This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

• The market for digital currencies was on a tear Tuesday afternoon after two major US regulators addressed members of the Senate on cryptocurrency. 
• Bitcoin picked up more than 12% in afternoon trading, and the cryptocurrency market added $40 billion in value.
• Regulators are taking a "do no harm approach" to the crypto market, while monitoring activity in the ICO market closely. 

Lawmakers pressed the two top financial regulators during a morning hearing on cryptocurrency — and now the market for digital currency is storming back.

The price of bitcoin, which has had a bearish start to the year, soared past $7,700 during Tuesday's trading session. At the time of writing, the coin was trading up 12% against the US dollar at $7,756 — a more than $1,700 increase from its daily low set early Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, the market for digital currencies picked up more than $40 billion in market capitalization over the last 10 hours. 

Tuesday's rally ramped up soon after Jay Clayton, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and J. Christopher Giancarlo, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, addressed members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee on the red-hot topic of bitcoin, blockchain technology, and cryptocurrency. 

The long and short of the hearing: US regulators see the transformative potential within blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. But they also see a nascent market in need of more policing. 

"We sort of got what we hoped for and expected," said Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at Coin Center, a cryptocurrency think tank based in Washington DC, in an interview with Business Insider. "We were expecting them to say 'we've got this don't worry, we have the authority to police these markets,' and that's basically what unfolded in the hearing."

"The cryptocurrency community seems to be reacting positively to what it heard today," Neeraj Agrawai, a spokesperson for Coin Center, added. 

Clayton reiterated the agency's stance on initial coin offerings, a cryptocurrency twist on the IPO process. The funding mechanism, which is a darling of young tech companies, has helped some raise hundreds of millions of dollars from mostly mom-and-pop investors, although not without controversy. Already, the SEC has halted a number of ICOs through its Cyber Unit for issuing text-book securities to investors.

"There should be no misunderstanding about the law," Clayton said in prepared remarks. "When investors are offered and sold securities — which to date ICOs have largely been — they are entitled to the benefits of state and federal securities laws and sellers and other market participants must follow these laws."

Clayton and Giancarlo also praised the underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies — blockchain — and the impact the technology could have on Wall Street. Giancarlo, whose agency gave the green light on bitcoin futures in December, said it would be irresponsible for regulators to ignore that cryptocurrencies have ushered in a "paradigm shift." As such, he said the agency is taking a "do no harm approach." Here's Giancarlo:

"I believe that 'do no harm' is the right overarching approach for distributed ledger technology. With the proper balance of sound policy, regulatory oversight and private sector innovation, new technologies will allow American markets to evolve in responsible ways and continue to grow our economy and increase prosperity."

 The news was well received by one cryptocurrency executive. "We welcome these comments," Bruno Wu, the head of Seven Stars Cloud, an operator of a blockchain dark pool, said. 

"The total size of the cryptocurrency market is not even 1% of the legacy financial system," Wu said. "There is a big opportunity to take the infrastructure that exists in the legacy market and to update it into the crypto era."

Bitcoin has had a rough start to 2018, hit by fears of a regulatory crackdown and slipping Asian volumes. The market for digital currency has shaved more than $480 billion of value since hitting an all-time high above $800 billion at the beginning of January. 

This post has been updated.

SEE ALSO: Robinhood users ramped up deposits during Monday's market bloodbath

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After a January correction which saw bitcoin shed $8,000, the world's largest cryptocurrency began making a comeback on Tuesday.

"It's important to remember that if there were no bitcoin, there would be no distributed ledger technology," Giancarlo told a U.S. Senate committee.

As might be expected, Tuesday's Senate hearing touched on cryptocurrencies' volatility. But the head of the CFTC put the matter in perspective.

• An Amtrak train traveling from Washington, D.C., to Boston broke apart while reportedly moving at 125 mph.
• Amtrak said the incident resulted from a "mechanical issue."
• The incident follows three accidents involving Amtrak trains since December.

Two cars on Amtrak Acela Express train 2150 separated while traveling from Washington, D.C., to Boston on Tuesday morning, Amtrak told Business Insider. The incident occurred at around 6:40 a.m. and resulted from a "mechanical issue," though no additional details were provided about the accident's cause.

The train was carrying around 52 passengers who were transferred to another train. No injuries have been reported.

The New York Post first reported the accident and stated that the train was traveling to New York from DC. The Post also reported that the train was reportedly moving at 125 mph at the time of the accident, but Amtrak declined to comment on the speed. 

This incident follows a string of Amtrak accidents in recent months, beginning with the January 18 derailment in Washington state that killed three passengers and injured 62 passengers and crew members after the train was moving 78 mph in a 30 mph zone during its first trip on a new route. 

On January 3, three cars derailed in Savannah, Georgia, on an Amtrak train traveling from Miami to New York. And on Sunday, two passengers were killed and over 100 were injured when a passenger train crashed into a stationary freight train in Cayce, South Carolina.

The accidents in Washington and South Carolina occurred on trains that were not able to use positive train control (PTC), a technology that can send warnings to trains or automatically stop them if it senses a dangerous situation approaching. While Congress mandated that all Class 1 railroad mainlines in the US, like those used for passenger service, be equipped with PTC by the end of 2015, the deadline was later pushed back to the end of 2018 with the chance for another two-year extension.

It is not clear if Acela Express train 2150 was equipped with PTC, or if PTC could have prevented the accident. An Amtrak spokesperson told Business Insider that the company is currently investigating the incident.

SEE ALSO: Federal investigators are trying to figure out what role a mechanical switch played in the Amtrak crash that killed 2 people in South Carolina

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NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff on the next financial crisis and the future of bitcoin

The post Without Bitcoin, There Would Be No Blockchain: CFTC Chairman Tells US Senate appeared first on CCN

The chairmen of two top US market regulatory agencies largely stuck to the script during Tuesday’s Senate hearing on potential cryptocurrency regulations. The hearing, which was held by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, touched on a broad range of regulatory concerns related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, including initial coin offerings

The post Without Bitcoin, There Would Be No Blockchain: CFTC Chairman Tells US Senate appeared first on CCN

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours. Sign up here to get the best of Business Insider delivered direct to your inbox.

Buckle up: The day after the largest point-drop in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, markets continued to swing wildly. 

After falling nearly 1,200 points yesterday, the Dow opened Tuesday down 568 points before surging to a gain of more than 250 points and continuing to whipsaw from there.

One of the most common scapegoats for the Monday meltdown among Wall Streeters? The robots. Machine-based traders have been blamed by many for the drop, which included a ramp up in the VIX, a measure of stock market volatility, and a steep sell-off in equities.

Speaking of the VIX: One casualty of the recent market action is Cboe Holdings, which fell 15% on Tuesday. The exchange is home to the VIX, and generates as much as a quarter of its revenue from products linked to the index.

In 2017, shorting the VIX was one of the easiest ways to make money. But the dream is now over as the so-called stock market fear gauge, which generally trades inversely to the S&P 500 and has spent most of the last year locked near record lows, spiked a record 84% on Monday.

Two of the products designed to return the inverse of the VIX saw their combined value shrink to $150 million from $3 billion.

Here's more from Business Insider's coverage of the sell-off:

• Here's what Goldman Sachs, UBS, Deutsche Bank, and more are saying about the global stock market rout
• BARCLAYS: A group of niche volatility traders will sell $225 billion of US stocks 'in the next few days'
• 'A perfect storm': European stocks plummeted on Tuesday as global market volatility spiked
• Hedge funds are making an unprecedented bet that's signaling more stock market pain
• 'There's no place to hide': A Wall Street chief strategist breaks down the stock market's catastrophic plunge
• High-speed trading firms have been hoping for market chaos just like this
• Here are three theories about why stocks are puking, and what they mean for the economy
• Wall Street lays out the case for a comeback that would quickly erase the stock market's plunge
• One word keeps popping up as Wall Street tries to explain the stock market meltdown
• Credit Suisse is pulling the plug on an investment product that just got wiped out with the stock market's drop
• A Wall Street trading giant is riding the volatility wave

Worried about the impact the market swing is having on your investments? Lauren Lyons Cole, a certified financial planner and a senior editor at Business Insider, explains what to do with your money right now.

In other economic news, Mohamed El-Erian tells us 3% growth is within reach in the US as long as it sidesteps three risks.

We're on the ground at SpaceX's planned launch of its biggest and most powerful rocket. Here's how to watch live.

Travis Kalanick is making his first public appearance since leaving Uber — and it’s to testify in the tech trial everyone’s watching.

In crypto news:

Lastly, here's where Americans pay the most in state income taxes, ranked from worst to best.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Amazon is shaking up a healthcare industry that's ripe for disruption

Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours. Sign up here to get the best of Business Insider delivered direct to your inbox.

Buckle up: The day after the largest point-drop in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, markets continued to swing wildly. 

After falling nearly 1,200 points yesterday, the Dow opened Tuesday down 568 points before surging to a gain of more than 250 points and continuing to whipsaw from there.

One of the most common scapegoats for the Monday meltdown among Wall Streeters? The robots. Machine-based traders have been blamed by many for the drop, which included a ramp up in the VIX, a measure of stock market volatility, and a steep sell-off in equities.

Speaking of the VIX: One casualty of the recent market action is Cboe Holdings, which fell 15% on Tuesday. The exchange is home to the VIX, and generates as much as a quarter of its revenue from products linked to the index.

In 2017, shorting the VIX was one of the easiest ways to make money. But the dream is now over as the so-called stock market fear gauge, which generally trades inversely to the S&P 500 and has spent most of the last year locked near record lows, spiked a record 84% on Monday.

