Bitcoin Among Year's Top Searches, Google Data Says
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST New data from Google suggests internet users searched for information on bitcoin at a rate that outpaced some of the top news stories this year. |
Ripple hits all time high
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
The cryptocurrency, which is up 71% this week, has been on a tear since Ripple's Asian subsidiary and a group of Japanese credit card companies announced a new consortium Wednesday. The consortium aims to identify how blockchain and distributed ledger technology can be deployed in credit card payments. The news of the consortium follows a bullish month for the coin, which has been propelled to new heights by interest from Asia, according to reporting by Forbes. "Asians are going mad for Ripple," Alexey Ivanov, CEO and cofounder of Polynom Crypto Capital, a Moscow-based cryptocurrency and blockchain investment fund manager, told Forbes. XRP overtook bitcoin cash as the third largest cryptocurrency on the market on December 14. It is up more than 4,100% year-to-date. Founded in 2012 by what was then known as Ripple Labs, XRP aims to use blockchain technology to speed up cross-border money transfers and bank settlements. Subscribe to our Crypto Insider newsletter for the best of the blockchain every day.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: PAUL KRUGMAN: Bitcoin is a more obvious bubble than housing was |
Ripple hits all time high
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
The cryptocurrency, which is up 71% this week, has been on a tear since Ripple's Asian subsidiary and a group of Japanese credit card companies announced a new consortium Wednesday. The consortium aims to identify how blockchain and distributed ledger technology can be deployed in credit card payments. The news of the consortium follows a bullish month for the coin, which has been propelled to new heights by interest from Asia, according to reporting by Forbes. "Asians are going mad for Ripple," Alexey Ivanov, CEO and cofounder of Polynom Crypto Capital, a Moscow-based cryptocurrency and blockchain investment fund manager, told Forbes. XRP overtook bitcoin cash as the third largest cryptocurrency on the market on December 14. It is up more than 4,100% year-to-date. Founded in 2012 by what was then known as Ripple Labs, XRP aims to use blockchain technology to speed up cross-border money transfers and bank settlements. Subscribe to our Crypto Insider newsletter for the best of the blockchain every day.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: PAUL KRUGMAN: Bitcoin is a more obvious bubble than housing was |
STOCKS RISE: Here's what you need to know
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
The major equity indexes closed higher on Thursday, with one last trading session to go for the year. Unless something catastrophic happens on Friday, the S&P 500 will make history by ending up in the green in each of the 12 months of a calendar year for the first time. Here's the scoreboard:
Additionally: We asked 2 of Citigroup's top executives what they look for when hiring senior investment bankers Traders are betting billions that the hottest stocks of 2017 will get crushed We did the math to see if it's worth buying a Powerball or Mega Millions lottery ticket Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: How to buy and sell bitcoin using one of the most popular cryptocurrency apps on the iPhone |
Singapore Court Dismisses Dispute Over $43 Million in Bitcoin
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The Singapore court dismisses B2C2's attempt to reclaim 3,092 bitcoin from Quoine. |
Op Ed: The Blockchain Education Network $100,000 Challenge
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Bitcoin Magazine, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Blockchain technology, as an overarching industry, has developed leaps and bounds from its geeky, white, cypher-punk roots of yore. (“Yore” being 2015, as it was only a couple years ago that I was a total outlier for simply being a moderate liberal.) When I first entered this space, in earnest, at the end of 2013, I realized that the lack of diversity in “Bitcoin” (as this industry was referred) was entirely untenable if we wanted a true crypto-economy to emerge. What good, I asked myself, is decentralized money, if only a handful of predominately young-to-middle aged male, Western libertarians used it? Maybe good for dark market e-commerce, but that was about it. At least, that was my thesis when I helped found the Blockchain Education Network, BEN, (then dubbed the “College Cryptocurrency Network” or CCN) at the start of 2014. What began as a hodgepodge of “Bitcoin clubs” at a few universities in the United States, within months transformed into a global educational initiative at over one hundred high schools and universities in 20+ countries, on every habitable continent. Different clubs had different focuses beyond just education, from academic research and political advocacy, to entrepreneurship and trading. By the end of the 2014 spring semester, however, we had students from Cambridge (who gave out $100 in BTC to every single undergrad at MIT) to Sierra Leone (where we attempted to help curb the Ebola outbreak with bitcoin remittances). It was a wild ride, and, at a point when much of the world forgot about Bitcoin and