Bitcoin explained: Should I invest in Bitcoin? How to buy cryptocurrencies

BITCOIN was created about 12 years ago and people across the globe have raved about the cryptocurrency for years… but what actually is it? Express.co.uk chatted to an expert to find out the basics about Bitcoin

By IZZIE DEIBE – Daily Express 30 January 2021

Nearly a third of Brits are curious about investing in cryptocurrency but more than 60 percent are too baffled by it to take the plunge, according to a new national survey by money app Ziglu. However, a huge 64 percent of these people think they would invest if they understood cryptocurrencies. Some claim cryptocurrency is a wiser investment than property, so it’s important that we keep up with the times and understand it. Express.co.uk chatted to Katharine Wooller from digital asset exchange Dacxi to find out everything you need to know about Bitcoin.

The internet is full of scams, so it’s easy to see why you’d be afraid to buy Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency.

Ziglu’s latest study found that while 31 percent of people would choose to invest £100 in gold and 19 percent would buy property, 30 percent said they’d use it to buy cryptocurrency.

The survey also revealed a gender divide on the reasons for buying crypto, with 53 percent of men mainly buying crypto to make money on it and 45 percent of women investing in cryptocurrency because they “heard good things about it and thought they would give it a go.”

Mark Hipperson, Founder and CEO of Ziglu, said: “Our survey highlights the importance of financial inclusion, and that is why we will continue to spread the word not just about how crypto works but also how easy and safe it can be now to buy and sell.”

These stats show cryptocurrency is gaining legitimacy in the eyes of the public, by more than 60 percent of the nation still don’t understand it.

What is cryptocurrency?

Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency is a technology that creates a digital asset.

Ms Wooller explained: “Many other financial products are already digitised, but crypto’s main difference is that the information is held on the blockchain across its users, which ensures that the ownership and transactions of the crypto asset are recorded in an open yet unchangeable way.

“Its fans say this makes it immune to outside interference by governments.
“In 2020 bitcoin went up by 270 percent, and is increasingly being purchased by large banks and asset managers.”

Bitcoin was created in 2009 by a mysterious and anonymous creator called Satoshi Nakamoto.

Ms Wooller explained: “Satoshi Nakamoto explicitly stated he wanted to create a digital system to transfer money, without a third party (i.e. a bank).

“The current banking industry charges a lot of fees, and crypto can achieve transfers faster and at a much lower cost.

“Satoshi was also concerned that central banks were manipulating economies by changing base rate; with crypto, there is no governing body that can interfere – the asset and the record of it is owned by the users.”

Bitcoin is the most famous crypto, but there are more than 8000 cryptocurrencies out there.

However, it is very unlikely this many will be needed in the future, so it is likely that most of them will fail.

Ms Wooller said: “Any digital assets chance of success, and potential future market, is called a “use case”.

“There is a small list of coins which the financial institutions are interested in: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.”

These three cryptos make up over 70 percent of the demand, so invest wisely.

In the early years of the bitcoin industry, most people purchasing bitcoin were millennials.

Today, those investing in Bitcoin range from young adults to a much older crowd.

Ms Wooller explained the crypto is now seen as a “credible investment” and it is backed by the world’s top banks, asset managers and hedge funds.

Ms Wooler said: “The FCA is now rightly more involved in supervising crypto companies trading in the UK.”

Bitcoin’s price soared 14 percent higher after the world’s richest man and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, added ‘#Bitcoin’ to his Twitter bio on Thursday – the cryptocurrency is becoming much more mainstream.

Many of the top banks, asset managers and hedge funds are purchasing crypto – it is estimated that around a third of financial institutions have purchased crypto.

How to buy Bitcoin

If you’re convinced Bitcoin is the way to go, the next step is purchasing it.

You can purchase crypto online from a number of digital asset exchanges, such as Dacxi, by changing your pounds to crypto.

Ms Wooller said the process is a bit like purchasing overseas currency for a holiday.

She added: “It is important to check the exchange you are using complies with the FCA’s requirements, and has permission to operate in the UK.

“Most people purchasing crypto today either trade it or are holding for the medium term.

“Whilst some retailers increasingly accept crypto, few people are using it for ‘day to day’ spending, although this may change in the future as the famous payment businesses Paypal, visa, and Mastercard all have crypto projects.”

