How can i be part of this?

Learn about how it works
The technology behind it.
And how it can mean profit and financial freedom for you.
You can be part of my teams WhatsApp group and stay informed from all angle.

blizzers:
How can i be part of this?

Why Malaysia’s Potential Legalization of BItcoin is a Big Deal

For many years, the Malaysian government and its central bank have imposed strict capital controls and restricted the outflow of the Malaysian ringgit outside of the country. Consequently, expat workers in Malaysia have struggled to send large sums of money or remittances to their families overseas.

I AM INTERESTED. SO AM I TO JOIN YOUR WHATS APP FOR MORE ENLIGHTENMENT??

send message

pluslady:
I AM INTERESTED. SO AM I TO JOIN YOUR WHATS APP FOR MORE ENLIGHTENMENT??

CBN is working seriously on a draft resolution on blockchain and cryptocurrency, I have reliable information a big news is in pipline.
I am confident in a short while, there will be an official press release.

Until then, acquire as much deep knowledge of this complex technology as possible and keep your finger's crossed

US Centers for Disease Control to Launch First Blockchain Test on Disaster Relief

The devastation wreaked by this year’s hurricanes has not only highlighted an ever-greater need to prevent and protect against such loss; it has also brought to light an urgent need to improve disaster response efficiency.

One way to do that is through faster data processing and dissemination.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) believes that blockchain technology can help. Jim Nasr, its chief software architect, spoke with CoinDesk about an ongoing proof-of-concept (PoC) aimed at facilitating the rapid recording of epidemic information in crisis situations.

The challenge is not just reliably capturing the data at source – it’s also sharing it in a secure and decentralized manner with other organizations involved in disaster relief efforts. According to Nasr, the CDC’s legacy systems are just not up to the task.

The hope is that this and other PoCs the institution is working on will show the potential of blockchain technology to change the way large-scale crisis response coordination works. Given the speed with which disaster can strike, the inherent chaos of the aftermath and the humanitarian importance of relief efforts, it would be none too soon.

Another Economic Crisis Looms over CBN “Reckless Funding of FG”
https://www.businesspost.ng/2017/09/26/another-economic-crisis-looms-cbn-reckless-funding-fg/


"If there's any truth in this report, then the Mother of all future crisis is loading" - Economic Analyst


"Exactly why i advise everyone to hedge against Naira assets! Make sure you have diversified your investments and earnings from only NAIRA!

I learnt some bitter lessons from the last devaluation and vowed never to be caught off guards again..

All Emefiele has been doing is Quantitative easing,..... which in lame man terms is PRINTING MORE MONEY FOR THE FG.

If the Price of Oil does not get to $80 in the medium term... we are doomed!

be warned!!" - A respected Investment Banker

Devaluation of Naira is coming again.
Use bitcoin to diversify your investments and earnings
Dont say I did not warn you.

Breaking News: Two New Bitcoin ETFs Submitted For SEC Approval


Two new Bitcoin ETFs (exchange traded funds) have been submitted to the SEC for approval by Proshares Capital Management, according to publicly filed Form S-1 documents. The funds, ProShares Bitcoin ETF and the ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF, both intend to purchase derivative contracts for exposure, rather than actual purchase of Bitcoins.

According to the filing, Proshares hopes to have a maximum offering price of $1 mln aggregate, and a per share price of $25. The document offers strong disclosure language regarding Bitcoin and potential losses, stating:

“An investor should only consider an investment in a Fund if he or she understands the consequences of investing in Bitcoin Futures Contracts, exposure to Bitcoin and, in the case of the Inverse Fund, the consequences of seeking daily inverse investment results."

Coming back around again

The application represents the first real attempt at a new SEC approval for Bitcoin or Bitcoin derivative type funds after the rejection of the Winklevoss twins’ attempt earlier this year. Some would argue that the SEC position has only grown more stringently anti-Bitcoin, and the attempt is futile.