nobody was focused on education, we brought young people into the industry in droves and gave them the tools to succeed… and BEN continues to do so, to this day. (Disclaimer: I stepped down as executive director a couple of years ago but remain chairman of the board.) Students who have been a part of BEN have been on the founding teams of Augur (Joey Krug and I met through the nonprofit), Bolt, Coinlist, IOTA, QTUM, and many more. Our members have gone on to work in politics, advocacy and education, and for just about every major blockchain company. BEN hackathons have spawned countless startups and brilliant new ideas. Free tickets we have provided to conferences and events have inspired hundreds of young people to enter this industry full time. As the founder of this organization, however, I have failed to serve it nearly as much as it has served me. After dropping out of school and founding Augur, I was too inexperienced an entrepreneur to balance my responsibilities at this nonprofit and my new startup. It has only been with the incredible work of the students and others who have selflessly volunteered their time to this organization that BEN has been allowed to continue flourishing — I take zero responsibility for its continued success. I would name names but there are too many amazing individuals to count — many of whom I have never even interacted with — as we designed the organization in the same decentralized fashion as Bitcoin. Without diminishing the extraordinary contributions of everyone who has been involved, the two executive directors who succeeded me, Dean Masley and then Jinglan Wang, must be mentioned. They took on a thankless job with zero salary and helped keep this organization thriving on a shoestring budget. Their commitment reverberated across the nonprofit. Moving forward, however, as this technology matures, so must the organizations that foster its adoption. Despite the remarkable work of the Blockchain Education Network’s volunteers, the fact of the matter is that we need some paid staff to help organize students, events, conferences and media. For an organization that has done so much, it’s fairly mind-blowing how little press it has received (my fault again). The organization needs resources to pay for administrative tools, conferences, resource development and curation, as well as student lodging and transportation to events. We want to make sure any young person, regardless of their socioeconomic background, has an opportunity to gain exposure to this revolutionary industry. Nobody should be left behind as this technology accelerates. Thus, I have made a $10,000.00 (USD, in ETH) donation to the Blockchain Education Network. Furthermore, I will match all other donations made over the next four days (through December 31, 2017), up to $100,000.00. The Blockchain Education Network is a federally tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization and is the best way to offset some of your mega crypto-gains this year! In true crypto fashion, give less to the government and more to the industry. The nonprofit accepts donations in dollars and crypto. Just send me your proof of donation on Twitter (@Disruptepreneur) or, preferably, email ([email protected]), and I will match your contribution on the 31st. (I am currently in East Asia, so will be able to compensate for virtually all time zones.) Donation addresses may be found here Here is my initial $10k (ETH) donation:  If you’re a student or academic looking to get involved — go to www.blockchainedu.org and join our Slack! If you’re a company or organization and would like to partner with BEN — please do not hesitate to contact me about sponsorship opportunities for 2018. I can be reached at [email protected]. When I first started BEN, I coined the term #GenerationBlockchain. As this industry matures, and more and more young people begin to think about opportunities in this space, it’s incredibly important that we foster a community that enables them to connect with liked-minded students. We have the potential to create a generation of youth who think about blockchains as intuitively as Generation Z approaches email or social media. I believe this is how we lay the foundation for a true crypto-economy. PS. I am actively seeking some fresh faces on our board of directors — so any super-high caliber references would be greatly appreciated. This is a guest post by Jeremy Gardner. Views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Media Inc or Bitcoin Magazine, nor does this article represent an endorsement.
The post Op Ed: The Blockchain Education Network $100,000 Challenge appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine. |
Traders are betting billions that the hottest stocks of 2017 will get crushed (FB, AAPL, AMZN, GOOG, NFLX)
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
The so-called FANGS — Facebook, Apple, Netflix, and Google — helped drive the S&P 500 to what's set to be its best year since 2013. But they've also attracted a swarm of short sellers. These are traders who borrow shares, then sell them in the hope they'll become cheaper so they can buy them back at a lower price and pocket the difference. All the FANG stocks are high up on the list of S&P 500 companies that investors added the most notional amount of short interest, which represents outstanding shares that have been sold short, from January through December 27.