Bitcoin doesn’t come without its risks, so you shouldn’t go into the crypto world blindly.

Ms Wooller explained: “As with any asset, ample homework must be done to make sure any purchaser fully understands the risks associated.

“Crypto is notoriously volatile, and whilst UK retail investors can purchase crypto in its own right, there has been a recent ban on crypto derivatives.”

So when is the right time to buy Bitcoin? You’ll never really know.

Ms Wooller said: “Hundreds of people think they know the best time to purchase!

“Prices last year were positive – bitcoin appreciated 270 percent whilst Ethereum delivered 450 percent growth, and Litecoin 191 percent.

“Regardless, crypto is volatile, and most retail investors are looking at a medium-term strategy.

“City analysts estimate that bitcoin may appreciate between 3 and 10 fold in 2021.

“There is a lot of education available online, from credible companies, which is a great place to start your research.”

One Bitcoin is worth around £27,000 today, but you don’t need to purchase a whole Bitcoin in one go.

Ms Wooller explained: “Many people wrongly think you need to purchase a whole bitcoin, but there are a number of exchanges with a low entry-level, including Dacxi, where users can open accounts with £100 to purchase some crypto.

“As with all asset classes, due diligence should be done based on the individual’s circumstance.”

Cryptocurrency is no more an illegal tender or business in India. Many FinTechs, Global crypto companies are expected to enter India’s crypto market. VCs and angel investors are looking for opportunities to invest in such FinTechs. Why the FinTechs in cryptocurrency will rise in India and what does opening of cryptocurrency segment in India mean? ETBFSI explores…

India may soon have a significant number of FinTechs operating in the cryptocurrency segment. After Supreme Court quashing the RBI ban, the road for FinTechs to enter the cryptocurrency segment is clear.

“This is a huge win for crypto investors and startups who are working on new ways to build business-backed on blockchain and tokens,” said Sanjay Mehta, Founder, and Partner, 100X.VC.

The Reserve Bank of India had earlier banned cryptocurrency. In fact, RBI didn’t allow any startup to make innovation in the cryptocurrency segment. FinTechs and companies in crypto segment either shut their shops in India or moved to different countries after RBI’s ban.

Supreme Court has found, RBI’s ban on cryptocurrency as disproportionate.

“I think the Supreme Court intelligently has seen that they cannot stop it, and the ban was not well thought of so they have lifted the ban,” Said Sankalp Shangari, Blockchain Investor, Singapore

This move will certainly encourage FinTechs to get into crypto business. Also, foreign FinTechs, Crypto companies are expected to enter in India.

Why FinTechs in cryptocurrency in India may rise?
With 1.3cr population, India is a lucrative market for Cryptocurrency companies. FinTechs have seen huge interest in Cryptocurrency by Indians.

“It’s a huge customer base and transactional volume. Our blockchain-related activities will also accelerate since we’ll be able to utilise it. We’ll be able to tokenise many other asset classes, said Praveen Kumar Vijaykumar, Chairman & CEO, Belfrics.

Belfrics is running a crypto exchange in Malaysia that entered India a few years back but remained inactive after RBI’s ban.

Venture Capital, Angel investors are interested in financing crypto startups.

“Indian Startups which moved out of the country should now come back and set up shop in India. VCs should start looking at investment in crypto startups. Crypto winter in India is over,” added Mehta.

“This judgment opens the door for millions of Indians to Invest/buy/sell crypto via bank accounts in a safe and responsible manner,” said Harish B V, Co-founder, Unocoin, also a member of the BACC,

The FinTechs operating in blockchain space will gear up.

“Lifting ban on crypto gives an impetus to startups in blockchain space in India a boon and opens up for more innovation using blockchain projects, right now 75{63f8a48abbc3b6ed1c546c5062d19c645307100b58edcd524ad62028ad26658a} of the blockchain-based startup are drained to other countries for a crypto-friendly regulated countries,” said Ram Krishna. CoFounder & Chief Operating Officer, Zoreum Blockchain Labs.

What will RBI and SEBI Do?
After the Supreme court’s judgment RBI and SEBI both may frame regulations and craft a policy accordingly.