However, the tide may be shifting with new staff at the SEC, greater levels of public adoption and awareness of Bitcoin, and the announcement by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approving LedgerX for commodities trading. A new ETF that is derived from Bitcoin can only help in creating further virtuous Satoshi Cycles.

Full details at
https://cointelegraph.com/news/breaking-two-new-bitcoin-etfs-submitted-for-sec-approval

I am personally following this development and will provide update as it unfolds. Stay in the loop

Christine Lagarde, IMF: Cryptocurrencies Should Not Be Ignored by Governments

In a remarkably frank talk at a Bank of England conference, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund has speculated that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency have as much of a future as the Internet itself. It could displace central banks, conventional banking, and challenge the monopoly of national monies.

At a conference held in London, England, Lagarde said that different countries, particularly those with “weak institutions and unstable national currencies” may directly adopt a cryptocurrency.

"Instead of adopting the currency of another country – such as the US dollar – some of these economies might see a growing use of virtual currencies. Call it dollarization 2.0. So in many ways, virtual currencies might just give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money. The best response by central bankers is to continue running effective monetary policy while being open to fresh ideas and new demands, as economies evolve."

Why digital currencies are attractive

Lagarde cited several factors that may drive the adoption of virtual currencies. Among them is the possible shift in consumer preference for new currencies which are “easier and safer” than traditional ones.

These will be further improved if the digital currencies become more stable.

Lagarde, however, clarified that the takeover of cryptocurrencies over conventional ones is still a distant prospect.

This is because virtual currencies are still “too volatile, too risky, too energy intensive and because the underlying technologies are not yet scalable.”

IMF’s position on virtual currencies

Meanwhile, the IMF continued to promote a balanced approach to digital currency regulation.

In its early 2016 staff paper, IMF considers distributed ledgers to have the capability to revolutionize the financial sector through cost reduction and deeper financial inclusion in the long term.

Lagarde also cited its support for the financial applications of Blockchain technology.

Don't still there just looking and peeping, get up and act now, before you are filled with regrets.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/christine-lagarde-cryptocurrencies-should-not-be-ignored-by-governments

Money20/20, the world’s largest marketplace for payment and financial services, will be hosting the likes of Steve Wozniak to discuss the power of AI, as well as hosting industry leaders from financial institutions to discuss the applications of Blockchain technology.

This new and powerful technology is becoming too difficult to ignore anymore, and as it continues to disrupt and revolutionize the financial industry, more and more people want to discuss it and hear how it can become integrated.

A major platform for Blockchain to flourish
Money20/20 is a huge and well-regarded event that represents every sector of the financial market. Its figures and guest list alone suggest that it is a big platform for any new technology to be featured on.

Money20/20, held at The Venetian in Las Vegas from October 22-25, boasts over 11,000 attendees with 1,700 CEOs & Presidents, from 4,500 companies and 85 countries. All are coming to hear the likes of Apple’s Wozniak discuss the power of AI in the financial sphere, and to learn more about the power of Blockchain technology.

Exploring Blockchain’s adoption
Money20/20 seems to be aiming at discovering just how far the Blockchain can go in today’s developed financial sector. But it is not just Blockchain technology; at Money20/20 ICOs will also be near the top of the agenda as people try and wrap their heads around these huge money makers.

While Wozniak will be speaking on AI, Amber Baldet from JPMorgan Chase, Marley Gray from Microsoft, David Huseby from Hyperledger and Todd McDonald from R3, will all be there to discussing how to make Blockchain real for enterprise.

Some of these companies have already made waves in the Blockchain and digital currency spheres - some better waves than others. Microsoft is pioneering the way with its Coco Framework. Meanwhile, JP Morgan has had a swipe at Bitcoin but is still intrigued by the Blockchain technology behind it.

ICO boom
Of course, it is hard to delve into Blockchain technology and not discuss ICOs, this Money20/20 will also be using Tezos - a highly successful ICO - as an example discussion on these fund raisers.