The data from analytics firm S3 Partners also shows that all the FANG stocks were among the top 10 companies with the highest short interest as of December 27:
This year through Thursday, Facebook was up 55%, Apple was up 48%, Netflix was up 55%, and Google was up 36%. This kind of run-up is perhaps part of the reason why some traders are betting on a reversal. It wasn't surprising that the best-performing stocks in 2017 also drew the most downside bets. What was surprising, S3 Partners noted earlier this year, was that short sellers showed defiance by increasing their positions while their losses mounted. One analyst who's skeptical of the FANGs going in 2018 is Tom Lee, the cofounder of Fundstrat. "We continue to like technology, despite its substantial outperformance in 2017, but we see the performance driven more by non-FANG stocks," he said in a recent note. One red flag, he said, is that the FANG rally has them left those stocks with an expensive price-to-earnings ratio near 46. It's worth mentioning that shareholders have been willing to overlook this kind of valuation for big tech; Amazon, for example, is trading at nearly 300 times earnings. But there's also the repeal of net neutrality, which means that internet service providers will be able to charge customers more for the services (like Netflix and YouTube videos) they help deliver. It's "ultimately a shift in cost sharing — as those networks sending downstream traffic (to end users) need to potentially compensate telecom/cable networks for traffic imbalances," Lee said. Many analysts do expect that the FANGs would continue to rally in 2018, driven by earnings growth and a potential windfall from repatriated cash thanks to tax reform. That would mean another painful year for short sellers. SEE ALSO: Here's what 12 Wall Street pros are predicting for the stock market in 2018 Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's what bitcoin futures could mean for the price of bitcoin |
CRYPTO INSIDER: Bitcoin plunges amid fear of crackdown in South Korea
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
The price of bitcoin dipped below $14,000 Thursday morning amid fears that South Korea plans to shut exchanges. Across the board, the top cryptocurrencies were trading lower. Ripple, which Wednesday announced a consortium with a number of Japanese credit card companies, was the lone coin in the green. Here's the scoreboard as of Thursday afternoon:
What's happening:
SEE ALSO: Bitcoin bull Tom Lee has identified 12 stocks that are perfect if you don’t want to own it Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: PAUL KRUGMAN: Trump can't take credit for the soaring stock market |
Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider’s roundup of all the CRYPTO INSIDER: Bitcoin plunges amid fear of crackdown in South Korea
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
The price of bitcoin dipped below $14,000 Thursday morning amid fears that South Korea plans to shut exchanges. Across the board, the top cryptocurrencies were trading lower. Ripple, which Wednesday announced a consortium with a number of Japanese credit card companies, was the lone coin in the green. Here's the scoreboard as of Thursday afternoon:
What's happening:
SEE ALSO: Bitcoin bull Tom Lee has identified 12 stocks that are perfect if you don’t want to own it Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: PAUL KRUGMAN: Trump can't take credit for the soaring stock market |
CRYPTO INSIDER: Bitcoin plunges amid fear of crackdown in South Korea
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
The price of bitcoin dipped below $14,000 Thursday morning amid fears that South Korea plans to shut exchanges. Across the board, the top cryptocurrencies were trading lower. Ripple, which Wednesday announced a consortium with a number of Japanese credit card companies, was the lone coin in the green. Here's the scoreboard as of Thursday afternoon:
What's happening:
SEE ALSO: Bitcoin bull Tom Lee has identified 12 stocks that are perfect if you don’t want to own it Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: PAUL KRUGMAN: Trump can't take credit for the soaring stock market |
(+) Litecoin the Latest to Take the Plunge as Prices Fall 10%
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post (+) Litecoin the Latest to Take the Plunge as Prices Fall 10% appeared first on CCN The post (+) Litecoin the Latest to Take the Plunge as Prices Fall 10% appeared first on CCN |
South Korea enacts new cryptocurrency regulations
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Engadget, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
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The South Korean government announced new cryptocurrency regulations today, which led to a 12 percent and eight percent drop in bitcoin and ethereum prices, respectively. After the US and Japan, South Korea is the world's third largest market for cry...
Bitcoin is Facing the ‘Moment of Truth’, Says Allianz Economist
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Bitcoin is Facing the ‘Moment of Truth’, Says Allianz Economist appeared first on CCN A top economist at one of Europe’s largest asset management firms said that he believes bitcoin is facing its “moment of truth” as it endures its first significant correction since the launch of bitcoin futures contracts earlier this month. Bitcoin at ‘Defining’ Juncture Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic adviser at Allianz, wrote in a Bloomberg The post Bitcoin is Facing the ‘Moment of Truth’, Says Allianz Economist appeared first on CCN |
Bitcoin Charity Makes $5 Million Donation to Basic Income Experiment
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Bitcoin Charity Makes $5 Million Donation to Basic Income Experiment appeared first on CCN The anonymous founder of bitcoin charity Pineapple Fund struck it rich investing in bitcoin, and now they are using that wealth to help rural Kenyans trapped in extreme poverty. Pineapple Fund Makes $5 Million Donation to GiveDirectly On Friday, “Pine,” the alias of the Pineapple Fund’s founder, announced on the Basic Income subreddit that the The post Bitcoin Charity Makes $5 Million Donation to Basic Income Experiment appeared first on CCN |
The TSA is now waiting until 2020 before it forces some Americans to use a passport to fly domestically
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
But on Thursday the TSA confirmed to Business Insider that the new requirements are being postponed until October 1, 2020. That means that drivers licenses from the nine states — Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Washington — will remain valid for air travel for the next few years. The new ID requirements are detailed by the REAL ID Act. Among other things, the 2005 law outlines new federal requirements that must be met in order for state-issued IDs to be considered valid for federal purposes, such as entering secure federal buildings or traveling by air.