Two of the products designed to return the inverse of the VIX saw their combined value shrink to $150 million from $3 billion.

Here's more from Business Insider's coverage of the sell-off:

• Here's what Goldman Sachs, UBS, Deutsche Bank, and more are saying about the global stock market rout
• BARCLAYS: A group of niche volatility traders will sell $225 billion of US stocks 'in the next few days'
• 'A perfect storm': European stocks plummeted on Tuesday as global market volatility spiked
• Hedge funds are making an unprecedented bet that's signaling more stock market pain
• 'There's no place to hide': A Wall Street chief strategist breaks down the stock market's catastrophic plunge
• High-speed trading firms have been hoping for market chaos just like this
• Here are three theories about why stocks are puking, and what they mean for the economy
• Wall Street lays out the case for a comeback that would quickly erase the stock market's plunge
• One word keeps popping up as Wall Street tries to explain the stock market meltdown
• Credit Suisse is pulling the plug on an investment product that just got wiped out with the stock market's drop
• A Wall Street trading giant is riding the volatility wave

Worried about the impact the market swing is having on your investments? Lauren Lyons Cole, a certified financial planner and a senior editor at Business Insider, explains what to do with your money right now.

In other economic news, Mohamed El-Erian tells us 3% growth is within reach in the US as long as it sidesteps three risks.

We're on the ground at SpaceX's planned launch of its biggest and most powerful rocket. Here's how to watch live.

Travis Kalanick is making his first public appearance since leaving Uber — and it’s to testify in the tech trial everyone’s watching.

In crypto news:

Lastly, here's where Americans pay the most in state income taxes, ranked from worst to best.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Amazon is shaking up a healthcare industry that's ripe for disruption

The post Bread Wallet Enables International Bitcoin Purchases with Credit Cards appeared first on CCN

The timing of the rollout couldn’t be better. Zug, Switzerland-based bitcoin wallet startup Bread unveiled plans to accept international bitcoin purchases via credit card. Bread is boasting features such as “high limits” and same-day delivery for bitcoin purchases, both of which are often missing from cryptocurrency exchanges. By allowing this service, which is a product

The post Bread Wallet Enables International Bitcoin Purchases with Credit Cards appeared first on CCN

• Eddy Zillan invested his entire savings into cryptocurrencies when he was 15 years old and made over a million dollars in profits.
• Zillan has spent the past three years studying cryptocurrencies and now offers his services as a cryptocurrency consultant. 

When Eddy Zillan first started trading in cryptocurrencies, he was too young to open an account on the trading platform, Coinbase, which requires its users to be at least 18 years old. But at age 15, Zillan glossed over the site's terms of agreement and opened an account on Coinbase and another trading platform called Kraken, cautiously purchasing $100 worth of the cryptocurrency ethereum. 

Zillan says he was initially skeptical of putting his money on the fledgling cryptocurrency market, which he'd first heard about in reference to the now-defunct drug trading website, the Silk Road. When Zillan began investing in 2015, there were few credible resources available offering advice on how to invest in cryptocurrencies.

"At the time I invested, there were no YouTubers, there were no investors, there was no one I could learn from," Zillan said in an interview with Business Insider. "There were no books or mentors, and it was really hard to teach myself a formal education in that field."

When Zillan checked his accounts a few hours after investing his first $100, he found that he'd already made $10. Ten dollars may not sound like much, but Zillan admits he was floored. 

"I thought, 'Wow, I just made a 10% return in a day. That's crazy,'" he said.

The next day, Zillan put in more cash. This time, it was $1,000.

A week later, he added an additional $5,000, and the week after that, another $6,000.

Before long, Zillan had invested a total of just over $12,000, the entirety of his savings from teaching tennis lessons along with the tidy nest egg he'd received from gifts and his Bar Mitzvah a few years earlier.

"I risked everything," he said. 

At first, Zillan's parents had mixed feelings about their son's interest in digital currencies. While his mother approved, his father cautioned against what he considered to be an extremely risky venture. But Zillan's own skepticism was evaporating by the day.

Within the first few months, his returns had begun to skyrocket. As his gains inched higher, Zillan began to read about cryptocurrencies obsessively, sometimes spending hours a day on cryptocurrency forums or chatting with other investors online. Soon, he was dabbling in alternate cryptocurrencies — also known as altcoins — and day trading.

In just one short year, Zillan's initial investment had snowballed. He claims his entire cryptocurrency portfolio had tallied a staggering $350,000.

Zillan continued educating himself on cryptocurrencies with the few resources available online. Mostly, Zillan says that his knowledge of the market stems from the conversations he's had with other investors and the people who have created the cryptocurrencies themselves.

Like many people who invested in cryptocurrencies early on, Zillan knows that his profits are partially owed to a case of opportune timing. But Zillan says that making smart investments in cryptocurrencies requires more skill than simply opening an account on Coinbase. Zillan doesn't underestimate his good timing, but he ultimately credits his business acumen and understanding of digital currencies for his enormous returns.

Today, Zillan says his portfolio sits comfortably at over a million dollars, and he's turning his eye to another venture in the cryptocurrency field: advising. 

The high school student, who turned 18 in August, has spent the past year broadening his business interest in cryptocurrencies. His company, Cryptocurrency Financial, offers cryptocurrency investing advice to businesses and novice investors. This week, he plans to launch the program's consumer-focused app, coinalert.ly, which will be a mix of resources geared at cryptocurrency investors, along with insider trading tips, guides, explainers, and news. 

Zillan says the app fills a void in the cryptocurrency market. Despite the growing influence of cryptocurrencies, there's still not a great deal of resources available when it comes to investing advice.

So far, cryptocurrency communities have relied largely on sites like Reddit to discuss the often volatile market, the strength of a given currency, and what seem to be pump-and-dump schemes. Zillan, who offers private cryptocurrency investing services for $250 an hour, says his goal isn't necessarily to make money off of the company.

"My goal is to make the crypto community bigger," he said. "I want to see cryptocurrencies as the future."

Zillan is by no means the first to offer his skills as a cryptocurrency investment guru. Amid the palpable fervor of the digital gold rush, a slew of self-proclaimed "crypto geniuses" and "crypto experts" have emerged online, espousing promises of effortless wealth in an attempt to capitalize on their investing know-how. 

Zillan says his expertise sets him apart from other cryptocurrency advisors on the market. While other advisors might resort to tricks or manipulation to profit off of unsuspecting clients, Zillan says his only motivation is to educate people.

"I'm not some guy off of Wall Street," he said. "There's no motive or reason for me to try to trick people."

But Zillan's rhetoric is slightly at odds with the image he's cultivated for himself online. Both his website and Instagram page capitalize on the "get rich quick" zeitgeist encapsulated by the cryptocurrency community. On his website, he describes himself as the "Crypto Millionaire," and he's often pictured in a tropical location or beside a flashy sports car (Zillan owns three luxury vehicles, which he says were purchased with a mixture of profits he made from cryptocurrencies, early-stage investments, and money from his parents who are both millionaires). 

In one photo, Zillan smiles broadly beside a painting of himself in which he's depicted as the infamous Wall Street mogul Jordan Belfort in a scene from the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street."

"The Wolf of Crypto Street," the caption reads. 

When asked why he's comparing himself to one of the most notoriously debauched Wall Street traders in recent memory, Zillan describes the images as "a marketing type of deal" that shouldn't be confused with the efficacy of his company.

"Sure, it's very flashy. Wolf of Wall Street was shitty penny stocks, but what we do is completely different," he said. "I just use that for marketing. What's going to catch your eye? Some words, or a picture of that?"

Join the conversation about this story »

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This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

• Elon Musk's SpaceX is sending its Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful rocket that's launched from the US since the 1970s, into space on Tuesday.
• The rocket will include Musk's 2008 Tesla Roadster as a test payload to show how the rocket could one day transport people and goods into space.
• Musk said he's using the Roadster because it's less "boring" than typical test payloads, but it's also a smart marketing ploy.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is sending its Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful rocket that's launched from the US since the 1970s, into space on Tuesday. The rocket will take off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A successful launch would be a milestone for SpaceX, as the 230-foot-tall Falcon Heavy is designed to be larger and cheaper than any rockets currently being launched by the company's competitors thanks in part to its reusable boosters. Being able to send large payloads into space at lower prices than competitors would help Musk's ambitions to start colonies on Mars.

To demonstrate Falcon Heavy's freight-handling capabilities, Musk is using his 2008 Tesla Roadster as a test payload. On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration gave SpaceX permission to include the car in the rocket.

"Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. That seemed extremely boring," Musk wrote in an Instagram post in December. "Of course, anything boring is terrible, especially companies, so we decided to send something unusual, something that made us feel."

While the inclusion of the Roadster could illustrate how SpaceX could eventually use its rockets to send people and goods into space, it's also a smart marketing ploy from one of the business world's best salesmen, as the Roadster's inclusion in the Falcon Heavy launch has increased the amount of media coverage around the event. 

According to Musk, the Roadster will play David Bowie's "Space Oddity" on a loop as it cycles between Mars and the sun in a hyperbolic orbit. The Roadster will be manned by a dummy driver Musk has called "Starman."

The rocket is scheduled to launch just after 1:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday. You can watch the launch through SpaceX's livestream on its website or YouTube channel.

SEE ALSO: The most difficult moment for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy mission will happen 6 hours after launch

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff on the next financial crisis and the future of bitcoin

• The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 have both declined recently, causing anxiety among some investors.
• For the average person investing for retirement, daily market moves don't matter much.
• The best thing you can do for your money is to keep it invested, and perhaps even invest more.