Money20/20 has confirmed that co-founders of Tezos, Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, will be on-hand to try and sway the institutionalized financial sector to the power of ICOs when it comes to raising funds.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-and-ai-take-center-stage-at-money2020

Nigeria’s central bank is printing money to keep the government afloat and alarms are ringing


https://qz.com/1093002/nigerias-central-bank-emefiele-is-printing-naira-to-buhari-government-afloat/

For a while now, economists and finance types who follow the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have been sounding a low intensity alarm about the CBN’s direct funding of the Nigerian government.

Between December 2013 and April 2017 for instance, the CBN’s “claims on the federal government” went from 678 billion naira to 6.5 trillion naira ($1.8 billion to $17.3 billion)—an almost 10-fold rise. These “claims” are made up of overdrafts, treasury bills, converted bonds and other such lending. For the most part, the issue has remained an obscure one that receives hardly any attention from local media.
But then, a couple of weeks ago, the CBN finally published the personal statements of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members from the July meeting [PDF] and suddenly the alarm bells started ringing. The personal statement of Dr. Doyin Salami, a well-regarded member of the MPC noted for his straight talking, said the CBN was providing a “piggy-bank” service to the federal government. Specifically, he said [page 38]:

Perhaps the most challenging of the present characteristics of the economy in Nigeria is the adoption of a quantitative easing stance by the management of the Central Bank. Monetary data shows a sharp rise in the extent of CBN financing of the government deficit.

===
Prepare for inflation today, diversify your portfolio into foreign currency. Its far easier with cryptocurrency.

I have a lot of reasons. Cryptocurrwncy is rising almost every day and it is reasonable to invest in it. I just invested in medicine project by https://robomed.io/ and wait to get my tokens asap. What crypto currency you consider the most resonable?

There are great projects like NEO, OMG, LISK, VRG, RISE, TENX, etc,
Good enough most of these coins are undervalued.

There is a new project which came out last week- SUBTRATUM , I think its going to change a lot about the internet we know.

However, you should conduct due diligence and decide which coin your going to hold, and how long.

As for ICOs like ROBOMED, I always advice caution when investing in ICO.

I will post useful information later on ICO.

KateFowler7:
I have a lot of reasons. Cryptocurrwncy is rising almost every day and it is reasonable to invest in it. I just invested in medicine project by https://robomed.io/ and wait to get my tokens asap. What crypto currency you consider the most resonable?

Airdrop in cryptocurrency means when a developer of a

new token gives out a token freely to early users to

promote and create awareness of their project before

listing on exchange......

Tools needed for you to always qualified for any

airdrops are Ethereum and Waves wallet that supports

ERC 20 token,you create a bitcointalk.org account and

also have telegram app installed on your phone..

They are so many developers given airdrop to members

like Pluscoin,eXrp, ELTcoin , Dragon, Ethercat, Energy,

dimon etc

You can monitor all latest airdrop on this telegram

channel

www./cryptocurrencyairdrop

We are about to see massive disruptions':

IMF's Lagarde says it's time to get serious about digital currency
"I think that we are about to see massive disruptions," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told CNBC about developments in financial technologies

Lagarde didn't rule out that the IMF could at some point develop its own cryptocurrency

It's time for the world's central banks and regulators to get serious about digital currencies, according to the head of the International Monetary Fund.

Global financial institutions are taking risks by not watching and understanding emerging financial tech products that are already starting to shake up the financial services and global payments system, according to IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

"I think that we are about to see massive disruptions," Lagarde told CNBC in a Facebook Live interview on the sidelines of the IMF Annual Meetings in Washington D.C.

Asked whether she agreed with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon's comments that bitcoin is a "fraud," Lagarde said it's important to look at the broader implications of technologies like digital currencies.

"I think we should just be aware of not categorizing anything that has to do with digital currencies in those speculation, ponzi-like schemes," she said. "It's a lot more than that as well."

Lagarde didn't rule out that the IMF could at some point develop its own cryptocurrency. She pointed to the IMF's Special Drawing Right (SDR), a currency the IMF created to serve as an international reserve asset, that could incorporate technology similar to cryptocurrencies.