In particular, the requirements pertain to what information states collect before issuing identification. For a driver's license to be REAL ID-compliant, a state must require applicants to present either a photo ID or an ID which includes a full name and birth date, proof of birth date (generally a birth certificate), proof of resident status and social security number, and proof of address. REAL IDs are also required to have the holder's signature, gender, a unique identifying number, and certain anti-tampering or counterfeiting measures. A TSA spokesman told Business Insider the reason that the new requirements will not be put into effect next month is that the nine states which were going to become non compliant have all been granted extensions. Implementation of the law for air travel has been postponed a few times previously as individual states have filed for extensions as they build the infrastructure necessary to meet the requirements of the law. The latest postponement gives states more time to change their ID-issuing process. Some states, like Massachusetts, have outlined plans to begin issuing REAL ID-compliant licenses. While a TSA webpage still shows January 2018 as the deadline; the TSA spokesman confirmed to Business Insider that drivers licenses from the nine listed states will continue to be valid for air travel until October 2020. SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 10 best economy-class airlines in the world Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The 5 issues to consider before trading bitcoin futures |
Massachusetts Securities Regulator: Bitcoin Fails "The Smell Test"
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The top securities regulator in Massachusetts raised concerns on the bitcoin bubble and called the bitcoin market "entirely speculation." |
'Heed these words of warning:' Ethereum founder threatens to leave if the crypto community doesn't grow up
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
The 23-year-old took to Twitter on Wednesday to lament the immaturity of communities across the cryptocurrency market. He said folks in the space should understand the difference between enacting positive change for society, and just moving a bunch of money around. Here's Buterin:
Energies are being squandered on memeing about luxury cars and inappropriate jokes, according to Buterin. And if things don't change he warned he would leave the space altogether.
The market for digital coins has exploded this year, with bitcoin and ethereum leading the way. Ethereum is up more than 8,500% since the beginning of the year. Also, ethereum paved the way for hundreds of initial coin offerings, a cryptocurrency twist on the initial public offering process. Autonomous NEXT, a fintech analytics firms, estimates over $4 billion has been raised via ICOs, which help startups raise capital outside traditional financial services. In total, the market for digital coins has exploded from just under $18 billion at the start of the year to a whopping $560 billion at last check, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com. Still, Buterin has questioned whether such gains are grounded in reality. Here's Buterin in a tweet soon after the crypto market surpassed $500 billion for the first time:
He went on:
Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Cryptocurrency is the next step in the digitization of everything — 'It’s sort of inevitable' |
Bitcoin ‘Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test’: Massachusetts Securities Regulator
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Bitcoin ‘Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test’: Massachusetts Securities Regulator appeared first on CCN Massachusetts’ top securities regulator cautioned investors against purchasing bitcoin, claiming that it “doesn’t pass the smell test.” Bitcoin ‘Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test’ Speaking with CNBC, William Galvin, the secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, said that the dramatic rise of the bitcoin price was based entirely on speculation, not real fundamentals. “There is no The post Bitcoin ‘Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test’: Massachusetts Securities Regulator appeared first on CCN |
South Korea to Tighten Bitcoin Exchange Rules Amid ‘Speculative’ Boom
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The South Korea now bans domestic cryptocurrency exchanges from allowing users to make transactions through anonymous accounts. |
South Korea is Not Banning Bitcoin but FUD Drives Price Down
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post South Korea is Not Banning Bitcoin but FUD Drives Price Down appeared first on CCN Earlier today, unconfirmed and false rumors that the South Korean government will ban bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges led the price of bitcoin down. South Korea is Not Banning Bitcoin Reuters published a four-sentence article on December 27, claiming that the South Korean government will enforce new regulations and close down cryptocurrency exchanges. However, merely hours The post South Korea is Not Banning Bitcoin but FUD Drives Price Down appeared first on CCN |
Exmo Bitcoin exchange chief executive kidnapped in Kiev
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BBC, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Pavel Lerner was kidnapped on Boxing Day in Kiev. |
Cryptocurrency Market Cap Sheds $50 Billion as Bitcoin, Ethereum Prices Skid