Investing can be a fickle friend.

It's easy to feel good when your 401k balance keeps climbing because stocks are riding high. Or, if you bought bitcoin on a whim before it shot up on a seemingly endless rise last year.

But on days when the market falls (or bitcoin continues to tumble), even the calmest investor can feel a tickle of panic.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 666 points, and on Monday it fell again — this time dropping by 1,177 points. The Dow Jones is an index that tracks the stock price of 30 major US companies, such as Apple, McDonald's, and Walmart.

The S&P 500, which tracks 500 of the largest companies in the US, including Amazon, TripAdvisor, and Verizon, was down 7.8% over the last six trading days (the stock market is closed on weekends and certain holidays), according to the New York Times.

Those numbers sound huge, especially to anyone still scarred by the financial crisis. And on an absolute basis, Monday's fall represented the largest single-day drop ever, as shown in the chart below.

The Dow Jones has dropped by way more on a percentage basis

On a percentage basis, it wasn't that impressive. In 1987, the Dow dropped 22.6% in one day. Monday's decline was a paltry 4.6% by comparison. Friday's was only 2.1% — a relatively normal amount.

There are a lot of theories floating around about why the market declined: the tax cuts are working, workers are finally getting raises, interest rates (and inflation) could be be going up. Even robots were blamed. Whatever the reason, stocks and other investments are always on the move.

We don't typically ask ourselves why the market is going up — it's going up because of course it is, the economy is strong, and it will only get better! — but even the slightest decline calls for exhaustive analysis.

Last year was a particularly gentle year for investors, with a nice steady climb. When the stock market is rocky like it's been lately, it's called "volatility," and it's not easy for anyone to stomach.

Regardless of why stocks decline, there's one thing you should always do with your money

Making money with money — which is essentially what investing is — is a special kind of thrill. We've been in what investors call a "bull market" for almost nine years now. It's the second longest stretch of time where we haven't seen at least a 20% drop in the S&P 500, according to CNBC.

Chances are your 401k balance, or your IRA, looked pretty healthy by the end of 2017. Perhaps it lulled you into saving more, and investing more. Just in time for the market to stumble a bit.

But now is not the time to throw in the towel. In fact, many advisers will tell you to "buy the dip" — meaning, take advantage of the declining prices to put more money into the stock market.

You can do that by increasing your 401k contribution, or putting money into an IRA (you can still contribute up to $5,500 for 2017 before April 17). Investing in a target date mutual fund is the easiest way to make sure your investments match your age and financial goals. For example, a target date 2050 fund would work for a 35 -year-old who plans to retire in about 30 years.

Ultimately, daily market moves really don't matter for the average American investor. Investing for retirement is an essential part of reaching your financial goals. Sometimes along the way, the market will go way up. And sometimes, it will go down. It's all part of the process.

You have to be in it for the long haul — through big swings in either direction. Don't slow down, and don't try to time the market. You won't win. The only thing the average investor can do is stay the course.

Lauren Lyons Cole is a certified financial planner and a senior editor at Business Insider.

SEE ALSO: I'm a financial planner — here's the single best piece of advice I can give you about money

DON'T MISS: Here's how much money you need to save to retire on a beach and play golf all day by age 40

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Virtu Financial, the high-frequency trading firm, was on a tear during Tuesday's trade as volatility stormed the markets. 
• The company's stock was up as much as 3.8% Tuesday morning, according to Markets Insider data. 

Virtu Financial, the high frequency trading firm, is riding the volatility wave sweeping Wall Street, and its stock is enjoying a nice bump. 

At last check, Virtu was up 3.86% at 11:33 a.m. ET at $20.20 — it's highest position in a year. 

Virtu was one of the only stocks that ended Monday's bloodbath session in the green. That's likely because volatility has stormed the markets. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) climbed over 50 for the first time since August 2015 Monday and is still standing strong at 41 points, at last check. 

As liquidity providers, HFTs are scanning the markets for opportunities in which buyers and sellers aren't matched up. But when volatility is too low, like it was for much of 2017 and early 2018, those opportunities are hard to come by because there are fewer price swings.

"Greater volatility means a greater demand for liquidity and higher liquidity premiums (spreads) and that is what market makers sell," Larry Tabb, the founder of TABB Group, told Business Insider in an email. "When the demand and price of liquidity increases, market makers usually make money."

SEE ALSO: High-speed trading firms have been hoping for market chaos just like this

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff on the next financial crisis and the future of bitcoin

Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider’s roundup of all the bitcoin and cryptocurrency news you need to know today. Sign up here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox.

• Bitcoin (BTC): $6,987 (+1.3%)
• Ethereum (ETH): $700 (+1.4%)
• Ripple (XRP): $0.68 (+1.4%)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCC): $879 (-0.5%)
• Litecoin (LTC): $125 (+1.0%)

What else is happening:

SEE ALSO: South Korea’s defense ministry is taking steps to keep soldiers from getting caught up in the cryptocurrency frenzy

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider’s roundup of all the bitcoin and cryptocurrency news you need to know today. Sign up here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox.

• Bitcoin (BTC): $6,987 (+1.3%)
• Ethereum (ETH): $700 (+1.4%)
• Ripple (XRP): $0.68 (+1.4%)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCC): $879 (-0.5%)
• Litecoin (LTC): $125 (+1.0%)

What else is happening:

SEE ALSO: South Korea’s defense ministry is taking steps to keep soldiers from getting caught up in the cryptocurrency frenzy

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider’s roundup of all the bitcoin and cryptocurrency news you need to know today. Sign up here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox.

• Bitcoin (BTC): $6,987 (+1.3%)
• Ethereum (ETH): $700 (+1.4%)
• Ripple (XRP): $0.68 (+1.4%)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCC): $879 (-0.5%)
• Litecoin (LTC): $125 (+1.0%)

What else is happening:

SEE ALSO: South Korea’s defense ministry is taking steps to keep soldiers from getting caught up in the cryptocurrency frenzy

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

• Cryptocurrencies exploded in price last quarter, which likely boosted GPU sales for Nvidia.
• The company will likely beat earnings expectations because of the cryptocurrency boost, but investors will be looking for a big beat to move shares higher.
• Watch Nvidia trade in real time here.

Cryptocurrencies have provided Nvidia, and other chipmakers, with a big boost to their top line in recent quarters.

Crypto miners have been buying up huge swaths of GPUs as the prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies skyrocketed. The huge demand drained Nvidia's supply chains and sent the prices of the cards soaring in secondary markets. All of this extra demand is estimated to have boosted Nvidia's revenue in the fourth quarter, but that leaves Nvidia with a big problem as it looks to report earnings on Thursday.

"We think the Company will need to see material Outperformance to see appreciation on the print (largely due to near-term run-up)," Mitch Steves, an analyst at RBC, said in a note to clients on Tuesday.

Steves is saying that the extra demand for GPUs has sent shares of Nvidia higher recently, which will make it hard for the company to impress investors when it reports fourth-quarter earnings. The company can't just report overall revenue growth, it will have to show that it's growing revenue outside of its graphics division because the boost from crypto could eventually disappear as prices of cryptocurrencies fluctuate and interest wanes.

AMD, Nvidia's main rival in the GPU space, saw its shares plummet about 6% immediately after reporting an across-the-board beat on earnings. AMD said it got a 5-6% boost in annual revenue in 2017, and said about 1/3 of its growth in its graphics and computing division was from increased GPU demand from cryptocurrencies, which wasn't enough for investors watching the earnings. Shares of AMD did rebound though, and the company is up 4.08% this year.

Because of the recent runs higher, some analysts have dialed back their enthusiasm for the stock. Citron Research and Goldman Sachs both recently expressed concerns over how much Nvidia has risen over the past year because of enthusiasm around crypto demand, leading Citron to lower its price target and Goldman to remove the stock from its conviction list. Both firms are still bullish on Nvidia in the long term.

Steves thinks new data center chips will revitalize growth in that unit. Nvidia is also working on more partnerships for its autonomous driving chips that should improve sales as more automakers release cars with self-driving capabilities, even if they are initially limited. These two units are potential growth areas that Nvidia could highlight in its earnings to show it's not just a crypto mining company.

Steves has a $250 price target for Nvidia ahead of earnings, and rates the company an outperform.

Read more about Nvidia's recent one-two punch from Wall Street. 

SEE ALSO: Nvidia just took a one-two punch from Wall Street

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

• Cryptocurrencies exploded in price last quarter, which likely boosted GPU sales for Nvidia.
• The company will likely beat earnings expectations because of the cryptocurrency boost, but investors will be looking for a big beat to move shares higher.
• Watch Nvidia trade in real time here.

Cryptocurrencies have provided Nvidia, and other chipmakers, with a big boost to their top line in recent quarters.

Crypto miners have been buying up huge swaths of GPUs as the prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies skyrocketed. The huge demand drained Nvidia's supply chains and sent the prices of the cards soaring in secondary markets. All of this extra demand is estimated to have boosted Nvidia's revenue in the fourth quarter, but that leaves Nvidia with a big problem as it looks to report earnings on Thursday.

"We think the Company will need to see material Outperformance to see appreciation on the print (largely due to near-term run-up)," Mitch Steves, an analyst at RBC, said in a note to clients on Tuesday.

Steves is saying that the extra demand for GPUs has sent shares of Nvidia higher recently, which will make it hard for the company to impress investors when it reports fourth-quarter earnings. The company can't just report overall revenue growth, it will have to show that it's growing revenue outside of its graphics division because the boost from crypto could eventually disappear as prices of cryptocurrencies fluctuate and interest wanes.