Full details at

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/13/bitcoin-get-serious-about-digital-currency-imf-christine-lagarde-says.html

Price update!!

Should I invest in cryptocurrencies?

Cryptocurrencies are now considered to be one of the best investment decisions.

These are some of the reasons:

To increase net worth. The alarming value loss of most currencies makes many people consider a better way to hedge their money. As a result, they turn to cryptocurrencies as a better alternative.

Technology. The technology behind cryptocurrencies is amazing. It offers you a currency that can be used regardless of where you live in the world, unless a government decided to take a hand on it, of course

Track record. Ever since Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency ever created, was launched back in 2008, investors in the digital currencies have benefited immensely from the surge in prices of the currency over time. Therefore, investing in crypto assets offers you the chance to increase your financial situation over time.

This appeared first on Cointelegraph.com

What are the risks?

Some of the issues you might want to consider before investing:

Bubble accusations. Some business experts believe that cryptocurrency is a bubble and will never pass the test of time. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon is one of them, for instance. Traditional financial investors seem to think that since digital currencies are not backed by anything and have a high level of volatility, they cannot compete with fiat money and thus will never replace it.

Volatility. This point is of a high concern. With big volatility jumps you may earn a lot of money but you can also lose a lot in an instant. Take a look at the Bitcoin price over the last three months as an example.

Legal aspects. Not all the countries in the world have officially recognised the digital currency as a currency yet. So you may find it impossible to open a cryptocurrency wallet in some countries or to pay in digital currencies at a groceries store. Also, if you some of your income is in cryptocurrency you may face difficulties declaring taxes, as most of the governments have figured out what to do about it yet.

This appeared first on Cointelegraph.com

What cryptocurrency should I invest in?
Tricky question.

There are a lot of factors to consider before investing. Let’s take a look at the most crucial ones.

Acceptability. Before you invest in a crypto asset, consider how many countries recognize and accept it as a legal means of exchange?

Portability. A digital coin must be portable. You should be able to carry it easily from one place to another without much challenge.

Security. It must also be secure. This is a characteristic of all legal currencies. From the US Dollar to the British pound, security is a common quality. So, a good digital currency must also be secure.

Over the years, a lot of digital currencies have been launched with each promising to be the most valuable. Let’s take a look at the ones we cover most often:

Bitcoin. Bitcoin has proven to be the most valuable cryptocurrency to invest in. It offers high Return on Investment (ROI). Nevertheless, as mentioned before, it is not immune to volatility jumps.

Ethereum. Ethereum is the second largest digital currency by the market capitalization and by the current price.

Litecoin. Litecoin has been one of the most stable crypto currencies so far. In fact, it is often called “the main hedge asset of the crypto market” among crypto traders, although it was affected by the news of the China ICO ban.

There a lot of other potentially interesting cryptocoins to invest to. Do your own due diligence before deciding.

This appeared first on Cointelegraph.com

How to start investing in crypto assets?

Take the following steps:

Decide what you want to invest in. The first step to take is to decide what cryptocurrencies to invest in. Since there are more than thousand of them, making a decision on which one to buy is crucial.

Set aside some money for investment. Everything requires planning and goal setting. So, the second step to take is to decide how much you would like to invest in crypto assets either weekly or monthly. Keep aside the amount you wish to invest and watch out for the right time to invest it.

Sign up for a cryptocurrency wallet. You’ll need a wallet address with which to request and receive the coins you will buy. There are different types of wallets such as Bitcoin wallet, Ethereum wallet, etc.

Join an exchange. Now that you have signed up for a cryptocurrency wallet, you still have to join an exchange because this is where you will be trading. There are a lot of exchanges, like HitBTC, Bitfinex, Bittrex, Coinbase, BitstamP, etc.

Purchase your cryptocoins. After creating an account at an exchange, it’s time to start buying. If you have no idea how to do this, get in touch with the support team and they will be glad to guide you.
Move your coins to offline hardware storage. An offline hardware storage will help you store the coins off the internet servers where they are protected from hacking.

