posted on by Aibek Burabayev

Last November I shared a promising trading opportunity to play on the Modern “Gold Rush” For Cryptocoins. Like the Great Gold Rush, I thought that those who sell equipment could benefit from new a “tulip mania” as this crypto buzz was called in the media.

I selected three chip makers, which were well known for the broad use of their products in the “mining” of cryptocoins. These companies are NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (AMD) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited (TSM). Firstly, I made the same comparative chart analysis of their stocks as I usually do for the classic mining stocks; it is funny that the word “mining” I used here has a totally different meaning.

We were on the right path as despite the market euphoria there was one stock, which lagged behind the others and the gap was significant. The laggard Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). It was the only one, which showed the negative price dynamics for the first ten months of 2017 with a -2.71% loss compared to +104.58% for NVDA, +43.94% for TSM and +14.62% for S&P 500. Continue reading "Chip Maker Hits Target, Beats Rivals and Bitcoin" →

Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Rejected Again

Posted on by Matt Thalman

In March of 2017 the Winklevoss twins had their first Bitcoin ETF proposal rejected and now the second Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF proposal was dismissed in July of 2018 by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reason all of this matter is because the Winklevoss twins where the first to have the SEC rule on a Bitcoin ETF back in 2017, and now that their proposal has been rejected for a second time things are starting to look a little bleak for investors who want a Bitcoin ETF.

First and foremost, the Securities and Exchange Commission that made the ruling expressed concern about Bitcoin’s trading reliability and security; two significant issues which don’t appear to be easy fixes anytime soon. The commission went on to say “The record before the commission indicates that a substantial majority of bitcoin trading occurs on unregulated venues overseas that are relatively new and that, generally, appear to trade only digital assets.” The commission stated that more then 75% of Bitcoin trading happens on unregulated foreign exchanges.

But, the commission did note that regulated Bitcoin markets are in their early stages of development and that if they further grow, the commission would then review the idea of allowing a Bitcoin ETF based on SEC requirements. Continue reading "Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Rejected Again" →

The Modern Gold Rush: These Three Stocks Could Benefit

Posted on by Aibek Burabayev

Aibek Burabayev - INO.com Contributor - Metals


History repeats again and again as human beings don’t change; they only change on the surface. There is a good lesson learned from the Gold Rush in the 19th century – there were some lucky diggers, who made a fortune, at the same time many merchants who were selling equipment and jeans became rich. But many adventurers left broke.

These days we have the Crypto-Mining Gold Rush led by Bitcoin with a market share of more than 60% and market capitalization over $124 billion. This coin is worth as much as the Hungarian GDP and exceeded the market cap of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) – one of those “merchants” selling “shovels” to modern “diggers” aka miners.

Today, as long ago, the competition gives an advantage to cooperated mining pools with the most advanced equipment, lowest electricity, and labor costs. That’s why there is no surprise that the top mining pools are located in China (70% of the Bitcoin hashrate).

There are two main types of suppliers to the crypto mining industry: electricity suppliers (up to 70% of all mining costs) and equipment suppliers. The massive demand for mining equipment attracts nimble middlemen, for instance, they resell the ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits, microchips) for 2x-3x of the original price tag, making relatively risk-free money on modern “diggers” that risk a lot. Continue reading "The Modern Gold Rush: These Three Stocks Could Benefit" →

Bitcoin Bonanza Rolls On

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


As the Bitcoin phenomenon rolls on, we continue to see new prospectuses for possible Bitcoin funds despite the Securities Exchange Commission denying the creation of one Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund due to the lack of market surveillance and regulation. Oddly enough, the currency was started to give its user autonomy from governments and other regulatory agencies.

So the main reason why the currency grew in popularity is the reason why investors are finding it difficult to invest in the asset. Thus far two different proposed Exchange Traded Funds have been denied in the US, but it would appear the once denied Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF might have a chance of being approved the second time around. What is interesting is that the Winklevoss Twins were not the ones who filed the petition for reconsideration of their ETF, it was the Bats exchange, which the proposed ETF would trade on if approved. Continue reading "Bitcoin Bonanza Rolls On" →

Bitcoin Is NOT The New Gold

Posted on by Lior Alkalay

Lior Alkalay - INO.com Contributor


Last week, the price of one Bitcoin surged above $1,227, the price of an ounce of Gold. And the headlines soon followed, screaming, “Bitcoin worth more than Gold.” The implication, of course, that Bitcoin is the new Gold in the world. In reality, however, Bitcoin is hardly the “new” Gold, real or digital.

In arguing for Bitcoin’s allure, enthusiasts tend to fall back on one singular point; like real Gold, there is but a finite number of Bitcoin that could be mined (21 million to be exact). But that is hardly the case. Bitcoin’s allure is not a factor of its rarity, but rather its ecosystem. That ecosystem enables financial transactions between two parties, both anonymously, and at very low costs. The fact is that that ecosystem could be easily replicated with an alternative to Bitcoin. So, while the number of Bitcoins we can mine is limited, the amount of alternative ecosystems that could emerge for Bitcoin wannabes is not. In fact, even today, there are already 12 different alternatives to Bitcoin, including Litecoin, Peercoin and Primecoin.

However, there is one area in which Gold and Bitcoin have something in common and, unfortunately, for Bitcoin bulls, it is in their vulnerability rather than strength. Both Bitcoin and Gold do not pay interest like a currency, nor a dividend like a stock. And when interest rates rise the allure of Bitcoin and Gold quickly fades. Because, simply put, there are better alternatives. Continue reading "Bitcoin Is NOT The New Gold" →