AMD, Nvidia's main rival in the GPU space, saw its shares plummet about 6% immediately after reporting an across-the-board beat on earnings. AMD said it got a 5-6% boost in annual revenue in 2017, and said about 1/3 of its growth in its graphics and computing division was from increased GPU demand from cryptocurrencies, which wasn't enough for investors watching the earnings. Shares of AMD did rebound though, and the company is up 4.08% this year.

Because of the recent runs higher, some analysts have dialed back their enthusiasm for the stock. Citron Research and Goldman Sachs both recently expressed concerns over how much Nvidia has risen over the past year because of enthusiasm around crypto demand, leading Citron to lower its price target and Goldman to remove the stock from its conviction list. Both firms are still bullish on Nvidia in the long term.

Steves thinks new data center chips will revitalize growth in that unit. Nvidia is also working on more partnerships for its autonomous driving chips that should improve sales as more automakers release cars with self-driving capabilities, even if they are initially limited. These two units are potential growth areas that Nvidia could highlight in its earnings to show it's not just a crypto mining company.

Steves has a $250 price target for Nvidia ahead of earnings, and rates the company an outperform.

Read more about Nvidia's recent one-two punch from Wall Street. 

SEE ALSO: Nvidia just took a one-two punch from Wall Street

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NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

• Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies all peaked at roughly the same time; they've since declined in tandem as well.
• That's a bad sign for when market consolidation occurs, according to Goldman Sachs' head of investment research.
• You can track the price of 13 cryptocurrencies in real-time here>>

When bitcoin reached its all-time high of $19,843 in December, it wasn’t long until smaller coins followed suit.

And when the flagship cryptocurrency began its 65% tumble, losing hundreds of billions of dollars in value in just a matter of weeks, so too did the other major cryptocurrencies. Since their peaks, the most valuable cryptocurrencies have lost anywhere from 52% to 79% of their value — all at the same time.

This is should be a red flag for investors, according to Goldman Sachs’ head of Global Investment Research Steve Strongin. 

"The high correlation between the different crypto currencies worries me," Steve Strongin said in a note to clients Monday, as cryptocurrencies were being wiped out alongside equity markets in a global meltdown. “Contrary to what one would expect in a rational market, new currencies don't seem to reduce the value of old currencies; they all seem to move as  a single asset class."

Cryptocurrencies aren’t likely to be winner-take-all, Strongin says, but some level of consolidation is extremely likely. When that happens, the coins which fall out of favor will fizzle down to zero, leaving investors with nothing.

"This is actually an important distinction between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies; if a government decides to phase out a currency, it will typically determine a residual value for that currency and exchange that currency for a replacement one," Strongin continues.

Wall Street banks have had a complicated relationship with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

In January, Goldman Sachs strategists said bitcoin could become a legitimate global currency, at least in theory. The bank also cleared bitcoin futures, which launched on the Cboe exchange in December, for some of its clients.

Other competitors, like Bank of America, have said clients can absolutely buy bitcoin if they want — just not with their margin accounts.

Still, Goldman, like most firms, remains optimistic about how blockchain — the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies — can make businesses more efficient, especially banking. It’s only a matter of time, according to Strongin.

"As it relates to the underlying technology, there is clearly a role for improving the ledgers that underlie financial transactions,” Strongin said. “Substantial investment is being made in leveraging blockchain technology to more efficiently and quickly settle contracts, confirmations, and related transactions. But the current technology does not yet offer the speed that will be required for market transactions."

SEE ALSO: Sign up to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox.

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NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

• Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies all peaked at roughly the same time; they've since declined in tandem as well.
• That's a bad sign for when market consolidation occurs, according to Goldman Sachs' head of investment research.
• You can track the price of 13 cryptocurrencies in real-time here>>

When bitcoin reached its all-time high of $19,843 in December, it wasn’t long until smaller coins followed suit.

And when the flagship cryptocurrency began its 65% tumble, losing hundreds of billions of dollars in value in just a matter of weeks, so too did the other major cryptocurrencies. Since their peaks, the most valuable cryptocurrencies have lost anywhere from 52% to 79% of their value — all at the same time.

This is should be a red flag for investors, according to Goldman Sachs’ head of Global Investment Research Steve Strongin. 

"The high correlation between the different crypto currencies worries me," Steve Strongin said in a note to clients Monday, as cryptocurrencies were being wiped out alongside equity markets in a global meltdown. “Contrary to what one would expect in a rational market, new currencies don't seem to reduce the value of old currencies; they all seem to move as  a single asset class."

Cryptocurrencies aren’t likely to be winner-take-all, Strongin says, but some level of consolidation is extremely likely. When that happens, the coins which fall out of favor will fizzle down to zero, leaving investors with nothing.

"This is actually an important distinction between cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies; if a government decides to phase out a currency, it will typically determine a residual value for that currency and exchange that currency for a replacement one," Strongin continues.

Wall Street banks have had a complicated relationship with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

In January, Goldman Sachs strategists said bitcoin could become a legitimate global currency, at least in theory. The bank also cleared bitcoin futures, which launched on the Cboe exchange in December, for some of its clients.

Other competitors, like Bank of America, have said clients can absolutely buy bitcoin if they want — just not with their margin accounts.

Still, Goldman, like most firms, remains optimistic about how blockchain — the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies — can make businesses more efficient, especially banking. It’s only a matter of time, according to Strongin.

"As it relates to the underlying technology, there is clearly a role for improving the ledgers that underlie financial transactions,” Strongin said. “Substantial investment is being made in leveraging blockchain technology to more efficiently and quickly settle contracts, confirmations, and related transactions. But the current technology does not yet offer the speed that will be required for market transactions."

SEE ALSO: Sign up to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox.

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NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

The head of the Bank for International Settlements has blasted bitcoin as "a bubble," "a Ponzi scheme" and an "environmental disaster."

• Cboe Global Markets, the options and derivatives exchange group, was crashing during Tuesday trade, according to Markets Insider data. 
• The company's stock was trading down nearly 15% at 10:31 a.m. ET, at $112 a share. 
• It appears the driver of the sell-off is the company's connection to VIX products. 
• Two exchange-traded products designed to return the inverse of the Volatility Index exploded on Monday evening, losing 95% of their value. 

US stock markets continued a wild ride after Monday's bloodbath, while Cboe Global Markets — the exchange behind the VIX — was under intense pressure during Tuesday's trade. 

Cboe, an options and derivatives exchange group, was crashing early Tuesday morning, according to Markets Insider data. The company's stock was trading down nearly 15% at 10:30 a.m. ET at $112 a share, according to Markets Insider data. 

It appears the driver of the sell-off is the company's relationship to the Volatility Index, which gauges market anxiety, and financial products related to the index, according to David Lutz of Jones Trading. 

"A KBW report put out this morning showed 20% to 25% of Cboe's revenues come from VIX-related products," Lutz told Business Insider. 

Two exchange-traded products that are designed to return the inverse of the Cboe Volatility Index imploded in the final minutes of futures trading on Monday evening, losing 95% of their market value. Credit Suisse, the company behind the products, said they were pulling the plug on them Tuesday morning. 

"The concerns are that this could impact CBOE’s VIX’s volumes," said Richard Ripetto, an analyst at Sandler O'Neill + Partners.

Cboe wasn't the only exchange group trading in the red Tuesday. Here's the scoreboard:

• Nasdaq:  (-2.63%)
• ICE: (-1.54%)
• CME: (-0.44%)

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This is a submitted sponsored story. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned in the content below. Talk the crypto talk and now you can walk the crypto walk-in exclusive Bitcoin and cryptocurrency merchandise. Bitmart, the biggest suppliers of mining hardware in South Africa is

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• Robinhood users ramped up deposits during Monday's market sell-off. 
• The Dow Jones industrial average witnessed its largest point drop ever on Monday. 

Users of popular stock trading app Robinhood saw a buying opportunity in Monday's market sell-off. 

On Monday, the US stock market witnessed its largest point decline ever. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped as much as 1,600 points during Monday trade before closing down 1,175 points. Still, a spokesperson for Robinhood, the California-based brokerage, told Business Insider its users ramped up deposits on its zero-commission stock trading platform. 

"We saw a large spike in transaction volume and trading activity on the platform today," the spokesperson said. "Retail investors deposited 20% more funds into their Robinhood accounts today than they did on Friday."

During a wide-ranging interview with Business Insider, Robinhood cofounder Baiju Bhatt said users of Robinhood, who skew younger, view a market downturn as a buying opportunity. Robinhood investors also "bought the dip" in 2016 when anxieties out of Asia caused the Dow to decline about 8% between December 31 and January 15.

"Those were the days we saw the biggest net deposits we had ever seen," Bhatt said."With this younger generation, when the market takes a slide, they see it as an opportunity to buy."

SEE ALSO: High-speed trading firms have been hoping for market chaos just like this

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NOW WATCH: A crypto expert explains the difference between the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world: bitcoin and Ethereum

• As the global market dive continues, some in the market believe the rout could spread and become part of a wider drop in global asset prices.
• ING strategist Viraj Patel argues that the lack of a major reaction in the FX markets is a good omen that the current global stock rout won't spread.

LONDON — As the global market dive continues at pace, some in the market believe the rout could spread and become part of a wider drop in global asset prices.

The Cboe's Volatility Index, which measures investors' expectations of future stock price fluctuations and is commonly referred to as the "fear index," has spiked, as stocks have dropped around the world.

So far falls have broadly been contained to stocks, but that could change, with market linked products like ETFs one of the areas causing most concern.