“Now that this ruling has come, the regulators will have to gear up, or rather accelerate the regulations for this particular industry,” added Vijaykumar

Naveen Surya, Chairman, Fintech Convergence Council of IAMAI, said “Industry is looking forward to working closely with the regulators to mitigate all possible risks related to Virtual Currencies and foster the growth of these game-changing innovations. India is at the forefront of all Digital and an inspiration to the world, our balanced approach between risk and innovation can become a role model for the world.”

The big boost will be for startups who want to raise funds through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

“MSME business in India may raise funds through ICO’s abroad but cannot use these funds in India. To facilitate such businesses, Regulators should now put in place appropriate regulations to regulate markets concerning crypto assets,” said Aditya Tiwari, Independent Council, (FinTech)

Cryptocurrency globally
Germany was the first country to frame regulations for Cryptocurrency. There are many countries like, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Bahrain, Estonia have allowed cryptocurrency. In fact, in a few countries like Malaysia, cryptocurrency is a legal tender.

There are more than 3000 cryptocurrencies in the world and around 500 crypto exchanges. It’s an innovative model run on the blockchain but regulators had their defend behind not making it legal.

Supreme Court judgment has cleared the air, but ultimately regulators will have to protect the safety of the investors.

Forbes recently published the second edition of its Blockchain 50. The list aims to capture the billion dollar companies most active in blockchain. To be included in the Blockchain 50, a company must have a valuation above $1 billion.

A quick glance down the list reveals a mixture of banks, tech’s heavy hitters, FMCG companies, and a handful of crypto players. If you get anything out of this list, it should be this: the biggest companies in the world are working on blockchain technology right now.

We wanted to dive a little deeper into the Blockchain 50 and see if we could spot some interesting trends. Read on for insights into the most popular use cases and development platforms on this year’s list. Because this is about blockchain, there will be a lot of healthy debate about who made the cut and who didn’t.

Are you new here?

Compared to last year’s list, 24 companies have been added/removed, with new entrants including General Electric, LVMH, Aon, and Chinese tech giants Baidu and Tencent. Missing from the Blockchain 50 are Oracle, MetLife, and Visa (who also left the Libra Association). Another company notable in its absence is Danish shipping firm Maersk, known for its TradeLens platform that is used by hundreds of carriers, ports, customs offices, etc. in the global supply chain.

24 companies are new to the Forbes Blockchain 50.

Shifting the focus back to the companies that did make the list, we can look at the blockchain platforms they are working with. Hyperledger Fabric is the most popular outright with 24 companies using the permissioned ledger. Ethereum is a close second with 22 firms. Corda from R3 is used by 11 companies, including GE, Nasdaq, UBS, Aon, and BMW. Quorum, JPMorgan’s enterprise-focused version of Ethereum, is used by 7 companies.

It’s how you use it

The use cases being tackled include all the usual suspects, covering everything from digital assets to supply chain solutions. Here are some of the most popular use cases addressed by companies in the Forbes Blockchain 50:

• Asset tokenization & bond issuance: Santander, Overstock’s tZERO, and Daimler
• Provenance: traceability platforms like IBM Food Trust(Dole, Nestlé, and Walmart) and Tracr (De Beers and others)
• Custody solutions: Bakkt (owned by Intercontinental Exchange), HSBC’s Digital Vault, and Coinbase Custody
• Enterprise infrastructure developments: blockchain development platforms such as JPMorgan’s Quorum, Bitfury’s Exonum, and IBM Blockchain and the various Hyperledger projects
• Trade finance: Foxconn, Tencent, and Shell; komgo and Contour trade finance platforms (which ING and Citi are both members of)

There are also some very interesting developments in the areas of digital identity and identity management, from T-Mobile’s NEXT Identity Project to the blockchain ID solutions being trialled by the United Nations. Automotive companies are also developing solutions in this area, with Daimler giving trucks their own digital identities to allow automatic payments for electric charging stations via Truck-ID and TruckWallet.

Bonus node graph

In case you wanted to see the companies and blockchain platforms in a springier version, you’re in luck: we made a node graph! The black nodes are the blockchain platforms and the red dots represent the Blockchain 50 companies.