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Cryptocurrency Market Cap Sheds $50 Billion as Bitcoin, Ethereum Prices Skid appeared first on CCN The cryptocurrency market cap shed $50 billion on Thursday as the result of a widespread market correction that forced a myriad of prominent coins into double-digit percentage declines. Cryptocurrency Market Cap Endures $50 Billion Decline Yesterday, the cryptocurrency market cap recovered back to $600 billion after last week’s severe correction, but today’s pullback dropped it The post Cryptocurrency Market Cap Sheds $50 Billion as Bitcoin, Ethereum Prices Skid appeared first on CCN |
10 things in tech you need to know today
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
Good morning! Here's your morning primer on what's happening in the tech world. 1. There are reports that Samsung's latest phone, the Galaxy Note 8, has a battery issue: Some customers using the Galaxy Note 8 are complaining that the battery in their phones stops charging. 2. Apple's latest proxy filing revealed that CEO Tim Cook made $12.8 million in 2017 — a 46% raise from the previous year: Apple's board is also requiring that Cook fly private from now on "in the interests of security and efficiency." 3. BuzzFeed fired its White House correspondent following allegations of inappropriate comments to a colleague: Adrian Carrasquillo was let go following an internal investigation, a representative told Business Insider on Wednesday. 4. The mysterious bitcoin tycoon who promised to give away their $86 million fortune has made another donation: The wealthy bitcoin investor whose identity is still unknown gave $1 million in bitcoin to The Internet Archive. 5. Nintendo is reportedly delaying the availability of 64 GB game cartridges for its Switch console into 2019: Without higher-capacity cartridges, it's going to be harder for developers to bring their top-tier, graphically-intensive titles to the Switch. 6. Snapchat is reportedly working on a feature that would enable third-party publishers to share Snapchat Stories on outside platforms: The project is being led by Rahul Chopra, who previously served as CEO of the social news aggregation service Storyful, as well as global head of video for News Corp. 7. Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies, Johny Srouji, is now the company's second-best-paid exec: Srouji oversees Apple's growing processor-making operations, spearheading the design of custom iPhone chips. 8. HQ Trivia set a new record on Christmas Day, as 730,000 people tuned in live to compete for an unusually large $12,000 jackpot: That's more than twice as many people as usual for the 4-month-old app, which had around 300,000 players per game through much of December. 9. Instagram rolls out "Recommended for You" posts in its main feed: Your Instagram feed will no longer only show you photos from friends and ads, a significant change for the social network. 10. Apple and Amazon are reportedly in licensing talks to invest in Saudi Arabia: While both companies already sell their products in Saudi Arabia through third parties, Reuters reports that neither company has a direct presence. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: What those tiny rivets on your jeans are for |
El-Erian Predicts Bitcoin Crash if Savvier Investors Sit Out Correction
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Either the investor base diversifies during this price correction or bitcoin will crash very hard, former Pimco chief predicts. |
Ripple Officially Overtakes Bitcoin Cash, Surpasses $51 Billion Market Valuation
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Ripple Officially Overtakes Bitcoin Cash, Surpasses $51 Billion Market Valuation appeared first on CCN Over the past 24 hours, Ripple has overtaken Bitcoin Cash to become the third largest cryptocurrency behind bitcoin and Ethereum, with a staggering $51 billion market valuation. Why Did Ripple Surge in Value? Earlier today, the entire cryptocurrency market experienced a major correction, as nearly every cryptocurrency in the market with the exception of a The post Ripple Officially Overtakes Bitcoin Cash, Surpasses $51 Billion Market Valuation appeared first on CCN |
Ripple Officially Overtakes Bitcoin Cash, Surpasses $51 Billion Market Valuation
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Ripple Officially Overtakes Bitcoin Cash, Surpasses $51 Billion Market Valuation appeared first on CCN Over the past 24 hours, Ripple has overtaken Bitcoin Cash to become the third largest cryptocurrency behind bitcoin and Ethereum, with a staggering $51 billion market valuation. Why Did Ripple Surge in Value? Earlier today, the entire cryptocurrency market experienced a major correction, as nearly every cryptocurrency in the market with the exception of a The post Ripple Officially Overtakes Bitcoin Cash, Surpasses $51 Billion Market Valuation appeared first on CCN |
(+) Crypto Update: Bitcoin Price Down $3000 in Two Days as South Korean Regulation Worries Drive Majors Lower
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post (+) Crypto Update: Bitcoin Price Down $3000 in Two Days as South Korean Regulation Worries Drive Majors Lower appeared first on CCN The post (+) Crypto Update: Bitcoin Price Down $3000 in Two Days as South Korean Regulation Worries Drive Majors Lower appeared first on CCN |
$105 Million in Bitcoin…in a Landfill: Council Denies Owner to Recover Missing Hard Drive