Analysts at ING however, urged caution, pointing to a chart showing that in historical terms, "the contagion effects to other asset markets from the current stock market rout" have been "relatively muted."

That's particularly true when it comes to currencies, according to Forex strategist Viraj Patel.

"We note that moves in currency markets - notably USD/JPY - have not been as disorderly as had been the case in prior instances when the VIX has unexpectedly spiked; past episodes on average have seen USD/JPY move lower by around 1.2 standard deviations more than the current move (ie, USD/JPY should be trading closer to 107 based on the extent of the current VIX spike)," Patel wrote a little earlier.

As the chart shows, stocks, oil, and short term US bond yields have reacted more aggressively than historical spikes in volatility, but longer term yields, as well as forex, have underreacted. That, Patel believes, is a good sign about the overall health of the market, and suggests this is more a correction than a full scale market crash.

"Our initial takeaway from this is that the current equity market sell-off may be a result of prior over-exuberance for risky assets – which were not necessarily reflected in other asset markets," Patel argued.

The VIX reflects expectations for volatility in the stock market. It typically rises when stocks fall, and traders anticipate big swings in prices. Until this month, the vix was skirting record lows as shares steadily climbed.

"Therefore in an environment where we continue to see a non-fundamental stock market correction, the spillover effects to other bond and currency markets may continue to be limited in size and extent."

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NOW WATCH: A crypto expert explains the difference between the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world: bitcoin and Ethereum

The post Bitcoin Price Eyes $7,000 as Markets See Early-Morning Bounce appeared first on CCN

The market sell-off appeared to reach at least a temporary bottom on Tuesday, as — led by the Bitcoin price — cryptocurrencies have made a moderate recovery since marking another day off the calendar. Cryptocurrency Market Cap Briefly Sinks Below $300 Billion Early Tuesday morning, the cryptocurrency market cap sunk to $276 billion, its lowest

The post Bitcoin Price Eyes $7,000 as Markets See Early-Morning Bounce appeared first on CCN

Business Insider's Sara Silverstein spoke with Ken Rogoff, former IMF chief economist and author of "The Curse of Cash," at the World Economic Forum about the use of cryptocurrencies and the possible regulatory challenges they will face. Following is a transcript of the interview.

Silverstein: Two years ago, you wrote a book "The Curse of Cash." And a lot of the premise of that is getting rid of big bills in large part to reduce the amount of tax evasion and criminal activity and a lot of people might think the solution then would be something like a cryptocurrency. But you actually addresses this in your book two years ago. Can you explain why you don't think bitcoin is the solution to the hundred dollar bill problem?

Rogoff: No, it's certainly bitcoin — it is a solution if you're wanting to launder money or tax evasion. I think the government will eventually have to regulate it severely and I think someday will issue its own digital currency.

We have to remember the private sector invented standardized coinage, and then the government eventually regulated it, took it over — different times different places. Same thing with paper currency — private-sector invented it, government regulate it, took it over. What makes you think it will be different? And that bitcoin evangelist say, "no, no, no; this is Libertarian. They will not touch us." I'm sorry when it comes to the monetary system, the government makes the rules. You cannot win the game. If they're not winning, they will change the rules. That's what will happen here.

Silverstein:  And is that what you think that ten years from now looks like — is that cryptocurrency will exist, but that the government will have taken over?

Rogoff: Well, I think the government will have a much bigger hand in regulating. We will see a new generation that's used for transactions, but not anonymous transactions. That's where I think the government really has to step in. There's some great technologies here, but I think it's a little bit like with the internet, which they say, but it's a little bit like internet 1.0. And we will see at some point a cryptocurrency 2.0, which is not crypto, it's not anonymous. But substitutes for debit cards, credit cards, cash, makes electronic transfers more secure. I think there are a lot of ideas out there. They're also a lot of people who are rushing to cash in on the craze and just trying to make money. We see it here at Davos. They've quite a presence.

Silverstein: And this might be a hard question to answer, because it's hard to understand exactly where all the value in bitcoin comes from and it's already come down a lot. But how much of the value do you think will be lost if it loses anonymity and it loses its libertarianism?

Silverstein: So not the whole space, but bitcoin in particular?

Rogoff: Yeah like bitcoin in particular, I think it's much more likely to be worth $100 than $100,000B ten years from now. I don't think it's going to zero, because they'll be places like North Korea, maybe even Russia that, you know, "you have all sorts of financial sanctions on us. We're not benefiting from the system. We're going to let people launder money." So I don't think you're going to wipe it out.B I think you will have governments use it. But in the mainstream government, it's not going to be legal in banks; it's not going to be legal in retail transactions unless it's not anonymousB. And bitcoin, you know, it's funny just the energy that it uses, but it's the anonymity that's really the problem.

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• Animal rights activists invested in travel company Thomas Cook in a protest against its stance on SeaWorld.
• PETA bought around £1.20 of stock to gain access to Thomas Cook's AGM in London and lobby executives and shareholders.
• Campaigners object to the company selling tickets to SeaWorld, which they think is cruel and inhumane in its treatment of killer whales.
• Thomas Cook told Business Insider that animal welfare is a priority.

Animal rights group PETA has purchased stock in travel company Thomas Cook to gain entry to its AGM and lobby executives in person to stop selling tickets to SeaWorld.

PETA has long been protesting against the Florida marine park for its treatment of whales, which it says is cruel and inhumane. It also targets businesses that deal with SeaWorld, like Thomas Cook, which offers tours to the park.

The group told Business Insider that it has bought a single share in the company, valued at around £1.20 ($1.66), because it grants it entry to the annual general meeting, being held in London this Thursday.

Yvonne Taylor, a PETA campaigner, told Business Insider that she and a colleague plan to use this right to go inside the AGM in east London and ask executives directly to end ticket sales to SeaWorld, and to lobby shareholders.

Meanwhile, protesters outside are going to distribute leaflets, and pose for photos. Activists will hold gravestones and roses to mourn 41 orcas the group says died at a young age during their time in captivity at SeaWorld.

PETA is known for its eye-catching and disruptive protests, but Taylor said its actions at the AGM would have a respectful tone and will be made in a genuine spirit of engagement.

She said their lobbying has had some effect already, claiming credit for a decision by Thomas Cook over the weekend to remove references to SeaWorld from its online marketing.

However, it still offers tickets, a practice PETA wants to stop. In a statement to Business Insider, Thomas Cook said it was "puzzled" that it had been targeted despite taking some steps to improve its animal welfare standards.

A PETA spokeswoman told Business Insider: "At SeaWorld orcas are confined to tiny concrete tanks, where they're deprived of any physical or psychological stimulation.

"These highly intelligent animals — who live in large, complex social groups and swim up to 140 miles a day in the wild — are forced to spend their days swimming in endless circles and gnawing on the bars of their tanks in frustration."

PETA considers this an example of animal cruelty, and has called SeaWorld an "abusement park."

In a statement to Business Insider, Thomas Cook did not directly address its relationship with SeaWorld, but defended its commitment to animal welfare. It said:

"As the first tour operator to enforce an animal welfare policy by removing animal excursions that don't meet the standards we require from sale, Thomas Cook welcomes discussion on this important topic.

"We have been encouraged by the support we’ve received from groups like World Cetecean Alliance, however we’re puzzled by PETA's approach.

"This appears to criticise us specifically because we’ve taken an industry-leading position. We are committed to continue to work with the industry to raise standards of animal welfare around the world."

Three killer whales died while living at SeaWorld's California franchises in 2017.

The theme park has since phased out its emphasis on the animals, announcing in 2015 that it would stop using them in shows at some locations and in 2016 that it would no longer breed them.

The decision doesn't appear to be a result of animal rights protest, though. Earlier this month, the SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby slammed "small-minded arguments from activists that really don't know what they're talking about."

SEE ALSO: SeaWorld CEO slams activists who criticised the company for breeding killer whales in captivity

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NOW WATCH: A crypto expert explains the difference between the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world: bitcoin and Ethereum

The post “Bubble, Ponzi, An Environmental Disaster”: Central Banking Chief Blasts Bitcoin While Global Stock Market Loses Trillions appeared first on CCN

The global stock market has lost an estimated $4 trillion over the course of the past eight days, leaving investors running to gold and other alternative investments to stem the bleeding in their portfolios. Against this backdrop, Agustin Carstens — general manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), nicknamed the “central banks’ central bank”

The post “Bubble, Ponzi, An Environmental Disaster”: Central Banking Chief Blasts Bitcoin While Global Stock Market Loses Trillions appeared first on CCN

Futures may have boosted bitcoin above $10k, but it appears that rally has all but unwound.

Investor fears over tightening crypto-currency legislations could be contributing to the fall.

 Bitcoin and crypto aren’t the only things on the decline, sales of tablet devices once again dropped in 2017, according to new data. Figures from analyst firm IDC show that overall tablet shipments fell by 6.5 percent to 163.5 million units last year. That’s down from 174.9 million in 2016, when the annual decrease was in double digits. Despite demanding falling overall, Apple… Read More

• Fund managers who manage volatility by rapidly switching their portfolio between cash and equities will sell off $225 billion of stocks over the next few days, Barclays told clients.
• Barclays also told clients that the spike in the VIX index — the S&P 500's fear gauge — was "technical in nature and does not necessarily indicate a true increase in risk perception." 

LONDON — Fund managers who manage volatility by rapidly switching their portfolio between cash and equities will be forced to sell around $225 billion of stocks over the next few days, Barclays told clients.

The bank said in a research note sent to institutional investors that Monday's massive spike in volatility on the stock market was driven partly by equity sell-offs in Volatility Target funds.