Black dots are blockchain platforms; red dots are companies.      Click here to view interactive version.

Action everywhere you look

The sheer variety of companies in the Forbes Blockchain 50 shows that blockchain is far from being confined to a few niches. Indeed, these companies represent a fraction of the activity we’ve seen in the space in the last two years. The fact that so many notable firms missed out on this year’s list is much more to do with the increased activity from all major firms, rather than a loss of interest from those companies. We predict that 2020 will see a record amount of blockchain initiatives come to fruition, as more companies move from pilot to production.

Bitcoin (BTC) is heading to at least $100,000 during the bull cycle which has already begun, one of the industry’s best-known analysts has confirmed.

Speaking to RT financial news show the Keiser Report on March 3, Willy Woo said that described BTC/USD hitting $135,000 as a “common-sense prediction.”

Woo to Keiser: BTC could soon clinch $250K

Woo highlighted the cumulative average Bitcoin price as a particularly effective metric for forecasting future gains.

“You go could 35 times the cumulative average of the price — and that’s actually picked every single top in the ten-year history of Bitcoin — right now that’s sitting above $50,000, but it keeps climbing the longer it runs for,” he told host Max Keiser.

Explaining that Bitcoin ebbed and flowed in line with the four-year cycles of its block reward halvings, Woo likened new highs in BTC/USD to water “sloshing” in a bathtub.

“If you make a best guess, it’s above $100,000; I think one of the more common-sense predictions would be around $135,000 based on the timing cycleture and the 35x of average cap,” he continued.

“I’m looking at around the $100,000 to $250,000 range depending on how long this bull market runs.” 

Optimism drowns out price skeptics

Woo was speaking as BTC/USD continued trading at around its 200-day moving average after a week of noticeable losses.

A sudden but suspicious rally in traditional markets failed to spill over into Bitcoin, leading to criticism from one skeptic in particular that its successes in 2020 would be short-lived.

At the same time, several industry figures have delivered buoyant price forecasts for the rest of the year, while technical forecasts suggest that current price performance is exactly on schedule prior to May’s block reward halving.

In the beginning, there was only Bitcoin. Then Charlie Lee came along and said he could create a better type of payment crypto and that’s when we saw the creation of Litecoin.

Since those early days, 1000s of coins have been created and they’re all referenced to the ‘mother coin’-Bitcoin.

These are known as ‘alternative coins’ or Alts. Yet Bitcoin still defines the crypto space.

When we discuss the Market, we are likely referring to the market value of Bitcoin and not the overall total market cap of Crypto.

The problem with this normal market talk is that a Bitcoin focus can result in you missing the market moving. One thing to remember is that if the market is positives — the Alts will move first.

If we look back at the first quarter of 2019, the market was flat as a result of Bitcoin not moving.

Yet, for those who were observant, Litecoin was rocketing.

However, it was not big enough to move the Bitcoin dominated market. This was the indication people should have needed to buy, buy, buy.

In the second quarter, Ethereum and other Alts started to grow fast and then Bitcoin followed, with the total market booming 300{63f8a48abbc3b6ed1c546c5062d19c645307100b58edcd524ad62028ad26658a} in 10 weeks!

Already in 2020, the Crypto market has rocked, up 40{63f8a48abbc3b6ed1c546c5062d19c645307100b58edcd524ad62028ad26658a}+. Bitcoin is up 41{63f8a48abbc3b6ed1c546c5062d19c645307100b58edcd524ad62028ad26658a} with Litecoin and Ethereum up 90{63f8a48abbc3b6ed1c546c5062d19c645307100b58edcd524ad62028ad26658a}.

The Alts are leading the market which makes for exciting times ahead!

(Psssst tell everyone now)!

Bitcoin’s firm 2020 uptrend has sparked a sense of “FOMO” amongst cryptocurrency investors who are keeping their eyes on a plethora of different fundamental factors that could catalyze an intense BTC bull rally in the year ahead.

The FOMO induced by these factors — which include the cryptocurrency’s upcoming mining rewards halving among other things — is elucidated while looking at the amount of BTC wallet addresses holding over 1 BTC.

This number has been rapidly rising as of late, suggesting that retail investors are engaged in heavy accumulation, which could provide the crypto with significant momentum.