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post $105 Million in Bitcoin…in a Landfill: Council Denies Owner to Recover Missing Hard Drive appeared first on CCN James Howells, the IT worker who unwittingly discarded a hard drive containing what is now estimated to hold $75 million worth of bitcoin, knows where the missing hard drive is, but he can’t try to retrieve it. That’s because the city in which the fortune is buried won’t allow him to dig in the landfill. The The post $105 Million in Bitcoin…in a Landfill: Council Denies Owner to Recover Missing Hard Drive appeared first on CCN |
10 things you need to know before the opening bell (SPY, SPX, QQQ, DIA, AAPL)
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
Here is what you need to know. Bitcoin plunges on fears South Korea will shut exchanges. The cryptocurrency trades down more than 10% near $13,800 a coin after the South Korean government warned it may close some cryptocurrency exchanges amid "irrationally overheated" trading. Bitcoin is losing its dominance over crypto. The digital coin commanded nearly 90% of the crypto market at the beginning of 2017, but that number hit a low of 42% on Monday, according to data from CoinMarketCap.com. The yield curve is the flattest it's been since 2007. The spread between the 2-year and 10-year yields fell below 51 basis points on Wednesday, making for the tightest it's been since the fourth quarter of 2007. Oil prices are expected to spend 2018 close to where they are now. West Texas Intermediate crude oil is expected to average $55.78 a barrel next year as OPEC and Russia continue their efforts to curb production and US shale continues to boom, according to a Reuters survey of 32 economists. WTI is currently trading at $59.74. Tim Cook scored a big raise in 2017. Apple's CEO raked in $12.8 million in 2017, a 46% raise from last year. A lawyer who once advised Martin Shkreli has been convicted of helping him defraud a pharamceutical company. Evan Greebel, who was outside counsel to Shkreli's former company Retrophin, was found guilty by a federal jury in Brooklyn of charges he conspired to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, Reuters reports. The world's 500 wealthiest people made $1 trillion in 2017. The 500 wealthiest people in the world got $1 trillion richer in 2017 with their total fortunes hitting more than $5 trillion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. Consumer confidence slides off 17-year highs. US consumer confidence slid off 17-year highs in December, falling to 122.1 from 1228.6, according to The Conference Board's monthly survey. Stock markets around the world are mostly lower. China's Shanghai Composite (-0.92%) trailed in Asia and Germany's DAX (-0.17%) lags in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near 2,685. US economic data is light. Inital claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET and Chicago PMI will cross the wires at 9:45 a.m. ET. |
India’s Tax Sleuths are Looking Into Bitcoin Profiteers’ Overall Wealth
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post India’s Tax Sleuths are Looking Into Bitcoin Profiteers’ Overall Wealth appeared first on CCN India’s income tax (IT) department is taking a closer look at the overall wealth of individuals making gains in bitcoin trading through exchanges. After outlining their intent to collect taxes from bitcoin adopters raking in profits from this year’s soaring gains, India’s official tax authority will reportedly zero in on certain individuals’ overall wealth when The post India’s Tax Sleuths are Looking Into Bitcoin Profiteers’ Overall Wealth appeared first on CCN |
The 500 wealthiest people in the world made $1 trillion in 2017
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
The staggering 23% increase is more than four times higher than last year, and brought total fortunes to more than $5 trillion. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the 500 richest people in the world, revealed that billionaires controlled $5.3 trillion by the end of trading on December 26, up from $4.4 trillion on December 27, 2016. The 440 billionaires on the Index who added to their fortunes in 2017 gained a combined $1.05 trillion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos regained the title of richest person in the world in October, knocking Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to second and adding the most wealth in the world throughout the year with a $34.2 billion gain. Bezos' net worth topped $100 billion at the end of November and currently sits at $99.6 billion. Gates, meanwhile, has a net worth of $91.3 billion, having donated much of his fortune to charity this year, including a $4.6 billion donation to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in August. He wasn't the only one who dropped on the list due to donating a substantial amount of cash — George Soros revealed in October that his family office had given $18 billion to his Open Society Foundations over the past several years, according to Bloomberg, putting Soros at number 195 on the Index with a net worth of $8 billion. A big year for techThe 38 Chinese billionaires on the Index added $177 billion in 2017, a 65% gain that was the biggest of the 49 countries represented, according to Bloomberg. The number of Asian billionaires also surpassed the U.S. for the first time, according to a UBS Group AG and PricewaterhouseCoopers report. Still, the U.S. has the largest presence on the Index, with 159 billionaires who added $315 billion, an 18% gain that gives them a collective net worth of $2 trillion. Meanwhile, the 57 technology billionaires on the Index added $262 billion, a 35% increase that was the most of any sector on the list. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg had the fourth largest U.S. dollar increase on the Index, adding $22.6 billion, or 45%. The Index also discovered 67 hidden billionaires in 2017, including Renaissance Technologies' Henry Laufer, fish billionaires Vitaly Orlov of Russia and Chuck Bundrant of Trident Seafood, New York real estate moguls Ben Ashkenazy and Joel Wiener, and bitcoin investors Tyler and Cameron Winkelvoss. A billion 'doesn't buy what it used to'However, 60 of the top 500 did not add to their fortunes, and 58 some even saw them fall, losing a combined $46 billion. French telecommunications billionaire Patrick Drahi saw his fortune drop 39% to $6.3 billion, while Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal — the richest person in Saudi Arabia — dropped $1.9 billion to $17.8 billion after a crackdown against corruption. Sixty billionaires also fell from the ranking completely. According to Bloomberg, as the wealth of the richest people in the world skyrockets, a billion dollars "doesn't buy what it used to," with house prices hitting $300 million, the cost of divorce at $1 billion, and a painting by Leonardo da Vinci selling for $450.3 million at a Christie’s auction in November, the most expensive work ever sold. "It’s part of the second-most robust and second-longest bull market in history," Mike Ryan, chief investment officer for the Americas at UBS Wealth Management, told Bloomberg. "Of all the guidance we gave people over the course of this year, the most important advice was staying invested." Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The CIO of a crypto hedge fund reveals why you should be cautious of the ICO bubble |
Bitcoin plunges on fears South Korea will shut exchanges
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
Bitcoin plunged below $14,000 after the South Korean government warned it may close some cryptocurrency exchanges amid "irrationally overheated" trading. Bloomberg News reported that South Korea will require cryptocurrency transactions to name participants and ban banks from offering virtual accounts. The government may also direct law enforcement officials to close some exchanges. “Cryptocurrency speculation has been irrationally overheated in Korea,” the South Korean government said in a statement reported by Bloomberg. “The government can’t leave the abnormal situation of speculation any longer.” Here's the chart as of 8:20 a.m. UK time:
South Korea is an important market for cryptocurrency trading. Mati Greenspan, an analyst with trading platform eToro, said in an email this month: "Recent estimates state that 21% of all global BTC volume are done in Korean Won." Earlier in December, South Korean officials reportedly banned local finance firms from handling bitcoin futures, one of the hottest new financial products to launch in years. South Korea has taken a tough stance on digital currencies, banning initial coin offerings (ICOs) earlier this year. ICOs involve startups issuing their own digital currencies to raise funds. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The CIO of a crypto hedge fund reveals why you should be cautious of the ICO bubble |
South Korea to Enforce Ban on Anonymous Bitcoin Trading: Reports
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post South Korea to Enforce Ban on Anonymous Bitcoin Trading: Reports appeared first on CCN South Korean authorities are reportedly introducing curbs on the trading of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin within the country. Reuters is reporting that South Korea’s government is weighing in with new rules on the country’s cryptocurrency trading market that is firmly among the largest in the world. While unverified by CCN at press time, the Reuters report The post South Korea to Enforce Ban on Anonymous Bitcoin Trading: Reports appeared first on CCN |
Bitcoin is so volatile its risk-adjusted return is worse than stocks
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
In fact, bitcoin is so volatile that an average bitcoin investor will have done less well than someone who put the same money into stocks in the post-Trump period, he wrote in a recent note to clients. The S&P 500 and the Euro Stoxx both produced far higher risk-adjusted returns than bitcoin in the same period.
Varathan made his calculation using the Sharpe Ratio, which factors risk into investment returns. His analysis is interesting given the central problem of valuing bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is so novel that it has largely defied traditional financial valuation attempts. Morgan Stanley, for instance, recently suggested its true price might be zero, given how few retailers accept it for payment. The Sharpe calculation works like this: Sure, in theory, if you had bought bitcoin at exactly the right time and sold at exactly the right time, your investment would have gained nearly 2,000%. But most investors can't be that lucky. The price of bitcoin is so volatile — it moves so dramatically and so quickly — that even if you have good gains today they are frequently wiped out in the next day's trading. So it makes sense to account for that volatility by comparing it to a risk-free return, such as an investment in US Treasuries. Bitcoins gains are only valuable if they return more than the risk-free option of investing in treasury bonds. So Varathan factors in this risk by calculating a standard deviation for the price of bitcoin, and comparing that to treasuries. "Compelling returns of Bitcoin are distinctly less so once the returns are 'risk-adjusted,'" he told clients. "Using the Sharpe Ratio concept - to normalize excess returns (over returns on USTs) for volatility (standard deviation) - Bitcoin returns look meagre."