Those funds manage volatility by moving money from risky assets — such as stocks — to safer assets such as bonds to achieve the portfolio's target volatility level. When stock market volatility ticks up, the funds would likely need to decrease their stock holdings in order to manage the risk.

"Although the precise timing is difficult to ascertain, we estimate that these funds will need to sell  around $225 billion worth of equities over the next few days," Barclays said. Barclays said there are currently around $350 billion of assets under management in this type of strategy. 

The stock market's fear gauge — an index called the VIX — spiked 84% yesterday, its biggest single-day increase of all time. Stocks dropped too, with the S&P 500 falling as far as 4.5% before regaining some ground.

VIX spike was only "technical in nature"

Barclays told clients that the spike in the VIX index was "technical in nature and does not necessarily indicate a true increase in risk perception." 

It said the initial increase was driven by a sell-off in equities, but said the bulk of the move in VIX futures happened after the stock market close, which suggests the demand was driven by demand from VIX managers who buy VIX futures when they rise in order to maintain constant leverage.

The VIX reflects near-term volatility expectations in the S&P 500, and usually trades inversely to the benchmark.

SEE ALSO: The stock market's fear gauge spikes the most on record

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NOW WATCH: A crypto expert explains the difference between the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world: bitcoin and Ethereum

Coinbase has confirmed that users from four banks in the U.S. are now barred from buying cryptocurrencies using credit cards.

The post Australia’s ‘Big Four’ Banks Will Not Prohibit Bitcoin Buy Transactions appeared first on CCN

Australia’s biggest banks have ruled out any notion of barring customers from buying cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. In marked contrast to a handful of US-based Wall Street banks and one major UK banking group, Australia’s traditional ‘big four’ banks won’t be withholding their customers from buying cryptocurrencies using their banks’ services, including credit cards, Australia’s ABC

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Bitcoin prices plunged to a 12-week low below $6,000 this morning, reporting double-digit percentage losses amid a continued crypto market sell-off.

LONDON — The global rout in equity prices hit Europe on Tuesday, with major indices across the continent taking big losses in early trading.

Germany's DAX, France's CAC 40 and the broad Euro Stoxx 50 index all fell by more than 3% at the open at 8.00 a.m. GMT (3.00 a.m. ET). Britain's FTSE 100 was down by around 2.8%.

US stocks were pummelled on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling almost 1,200 points, the biggest single day fall in points terms in its history. The USA's two other major indexes, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq, were down 4.1% and 3.8% respectively.

Those losses then spread to Asia, and have now moved to Europe, where concerns about inflation rising more sharply than previously expected are fuelling fears that the Federal Reserve may be forced to tighten monetary policy faster than had been forecast.

Here's the scoreboard in Europe as of around 8.05 a.m. GMT:

More follows ...

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NOW WATCH: A crypto expert explains the difference between the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world: bitcoin and Ethereum

• Cryptocurrency crash extends to another day.
• Bitcoin falls below $6,000.
• Bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, ripple, and bitcoin cash are all suffering double-digit percentage losses.

LONDON — Cryptocurrencies are diving again on Tuesday, extending a slump that began in earnest at the start of January.

Bitcoin briefly fell below $6,000 at around 8.00 a.m. GMT (3.00 a.m. ET) for the first time since mid-November.

Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, said on Tuesday morning: "The most famous digital currency has fallen 69% from December’s record high, and almost 56% from the start of the year."

Ethereum, litecoin, bitcoin cash, and ripple are all posting double-digit percentage losses on Tuesday morning.

Here's the scoreboard:

• Bitcoin is down 11.1% to $6,131.33.
• Ethereum is down 15.8% to $582.03.
• Litecoin is down 13% to $108.40.
• Bitcoin Cash is down 10.6% to $785.79.
• Ripple is down 11.7% to $0.60.

Tuesday's slump follows carnage in the crypto market on Friday and a market slump in early January. From a peak of $830 billion at the start of January, the global cryptocurrency market has now shrunk to $285 billion, according to data provider CoinMarketCap.com.

The latest dive comes in tandem with a global stock market rout but that appears to be uncorrelated with the crypto crash.

Commentators have been blaming fears of regulation, cooling interest from Asia, and fears over the role cryptocurrency Tether plays in the bitcoin market. Banks are also clamping down on customers buying cryptocurrencies on their credit cards.

Miles Eakers, chief market analyst at foreign exchange business Centtrip, said in an email on Monday night: "Governments across the globe continue to clamp down on retail investors speculating on cryptocurrencies, with the People’s Bank of China stating it would step up measures to remove any onshore or offshore platforms related to virtual currency trading or ICOs, ‘to prevent financial risks’."

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NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff on the next financial crisis and the future of bitcoin

• Cryptocurrency crash extends to another day.
• Bitcoin falls below $6,000.
• Bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, ripple, and bitcoin cash are all suffering double-digit percentage losses.

LONDON — Cryptocurrencies are diving again on Tuesday, extending a slump that began in earnest at the start of January.

Bitcoin briefly fell below $6,000 at around 8.00 a.m. GMT (3.00 a.m. ET) for the first time since mid-November.

Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, said on Tuesday morning: "The most famous digital currency has fallen 69% from December’s record high, and almost 56% from the start of the year."

Ethereum, litecoin, bitcoin cash, and ripple are all posting double-digit percentage losses on Tuesday morning.

Here's the scoreboard:

• Bitcoin is down 11.1% to $6,131.33.
• Ethereum is down 15.8% to $582.03.
• Litecoin is down 13% to $108.40.
• Bitcoin Cash is down 10.6% to $785.79.
• Ripple is down 11.7% to $0.60.

Tuesday's slump follows carnage in the crypto market on Friday and a market slump in early January. From a peak of $830 billion at the start of January, the global cryptocurrency market has now shrunk to $285 billion, according to data provider CoinMarketCap.com.

The latest dive comes in tandem with a global stock market rout but that appears to be uncorrelated with the crypto crash.

Commentators have been blaming fears of regulation, cooling interest from Asia, and fears over the role cryptocurrency Tether plays in the bitcoin market. Banks are also clamping down on customers buying cryptocurrencies on their credit cards.

Miles Eakers, chief market analyst at foreign exchange business Centtrip, said in an email on Monday night: "Governments across the globe continue to clamp down on retail investors speculating on cryptocurrencies, with the People’s Bank of China stating it would step up measures to remove any onshore or offshore platforms related to virtual currency trading or ICOs, ‘to prevent financial risks’."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff on the next financial crisis and the future of bitcoin

• Cryptocurrency crash extends to another day.
• Bitcoin falls below $6,000.
• Bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, ripple, and bitcoin cash are all suffering double-digit percentage losses.

LONDON — Cryptocurrencies are diving again on Tuesday, extending a slump that began in earnest at the start of January.

Bitcoin briefly fell below $6,000 at around 8.00 a.m. GMT (3.00 a.m. ET) for the first time since mid-November.

Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, said on Tuesday morning: "The most famous digital currency has fallen 69% from December’s record high, and almost 56% from the start of the year."

Ethereum, litecoin, bitcoin cash, and ripple are all posting double-digit percentage losses on Tuesday morning.

Here's the scoreboard:

• Bitcoin is down 11.1% to $6,131.33.
• Ethereum is down 15.8% to $582.03.
• Litecoin is down 13% to $108.40.
• Bitcoin Cash is down 10.6% to $785.79.
• Ripple is down 11.7% to $0.60.

Tuesday's slump follows carnage in the crypto market on Friday and a market slump in early January. From a peak of $830 billion at the start of January, the global cryptocurrency market has now shrunk to $285 billion, according to data provider CoinMarketCap.com.

The latest dive comes in tandem with a global stock market rout but that appears to be uncorrelated with the crypto crash.

Commentators have been blaming fears of regulation, cooling interest from Asia, and fears over the role cryptocurrency Tether plays in the bitcoin market. Banks are also clamping down on customers buying cryptocurrencies on their credit cards.

Miles Eakers, chief market analyst at foreign exchange business Centtrip, said in an email on Monday night: "Governments across the globe continue to clamp down on retail investors speculating on cryptocurrencies, with the People’s Bank of China stating it would step up measures to remove any onshore or offshore platforms related to virtual currency trading or ICOs, ‘to prevent financial risks’."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Ken Rogoff on the next financial crisis and the future of bitcoin

• Monday's market bloodbath in North America is set to extend into Europe on Tuesday.
• Shares in Asia have already followed suit and plummeted, and Europe could be next.
• Futures point to several European indexes opening more than 2% lower.

LONDON — The market chaos that gripped North America on Monday is set to extend into southern Europe on Tuesday, as stock futures indicate further falls in the market.

US stocks were pummelled on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling almost 1,200 points, the biggest single day fall in points terms in its history. The USA's two other major indexes, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq, were down 4.1% and 3.8% respectively.

"The sell off in global equities showed no signs of slowing in the Asian session, as equity indices in Tokyo and Sydney dumped. The Nikkei dived over 6% for its worst points fall since 1990. Europe looks set to follow suit, with futures across Europe pointing to multi percentage point losses on the open," Jasper Lawler, an analyst at London Capital Group said in an early morning email.

As of around 7.15 a.m. GMT (2.15 a.m. ET), German market futures are suggesting a positive open, while those of Italy and Spain point to major losses. Here's the scoreboard courtesy of Investing.com:

The market's sudden fall was broadly summarised by John Normand, a strategist at JPMorgan, who wrote to clients on Monday: "Suddenly, inflation has become one of the most-talked about issues in markets, reviving many late-cycle concerns over Fed tightening, corporate margins, volatility, stock/bond correlations and hedging strategies versus asset allocation."