Bitcoin’s fundamentals shape up as the crypto incurs a notable rally

Currently, Bitcoin is trading down slightly from its recent highs of $10,200 which were set yesterday at the peak of the cryptocurrency’s rally.

Although BTC has been unable to stabilize above $10,000, its market structure still remains firmly bullish, and investors appear to be increasingly engaged with the market due to its strong uptrend.

This heightened engagement is elucidated while looking at Bitcoin’s open interest, which has been hovering at over $1 billion for the past week on BitMEX, showing that traders are widely anticipating the crypto to see further volatility.

Bitcoin’s upcoming mining rewards halving, which is slated to occur in May, is one event that could be leading investors to grow increasingly engaged in the markets, as the event typically translates into notable volatility.

Investor’s current engagement in the markets couple with BTC’s strong hash rate, heightened network activity, and strong 2020 price action all suggests that the crypto is fundamentally strong at the moment.

Data shows investors are engaged in heavy BTC accumulation

It appears that investors are carefully considering all these bullish fundamentals at the moment, as data from Glassnode shows that the amount of Bitcoin addresses holding over 1 BTC is growing quickly and is showing few signs of slowing down any time soon.

“The number of Bitcoin addresses holding over 1 BTC is growing quickly, showing no signs of slowing down. After a sharp drop 3 months ago, we’ve surpassed the highs of November and an all time high is just ~2000 addresses away.”

Image Courtesy of Glassnode

While considering the heavy accumulation that investors are currently engaged in, it is highly likely that this will provide BTC with a steady stream of buying pressure that allows it to continue climbing higher.

In the past weeks, a buzz in the global financial markets has been the announcements by central bankers over Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The International Bank of Settlement’s recent survey of 68 central banks reported that 80{63f8a48abbc3b6ed1c546c5062d19c645307100b58edcd524ad62028ad26658a} were researching or piloting CBDC projects.

When central bankers talk of CBDC, they are really talking about a crypto-currency. A government created and controlled crypto version of their national currency based on a blockchain controlled by them. A crypto-dollar. The irony of all this is that just a couple of years ago, they ridiculed the concept.

The driver of these announcements are the perceived threats of Facebook-led corporate crypto called Libra and, more importantly, the Q1 launch of the new Chinese CBDC. Unlike most CBDC, Libra and the crypto-yuan are designed to become new international reserve currencies to facilitate remittances and global trade to compete with the US dollar.

Locally, the Reserve Bank of Australia has recently announced their new Innovation Lab to study the issue of a CBDC. Insiders say that the New Zealand central bank is also involved with this project.

As part of their announcement, the RBA wanted to be clear that their CBDC may never be offered to the public and will simply be used to make inter-bank payments instant. They also report about the potential risks to the current banking system should this new currency become dominant.

No public use! Huh? Why wouldn’t they want the public to gain the full benefits of crypto-based currency when it’s a much better form of digital money?

The answer is simply that, like most disruptive digital technology, it makes the system more efficient by bypassing the middlemen which in this case are the main banks who control money distribution and settlement.

This old system is a monopoly for those banks so naturally the RBA does not want to change a system that works for them and their big banks friends. Especially when they have no political pressure to change and the public have no influence.

Like most organisations controlling a system being disrupted by technology, central banks will find their market changing faster than they want and their lack of control will freak them out. This is a horse that has already bolted. A crypto-dollar with a new monetary system is evitable in halve the time people imagine. Delays simply means that the public will switch to an alternative currency. The only winner will be the public and those banks and politicians supporting the change. .

 Ed Ludbrook is a Duntroon-trained multi-million selling futurist whose company Dacxi is helping the public buy crypto in the safest simplest way. Dacxi.com

Money won’t last forever — that is guaranteed

It didn’t exist when exchange evolved to become a feature of humanities first economic system, nor will it persist when there is no advantage to using it. That time is approaching far quicker than traditionalists care to admit.

The reality is that our evolution to a largely cashless society is almost complete. I rarely have money on me physically, I can count on one hand the number of times I have had cash in my wallet in the last 3 years. Paper cash and metallic coins are prehistoric.