Please note that investing in crypto assets is risky. You should conduct your own research when making a decision

This appeared first on Cointelegraph.com

Money20/20 Conference: Wozniak Thinks Bitcoin Is Better Than Gold

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/money2020-wozniak-thinks-bitcoin-better-gold/

Steve Wozniak (aka the ‘Woz’) thinks Bitcoin is better than gold and the U.S. dollar, which he called “phony,” because the government can always print more.On Sunday, October 22, 2017, the co-founder of Apple Computers shared his thoughts on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies at Money20/20 in Las Vegas where he was interviewed by Deirdre Bosa, technology reporter at CNBC.

The conversation was around artificial intelligence, but the topic of Bitcoin emerged as well.Wozniak feels a currency is more “stable” when it cannot be diluted and, while Bitcoin has a fixed future supply (only 21 million bitcoins will ever be mined), the same cannot be said about government-backed fiat currencies. “There is a certain finite amount of bitcoin that can ever exist,” Wozniak said in explaining that the U.S. government could wind up printing more dollars for political reasons. He described the U.S. dollar as “kind of phony” in that sense, while describing Bitcoin as more “genuine and real.”Similarly, he said, gold does not necessarily have a fixed supply either, because humans will continue to find more efficient ways to dig it out of the earth.“Gold gets mined and mined and mined,” Wozniak said. “Maybe there’s a finite amount of gold in the world, but Bitcoin is even more mathematical and regulated and nobody can change mathematics.”

He compared owning Bitcoin to owning a house. “Your house has value. And if it is a house today, 40 years from now, it still is a house in value,” he said, even if the price goes up and the government draws more taxes out of it. Mathematical Appreciation Wozniak said he “admired” Bitcoin when the digital currency was first presented.“I looked at it as a form of currency,” he said, adding that initially he did not understand the underlying blockchain technology but now he does.He said, initially, he had a tough time buying bitcoin because that required setting up a special bank account.

The process, he said was “so awkward, it kept me from getting early bitcoin.” When he finally was able to buy bitcoin, he said the price immediately dropped in half. But those kind of numbers don’t mean so much to Wozniak. “I am not financial,” he told the crowd, admitting he never followed the price of bitcoin, nor the price of Apple stock but said he was drawn to bitcoin because it was based on mathematics. “My wife and I, we judge a hotel room more by the number on the door than what is inside the room. We are both mathematicians,” he said.

Countless Opportunities for Blockchain Technology

Wozniak also touched on Bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology, and its importance in allowing people to transparently track things, like minerals.“Right now, there is conflict with minerals in the world, and you don’t want to buy conflict minerals. Well, how do you avoid it?” He continued by explaining how companies will usually buy gold from different countries and smelt it together, so there is no way of knowing where it all comes from.

With blockchain-based solutions, however, tracking where that gold comes from is now possible.“They are applying the technology where all the payment can only go to the good, legitimate sources that don’t have conflict minerals,” he added. Wozniak pointed out that, currently, there are so many applications popping up using blockchain technology that are so different than what people initially imagined, and it will take time to get used to. He also likened the introduction of smart contract platforms, like Ethereum, to when computers first came out and suddenly people were writing “tens of thousands of programs” nobody had ever thought of before. Smart contract platforms open those same doors of opportunity .“There is a lot more to this cryptocurrency than just the Bitcoin,” he said.

The post Money20/20: Wozniak Thinks Bitcoin Is Better Than Gold appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine (https://bitcoinmagazine.com/).

Crippling Economic Problems Accelerate Bitcoin’s Adoption in Argentina


Every time a big fat whale on Wall Street says that Bitcoin might be bubble, it makes me want to write about why I “hodl” my Bitcoin.

I could lecture on monetary theory and describe the characteristics of a currency and compare them to Bitcoin, or I could about of the supply shortage curve of Bitcoin, or about another of the myriad reasons Bitcoin is likely to be successful in the long term. Today, though, I’d like to talk about adoption.