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Good morning! Here's what you need to know in markets on Tuesday.

1. The Dow Jones had its biggest single day point drop ever on Monday as a bloodbath gripped the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping as much as 1,500 points. It closed trading 1,177 points lower. The index has now erased all gains for the year. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 closed down 4.08%, and the Nasdaq 100 down 3.77%.

2. Traders flocked to the safety of US Treasurys amid the selloff in stocks, with the 10-year yield down 12 basis points at 2.72%. Bond yields go down as demand, and therefore prices, go up. The benchmark yield hit 2.85% after Friday’s jobs report, its highest since January 2014.

3, The market's drop was largely attributed to machine-based traders. "The trading floor was relatively quiet until the market took a further hit at 3 pm," Vincent Kondaveeti, a financials sector sales specialist at Credit Suisse, said in a note. "It felt like the machines took over but we saw (human) investors buying the dip not only in financials but also other sectors."

4. The stock market is finally getting a long-awaited bout of volatility. The Cboe Volatility Index — or VIX — spiked 84% on the day, its biggest single-day increase of all time, according to data going back to 1990. The VIX reflects expectations for volatility in the S&P 500, and trades inversely to the benchmark roughly 80% of the time.

5. The global stock bloodbath has nervous traders doing something not seen since the presidential election. For much of the stock market's blistering bull market run, investors have stayed remarkably calm, with measures of fear locked near historical lows.

6. The market carnage extended into Asian trade, with Japan's Nikkei taking a hammering on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 index was down by around 4.7%, having fallen by as much as 6.7%. It marks a sharp correction for Japanese stocks, just a few days after trading at near all-time highs. The Nikkei has dipped by more than 10% from its recent high of 24,124 points reached on January 23 — indicating the market is now in a technical correction.

7. The bitcoin bear market has extended into new territory. The cryptocurrency, which gripped the attention of the markets when it soared to almost $20,000 a coin, was trading below $7,000 on Monday for the first time since November 15, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

8. China made major moves to eliminate all cryptocurrency trading. People's Bank of China said it would block access to all domestic and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges and ICO websites.

9. Prime Minister Theresa May "categorically" ruled out staying in a customs union with the EU. May's Brexit "war cabinet" will discuss the issue of Britain's future relationship with the EU later this week.

10. Toyota Motor on Tuesday reported a 54% jump in operating profit for the third quarter, boosted by strong performance at home in Japan along with a weaker yen, and raised its forecast for full-year profit. Japan's biggest-selling automaker posted 673.6 billion yen ($6.19 billion) operating profit for October-December, from 438.59 billion yen a year earlier.

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• Bitcoin fell below $7,000 on Monday for the first time since November.
• While small investors shared tales of woe on Reddit and Twitter, institutional players took more on a long-term view.
• One VC said he still expects bitcoin to hit $50,000 in 2018.

With bitcoin trading below $7,000 on Monday, 64% below its all time high, many investors have been left wondering whether this is true cryptocurrency carnage, or if bitcoin has the ability to bounce back. 

Some have taken to Twitter and Reddit to exchange stories of lost potential, and what it means to see thousands of dollars in investments evaporate in a matter of days. 

But bitcoin, which increased 1,800% in value over the course of 2017, is known for its volatility. 

Despite consumer fears, professionals in the cryptocurrency market have much more long-term views when it comes to bitcoin's ability to rebound. Holding, or "HODLING" as its known by aficionados, requires patience and resolve. And despite bitcoin's relatively short history, many of these believers point out that bitcoin has never failed to bounce back from a hard dip, so far.

A $50,000 prediction — if only for a few seconds 

Anthony Pompliano, a former product manager at Facebook, is managing partner at Full Tilt Capital, a North Carolina-based early stage investment firm that is putting all of its next $25 million fund into cryptocurrency startups. 

Pompliano said that while his firm focuses on risk-adjusted investments, such as cryptocurrency infrastructure and technology instead the more volatile digital coins, he sees bitcoin's crash as a natural part of the market cycle. He stands by his prediction that bitcoin will reach $50,000 in 2018.

"I don't know if it's for four hours, or a day, or forever. I don't know if anyone an call that," Pompliano said. 

"If you ask most institutional investors, one of the most valuable aspects of bitcoin is that every time something has occurred that should kill it, it doesn't die and it comes back stronger," Pompliano added. "I think that element of bitcoin is incredibly powerful and highly underrated."

Pompliano said that part of the volatility stems from the same cyclical market forces that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling 1,700 points in two days. But, he said, bitcoin is traded globally and can swing dramatically upon news that another company or country has decided to support it, or ban it. This means that cycles, both good and bad, happen a lot faster in the world of crypto. 

"I would say historically, it has proven to be very difficult for individual retail investors to time markets. So what I have told people close to me, is if you want to buy an asset, buy it, hold it and don't look at it," Pompliano said. "Don't try to day trade highly volatile assets like crypto."

Invest in the technology, not the cryptocurrencies 

Robin O’Connell, the chief revenue officer at the currency exchange Uphold, was less bullish in his assessment of bitcoin's price, but he said that he doesn't see cryptocurrencies going away any time soon. 

"Anyone you talk to who says they know whether this is the bottom is giving you their best guess. Who knows," O'Connell said. "If you as an individual believe that crypto is here to stay — and obviously at Uphold we believe that — then [you believe] at some point this is going to correct itself."

While critics of bitcoin often complain that there is nothing to back up its value, O'Connell disagreed. He said that the problems it solves, such as international money transfers and blockchain-based smart contracts, justify the use of cryptocurrencies and prove their value. 

"Those things are to me the underlying fundamentals of whether this thing is successful or not — not how many people are betting that the price is going to go up," O'Connell said.

As the broader market took a beating on Monday, bitcoin believers took to Twitter to speak out in defense of their cryptocurrency:

Perhaps the most reasonable reaction was that of venture capitalist Fred Wilson, who has written about cryptocurrency investments in the past. 

Asked by Business Insider why he thinks the bitcoin crash happened, whether bitcoin can rebound, and if there are any lessons that people can learn from the last few weeks of price drops, Wilson responded with an epigrammatic email:

"1/ I have no idea
2/ I have no idea
3/ easy come easy go"

SEE ALSO: An early Coinbase and Twitter investor just gave Uphold $57.5 million to add Ripple and insure against hacks

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• Bitcoin fell below $7,000 on Monday for the first time since November.
• While small investors shared tales of woe on Reddit and Twitter, institutional players took more on a long-term view.
• One VC said he still expects bitcoin to hit $50,000 in 2018.

With bitcoin trading below $7,000 on Monday, 64% below its all time high, many investors have been left wondering whether this is true cryptocurrency carnage, or if bitcoin has the ability to bounce back. 

Some have taken to Twitter and Reddit to exchange stories of lost potential, and what it means to see thousands of dollars in investments evaporate in a matter of days. 

But bitcoin, which increased 1,800% in value over the course of 2017, is known for its volatility. 

Despite consumer fears, professionals in the cryptocurrency market have much more long-term views when it comes to bitcoin's ability to rebound. Holding, or "HODLING" as its known by aficionados, requires patience and resolve. And despite bitcoin's relatively short history, many of these believers point out that bitcoin has never failed to bounce back from a hard dip, so far.

A $50,000 prediction — if only for a few seconds 

Anthony Pompliano, a former product manager at Facebook, is managing partner at Full Tilt Capital, a North Carolina-based early stage investment firm that is putting all of its next $25 million fund into cryptocurrency startups. 

Pompliano said that while his firm focuses on risk-adjusted investments, such as cryptocurrency infrastructure and technology instead the more volatile digital coins, he sees bitcoin's crash as a natural part of the market cycle. He stands by his prediction that bitcoin will reach $50,000 in 2018.

"I don't know if it's for four hours, or a day, or forever. I don't know if anyone an call that," Pompliano said. 

"If you ask most institutional investors, one of the most valuable aspects of bitcoin is that every time something has occurred that should kill it, it doesn't die and it comes back stronger," Pompliano added. "I think that element of bitcoin is incredibly powerful and highly underrated."

Pompliano said that part of the volatility stems from the same cyclical market forces that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling 1,700 points in two days. But, he said, bitcoin is traded globally and can swing dramatically upon news that another company or country has decided to support it, or ban it. This means that cycles, both good and bad, happen a lot faster in the world of crypto. 

"I would say historically, it has proven to be very difficult for individual retail investors to time markets. So what I have told people close to me, is if you want to buy an asset, buy it, hold it and don't look at it," Pompliano said. "Don't try to day trade highly volatile assets like crypto."

Invest in the technology, not the cryptocurrencies 

Robin O’Connell, the chief revenue officer at the currency exchange Uphold, was less bullish in his assessment of bitcoin's price, but he said that he doesn't see cryptocurrencies going away any time soon. 

"Anyone you talk to who says they know whether this is the bottom is giving you their best guess. Who knows," O'Connell said. "If you as an individual believe that crypto is here to stay — and obviously at Uphold we believe that — then [you believe] at some point this is going to correct itself."

While critics of bitcoin often complain that there is nothing to back up its value, O'Connell disagreed. He said that the problems it solves, such as international money transfers and blockchain-based smart contracts, justify the use of cryptocurrencies and prove their value. 

"Those things are to me the underlying fundamentals of whether this thing is successful or not — not how many people are betting that the price is going to go up," O'Connell said.

As the broader market took a beating on Monday, bitcoin believers took to Twitter to speak out in defense of their cryptocurrency:

Perhaps the most reasonable reaction was that of venture capitalist Fred Wilson, who has written about cryptocurrency investments in the past. 