That is what those who carelessly brandish Cryptocurrency a bubble fail to comprehend. Money doesn’t care what you think. It is simply a means of exchange. When its utility is replaced by something more efficient it will become extinct. Right now, it is a protected species with a few purists trying to revive it. Unfortunately, the poachers are pulling down each pillar which underpinned the system one by one.

Soon it will fall.

With Fiat valuations no longer tied to any commodity — with its price being entirely independent and its valuation contingent on what we collectively believe it to be — give me one sincere and serious argument which convinces me fiat isn’t also a bubble. Give me a coherent reason why that if we stopped believing in the value of paper money today it would be worth anything tomorrow. Without resorting to the argument of historical precedent, the size and scale of central banks or the promise these institutions have made to maintain a certain valuation what do you have to argue against it? Fundamentally it is still a question of trust and belief. This forces you to consider that there might be a technological solution which forces a level or trust and believe that is inconceivable in a human led system.

Your argument might still be that cryptocurrency is a bubble, but I raise you the perspective that all money is. It is a product of our beliefs married to our hope that it’s value will remain. Ditto stocks, shares and bonds.

Money is, and has been for the last 30 years, an intellectual construct centred on humanities trust in Governance — but trust in these institutions is at a historical low. We don’t trust the reasons they give for the decisions they make, they’re incentives to act in our best interests or their ability to deliver a better future.

Cryptocurrency isn’t just the future because that is what a committed band of dreamers would have you believe. It is the future because it is a new operating system for a decentralised world. It is the future because it takes back control of the things we are most dependent on for us to subsist. It is the future because it is already here making a difference to how we act. Bitcoin has enabled a whole generation of Venezuelans to have an alternative to crippling inflation left unchecked by corruption.

• No longer do we have to trust a government to reign over us and carelessly prescribe dangerous monetary policy which we must accept.
• No longer must we accept situations of austerity forced upon us due to government intervention in a financial collapse where there was no punishment for any of the individuals who caused it.
• No longer is our future dependent on the whims of governments.

You can make any argument you like about Cryptocurrency being over valued, about it being manipulated, about it not being a viable medium for high frequency transactions to occur.

That’s fine but what price do you place on control?

What price would you put on trust programmed into an immutable ledger where those participating hold the keys to how the platform develops. Unilateral arbitrary decision making is replaced by consensus.

If you don’t understand the implications of that you’re not paying attention.

If you don’t understand how fiat money works, you’re not qualified to judge whether cryptocurrency will be successful or not, period. Equally, if you don’t understand the mechanisms for mining, the underlying technology that powers cryptocurrency or the economics of scarcity you aren’t qualified to tell anyone why it is a revolution.

So educate yourself and understand why things are changing, appreciate the technology underpinning the revolution. They you can positively impact the progress this new system can make. Otherwise you’re just another uneducated quack speculating to make a buck doing more damage than good.

With all that being true, if you believe in Crypto let the market come to you.

Understand that the success of the system is contingent on an unwavering belief that throughout history innovation has always disrupted what currently exists. If a system is better, exponentially so, then nothing will ever be able to stand in the way of progress. For the same reason Google destroyed Yahoo, and Facebook vanquished MySpace, Bitcoin and Ethereum will destroy money.

In the same way Amazon has brutalised physical retail, Cryptocurrency will eradicate banks. If you don’t see this coming you aren’t paying attention.

Let the non-believers have their day, but the moment central banks pushed the button on quantitative easing they signed the death warrant of capitalism operating system that monopolised the world.

Capitalism isn’t going anywhere though. Cryptocurrency is simply a more efficient vessel which allows for its manifest destiny to be realised.

Progress is relentless.

Cryptocurrency is simply an upgrade

Bitcoin (BTC) is heading to at least $100,000 during the bull cycle which has already begun, one of the industry’s best-known analysts has confirmed.

Speaking to RT financial news show the Keiser Report on March 3, Willy Woo said that described BTC/USD hitting $135,000 as a “common-sense prediction.”

Woo to Keiser: BTC could soon clinch $250K

Woo highlighted the cumulative average Bitcoin price as a particularly effective metric for forecasting future gains.

“You go could 35 times the cumulative average of the price — and that’s actually picked every single top in the ten-year history of Bitcoin — right now that’s sitting above $50,000, but it keeps climbing the longer it runs for,” he told host Max Keiser.