Varathan concludes:
Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: We talked to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman about tax reform, Trump, and bitcoin |
Trump, China, and Brexit: All the times the market consensus was wrong in 2017
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
Broadly speaking those surprises have been good ones for those in the markets, with many of the big negative events forecast for the year failing to materialise. To name just a couple of examples, there was no Brexit-triggered recession in the UK, no collapse of the Italian banking system. But what were the biggest mistakes that the consensus of forecasters made during the year? Writing in a note to clients earlier in December, Sam Bonney, an FX strategist at Japanese lender Nomura, decided to have a look at what — in his words — "caught the market out this year." Bonney identifies four key areas where the market consensus proved to be way wide of the mark this year. Check them out below. 1. The markets got the Trump presidency wrong"Going into 2017, it was all about the US. The prospects of substantial fiscal stimulus and an ‘America First’ agenda from President Trump were expected to drive US rates and the dollar higher. In fact, quite the opposite happened," Bonney wrote. Instead, Bonney notes, Trump struggled to pass legislation, and the rest of the world managed to catch up with the US in terms of growth. "Trump took much longer to get fiscal policy through than expected. Moreover, whilst US growth forecasts were unchanged through the year, the euro area, Japan, China and the UK all saw growth revisions substantially higher," Bonney wrote, pointing to the chart below:
2. Economists underestimated the Federal Reserve's desire to hike rates, and overestimated the dollar"Whilst US inflation disappointed, the Fed hiked more times than economists were forecasting (three vs two). Short-end US rates are over 55bps higher in 2017. Despite this, the dollar depreciated as the rest-of-world ‘catch up’ story materialised and other central banks moved towards the Fed in the policy cycle," Bonney said. 3. "China (again)"Another year, another misplaced consensus view on the world's second largest economy. "Consensus was wrong about China for the second year running," Bonney wrote. "Growth in the world’s second-largest economy was 0.3pp above expectations, with President Xi stabilising the Chinese economy ahead of the 19th National Congress." "More broadly, much of EM held up well in 2017. Positive growth surprises in India, Korea and Mexico have not gone unnoticed by markets. Low and stable US yields has seen broad EMFX outperformance this year." The chart below illustrates Bonney's second argument:
4. BrexitFinally, Bonney argued that forecasters overestimated the negative impact that Brexit would have on the UK economy, while also getting the Bank of England totally wrong. "UK economic growth surpassed economists’ expectations in 2017," Bonney wrote. "Inflation forecasts were also revised higher. But the biggest shock for markets came from the BoE. In January, the central bank was widely expected to remain cautious and on hold as Brexit negotiations progressed. The BoE has now hiked in the face of tighter labour markets and above-target inflation." As a result, forecasts made at the beginning of the year for the path of the pound were too pessimistic, Bonney concluded. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The 5 issues to consider before trading bitcoin futures |
Tech 2017: BBC News Online's biggest technology stories
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BBC, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Apple, ransomware and Bitcoin all feature prominently in BBC Tech's most read stories of the year. |
Bitcoin Price Falls 10% as Cryptocurrency Market Endures Another Big Correction
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Bitcoin Price Falls 10% as Cryptocurrency Market Endures Another Big Correction appeared first on CCN The bitcoin price has fallen by more than 10 percent over the past 24 hours, as the cryptocurrency market endured yet another major correction for the third time in December. Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, IOTA, and Others Fall With one exception in Ripple, major cryptocurrencies in the market including bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, The post Bitcoin Price Falls 10% as Cryptocurrency Market Endures Another Big Correction appeared first on CCN |
Bitcoin Price Falls 10% as Cryptocurrency Market Endures Another Big Correction
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Bitcoin Price Falls 10% as Cryptocurrency Market Endures Another Big Correction appeared first on CCN The bitcoin price has fallen by more than 10 percent over the past 24 hours, as the cryptocurrency market endured yet another major correction for the third time in December. Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, IOTA, and Others Fall With one exception in Ripple, major cryptocurrencies in the market including bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, The post Bitcoin Price Falls 10% as Cryptocurrency Market Endures Another Big Correction appeared first on CCN |
Bitcoin Price Falls 10% as Cryptocurrency Market Endures Another Big Correction
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The post Bitcoin Price Falls 10% as Cryptocurrency Market Endures Another Big Correction appeared first on CCN The bitcoin price has fallen by more than 10 percent over the past 24 hours, as the cryptocurrency market endured yet another major correction for the third time in December. Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, IOTA, and Others Fall With one exception in Ripple, major cryptocurrencies in the market including bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, The post Bitcoin Price Falls 10% as Cryptocurrency Market Endures Another Big Correction appeared first on CCN |