Asked by Business Insider why he thinks the bitcoin crash happened, whether bitcoin can rebound, and if there are any lessons that people can learn from the last few weeks of price drops, Wilson responded with an epigrammatic email:

"1/ I have no idea
2/ I have no idea
3/ easy come easy go"

SEE ALSO: An early Coinbase and Twitter investor just gave Uphold $57.5 million to add Ripple and insure against hacks

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: These exoskeletons are making the world easier to navigate

• Ultimo lingerie founder Michelle Mone and businessman partner Doug Barrowman are launching new investment platform Equi.
• The project will be funded by selling a new cryptocurrency: Equi Tokens. The pair hopes to raise a total of $75 million.
• Equi Tokens can then be used to invest in projects that Mone, Barrowman, and their team will scout for the platform.

LONDON — Entrepreneur Michelle Mone and her billionaire partner Doug Barrowman are raising money to launch a new cryptocurrency-powered investment platform.

Baroness Mone, the founder of lingerie brand Ultimo, and private equity veteran Barrowman hope to raise $75 million through a so-called "initial coin offering" (ICO) — selling newly minted cryptocurrencies online.

The pair plans to sell "Equi Tokens," which are crypto tokens built to the same specifications as ethereum. Funds raised through the sale will be used to develop the Equi platform, an investment website that the pair hope will open up venture capital investment to ordinary people.

Barrowman told Business Insider: "Essentially what an Equi Token allows people to do is access our platform, have a look at the investment propositions that we are showcasing and form a view, and they can use the Equi Tokens to effectively invest in the projects in a project-by-project basis."

While this idea mimics crowdfunding closely, Barrowman said Equi will allow investors greater versatility as people will be able to hold the tokens and trade them on exchanges as well as just investing.

"If you invest in a project, we give 70% of all gains realised back to our investors in the token. The ones that just hold [the token] on the platform, we give them 5% of the profit. And then there’ll be some people that chose not to make investments but just like any other ICO, they chose to speculate on the currencies rise or fall — we hope rise."

Barrowman is the founder and CEO of private equity company Aston Ventures. He is also the founder and chairman of the Knox Group, which offers financial planning advice. He has been described as a billionaire in the press, although estimates of his net worth are hard to come by.

Barrowman said deal flow for the Equi platform would not be a problem given his investment experience. Equi will focus on tech companies, biotech companies, and cryptocurrency companies.

Mone will advise companies raising money

Michelle Mone, who is cofounder of Equi, will offer help and advice to businesses that raise money on the Equi platform.

"When Doug told me about Equi last year, I was so excited to be coming and helping the team to help the entrepreneurs," Mone told BI. "I think that’s never really been done before with a whole board of seriously successful business people."

Mone founded Ultimo in 1996 and sold 80% of the business for an undisclosed sum in 2014. The Glasgow-born entrepreneur received an OBE for services to business in 2010 and was made a life peer in 2015.

Mark Pearson, the founder of MyVoucherCodes.com, is a member of the Equi board and will provide advise to entrepreneurs who use it. The founder of Casino Coin, another cryptocurrency project Barrowman is involved with, will also advise entrepreneurs, as will the editor of PokerNews.com.

Mone said: "I think that we are not only helping them with funding, they’ll become probably friends of ours and the team as well because we’re working so closely together and I think that’s so special, to give that back. I mean where have you heard of that? Maybe Dragon’s Den but that’s a TV show.

"Every VC that I see, I don’t think they’ve got a whole board of entrepreneurs on it. They tend to be bankers and accountants."

ICOs are hot — but there's growing scepticism

Over $5.6 billion was raised through ICOs last year and over 1,400 cryptocurrencies are now in circulation. But the market is facing increasing skepticism from many, due to the proliferation of scams in the market, wild price swings, and the fact that most projects have yet to launch.

Barrowman said: "What’s interesting about Equi is that the value of the currency will actually be underpinned by the investments we make on the platform.

"People can access our platform, see what we’re investing in, what projects we’re looking to invest in, and therefore there’s actually a correlation between the value of the token and the projects underlying it."

The involvement of many existing companies in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has raised eyebrows, with everyone from Kodak to Long Island Iced Tea pivoting to blockchain and crypto.

Barrowman and Mone insisted that they are not simply jumping on the bandwagon. Barrowman said: "I’ve been doing this for 30 years. We didn’t wake up one day in our bedroom and say, let’s put together an ICO white paper. We’ve been working on this since the summer.

"We approached it with vision, with a concept. We’ve taken our time. We could have brought this out a lot sooner."

Barrowman has "very significant" personal cryptocurrency holdings and the pair have already launched a bitcoin property project in Dubai, demonstrating a commitment to the space.

We’ve got incredible reputations. There’s no way we’re going to do anything untoward to let these people down. We will try our utmost. — Michelle Mone

Mone said: "This whole cryptocurrency world is based on trust. People know who Doug is. They know who I am. They know who a lot of the people on the board are. I think that’s quite powerful.

"It’s very powerful. Because a lot of them [ICOs] are all smoke and mirrors. We’ve got incredible reputations. There’s no way we’re going to do anything untowards to let these people down. We will try our utmost."

Equi will be headquartered and domiciled in the UK. The ICO space is as yet unregulated in the UK but the company is following the structure of crowdfunding, as per legal advice.

Equi will launch a "pre-sale" for investors willing to put in a minimum of $100,000 on March 1. A public sale, with a minimum investment ticket of $100, will start on March 8.

"If we raised anywhere between $25 million to $50 million we’d be absolutely delighted," Barrowman said. "In addition to developing the platform some more, it then gives us some scope to really put the tokens back into the investments and it kick starts the whole process — they can see that we’ve invested into the very investments that we’re promoting.

"If the ICO is not to be as successful as we hope, the important thing is to get it up and running because the thing will gain momentum as people get to read about what we’re promoting. And of course, the token will be traded on exchanges as well. It will be accessible."

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• The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced its biggest ever one-day point drop on Monday. Machine-based traders were blamed for the market moves. 
• "You had a sense of panic in there," one trader said.
• Some hedge-fund managers expressed vindication. "You have proof of concept on a day like this," said one.

Blame the robots. 

That was the common explanation among Wall Streeters on Monday after the biggest selloff ever in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Machine-based traders were commonly blamed for the drop, which included a ramp up in the VIX, which measures volatility, and a steep selloff in equities, which hit Monday afternoon in New York.

"The trading floor was relatively quiet until the market took a further hit at 3 pm," Vincent Kondaveeti, a financials sector sales specialist at Credit Suisse, said in a note. "It felt like the machines took over but we saw (human) investors buying the dip not only in financials but also other sectors."

Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgan's global head of quantitative strategy, echoed this sentiment, saying that trend-following strategies hit a negative trigger around midday. Then, further selling from volatility-targeting strategies, and the covering of short volatility trades, resulted in a "flash crash" at around 3:10 p.m. ET.

Yousef Abbasi, global markets strategist at Jones Trading, said he suspected risk-parity funds, which allocate money according to risk, were to blame.

"You had a sense of panic in there," Abbasi said in a phone interview with Business Insider. "These are models, these are complicated financial models with no human interaction. No one is saying we can rationalize this move."

Lee Bressler, a portfolio manager at Carbon Investment Partners, a stock-focused hedge fund, said he spent the afternoon managing his book.

"All these supposed market neutral funds today should be just fine," he said, referring to funds that run roughly an equal amount of money on short and long stock bets. "Today is the day you find out how uncorrelated they are."

Bressler said that his portfolio gained nearly 1% on Monday.

"You have proof of concept on a day like this," he added.

Other investors expressed a sense of vindication.

• "There were plenty of signs of euphoria everywhere coming into this dislocation," Milind Sharma, founder of QuantZ Capital Management, said in an email. "Our 2018 call for a blow off top in equities in conjunction with the bursting of the crypto bubble is looking rather prescient now less than two weeks later." 
• "We have been bullish on vol and sort of bearish on risk assets for awhile and so it was nice to see a day where people saw that it’s not just a 'buy the dip' mentality," said Nancy Davis, founder of Quadratic, a woman-owned investment advisory firm. Davis said selling from risk controlled strategies, rather than risk parity, was to blame for the day's drop.
• "The complacency was very deep and widespread, and that often leads to problems," Bruce Bittles, the chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co., told my colleague Joe Ciolli. "That big rally in January caused investors to get excessively optimistic. This is going to be a volatile year, all year long."

Longer term, JPMorgan estimates Monday's flash crash will "contribute to further outflows from systematic strategies in the days ahead (volatility targeting, risk parity, CTAs, short volatility)." The bank said outflows may add up to $100 billion. These funds also might not end up doing well in the long run, according to JPMorgan.

Data compiled by the bank shows that if inflation surprises investors to the upside for three or more consecutive months, returns for those strategies tend to drop. That's because bond price-equity correlations reversed to positive during these periods, hitting these funds' performance. 

"The correlation reversal is intuitive since an unexpected rise in inflation erodes bond returns through Fed tightening and equity returns through lower profit margins or fears of a Fed-induced slowdown," John Normand, head of cross-asset fundamental strategy at JPMorgan, said in a note. "The loss of alpha, particularly for Systematic and Risk Parity funds, results from their momentum bias during an apparent regime change, and their leveraged exposure to two assets now falling in price."

SEE ALSO: Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones told Wall Street investors to bet on a spike in volatility right before markets went haywire

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NOW WATCH: A crypto expert explains the difference between the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world: bitcoin and Ethereum