Explaining that Bitcoin ebbed and flowed in line with the four-year cycles of its block reward halvings, Woo likened new highs in BTC/USD to water “sloshing” in a bathtub.

“If you make a best guess, it’s above $100,000; I think one of the more common-sense predictions would be around $135,000 based on the timing cycleture and the 35x of average cap,” he continued.

“I’m looking at around the $100,000 to $250,000 range depending on how long this bull market runs.” 

Optimism drowns out price skeptics

Woo was speaking as BTC/USD continued trading at around its 200-day moving average after a week of noticeable losses.

A sudden but suspicious rally in traditional markets failed to spill over into Bitcoin, leading to criticism from one skeptic in particular that its successes in 2020 would be short-lived.

At the same time, several industry figures have delivered buoyant price forecasts for the rest of the year, while technical forecasts suggest that current price performance is exactly on schedule prior to May’s block reward halving.

IN A RECENT discussion with Malaysia’s innovation czar, I explained that the clearest indicator of a failing market for innovation funding was government money. There are countless great ideas to fund and a massive pool of speculative money, so if the government has to divert the public’s tax money into supporting the innovation sector then something is obviously systemically wrong. It doesn’t happen in Silicon Valley, so what’s wrong in Malaysia?

Malaysia’s problem is the same as everywhere in the world, except Silicon Valley. Only in Silicon Valley, and a few other similar American enclaves like Seattle does the Early Stage funding ecosystem work where countless gambles are placed on exciting ideas with enough capital, managed by proven entrepreneurs who understand that, for all your checks, this is a lottery.

And over there, there is no government grant money required to drive innovation. The system works. And thus, so many of the great new high-growth companies leave their homelands to Silicon Valley in search of the financial support they need.

From a Scottish context, If we imagine innovation funding as a stairway which entrepreneurs must climb the stairs gaining funding as they go, the problem here – like all developed countries is rarely the top stairs. There is a robust ecosystem to support exciting proven companies looking for Series B, C or listed cash. This pool is swimming with venture capital. The challenge is at the bottom of the funding stairway. The area called ‘Early Stage’; series A to Seed, where success is never guaranteed. In fact, where success is literally a form of lottery.

The vast majority of VC’s hate the uncertainty of Early Stage and thus the trend is towards larger deals higher up the stairway. So, with venture capital firms still nervous and the government pouring money in without the scale or results to inspire any auditor, the last remaining pool of cash for these exciting companies is the public.

The government will say the public should never invest in early-stage ventures which is total rubbish as they will allow them to seed business and more importantly, they will gladly promote gambling with no restrictions.

So how to funnel the public’s cash into early-stage projects? The equity Crowd-Funding concept seems the solution, yet any investigation of this sector and one will see its fundamental flaws in that the platforms do nothing to protect or empower the public.

Their fundamental principle of ‘just do your due diligence’ is laughable when it comes to the public. They don’t know how. And why would they trust a platform whose interests are aligned with the issuer. And the final nail is the five-seven-year payback cycle which is well beyond the public’s investment confidence.

In Scotland, I can see a solution being delivered in the form of a new form of tokenised crowdfunding delivered by a Crowd Finance ecosystem. It’s a lot of new jargon, yet the solution takes the concept of crowdfunding and meshes it with a crypto coin that represents the innovative company’s shares, so it’s easy to buy, list and sell, and is seen as a new form of public support platform.

A platform that presents the innovative company’s offer in a way they can understand, with trusted due diligence and the education they need.

The crypto world is evolving at light speed and whilst most people remain sceptical, behind the scenes the largest financial and consumer organisations have announced their entry. Most are focused on the payment crypto space and later in 2020, you will see the other leading use cases of crypto-asset technology hit the market.

Indeed, famous football clubs will lead the tidal wave of ‘Community Coins’  –  West Ham and Juventus have already reaffirmed this. Following that will be the new security token market that will transform the Crowd-Funding space and thus the funding of high growth innovative businesses.

The new Crowd Finance world from 2021 has the power to fund thousands of innovative companies at millions for each venture. It will create a paradigm shift in the raising of innovative funding.