One look at South America will help you understand why Bitcoin has become such a phenomenon.

In my last article I gave small examples of what already happened in Brazil in monetary terms and how it impacted my perception of Bitcoin’s value. Today I want to move on to Argentina, and address the reasons for that country’s adoption of Bitcoin.

Populist governments don’t know math; after some time the money runs out and it becomes necessary to use "creativity" in their accounting. It is not by chance that there are at least two recent economic facts that impacted the Argentines and made them realize the value of a deflationary currency.

The first was the "Corralito," when in 2001 the government froze all money in bank accounts for a full year, only allowing extremely limited withdrawals for household necessities.

In 2011, exactly 10 years later, the "cepo" exchange control implemented by former president Cristina Kirchner was created. This move led the country to revive symbols of hyperinflation from the 1980s, such as the figure of the "arbolitos" - money-changers stopped (like trees) at the corners of the tourist spots - and the "cuevas" normal stores with black market exchange for those who wanted to sell dollars in a much better price than in the official government exchange rate, basically the market was paying double.

Just two years after the emergence of Bitcoin, the Argentines felt betrayed by their own national currency, suffering from heavily manipulated exchange rates. Those who suffer from the effects of such monetary policy are likely to look favorably upon a new, deflationary, currency such as Bitcoin. Argentina is ahead of many South American countries in terms of adoption; their crisis began in 2011, while Brazil’s only began in 2014.

Wall Street bankers with their million dollar bonuses might not understand Bitcoin or see any point to it, as they make lofty proclamations from their Manhattan penthouses. But for ordinary people suffering under crippling economic conditions, Bitcoin could literally keep them alive as their national currency drops like a stone

This post Crippling Economic Problems Accelerate Bitcoin’s Adoption in Argentina appears first on cointelegraph.com

When Governments Get Intrusive, Bitcoin Provides Way Out

Governments across the world are using technology and banks to keep an eye on their citizens. Decentralized currencies like Bitcoin may be the only way out for people who want to maintain their privacy.

Europe and MiFid

The European Union's Market in Financial Instruments Directives (MiFiD) are set to be implemented from January 2018. Customers who transact in securities will now have to provide their passport numbers to every platform they register on.

Exchanges are transitioning to MiFiD-ready platforms and have started collection of data. If you do not provide your passport number and other personal data, exchanges may block your transactions. As far as Know-Your-Customer norms are concerned, no data is considered private.

US tracks citizens worldwide

The US, through the enactment of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), tracks the accounts of its citizens worldwide. US citizens, whether resident or not, have information such as their social security numbers and total assets collected by banks and submitted to the IRS. The US government twists the arms of foreign banks to ensure compliance. This is done by threatening non-compliant banks with a withholding penalty on their US transactions.

The IRS is even trying to use tools like Chainalysis to track down Bitcoin transactions. There is no escaping the long arm of Uncle Sam, except by renouncing your citizenship, which some wealthy Americans have done.

India and Aadhar

The Government of India seems to be pushing forward with its aim to make Aadhar ubiquitous. The Aadhar card, which involves the collection of biometrics like fingerprints and iris scans, has been made compulsory for everything from receiving subsidies to filing income tax returns. In its new push, the government has also ordered the linking of bank accounts and mobile numbers to your unique Aadhar number.

Its motto is one billion, one billion, one billion - a billion bank accounts linked to a billion mobile numbers linked to a billion Aadhar numbers. Privacy? Forget about it, especially when it comes to money. Demonetization is not the only assault by the Indian government on people's' rights.

Nothing to hide?

The attitude of governments when questioned about the need for citizens' privacy is that only criminals need to hide things from the government. Various organizations have taken the issue of privacy to courts and are fighting a battle to safeguard the rights of citizens, but governments are nonetheless chipping away at citizens' privacy. Thankfully, Bitcoin is founded on the core premise that transactions cannot be censored in any way. If Alice wants to send some of her Bitcoins to Bob, she will be able to do that irrespective of what the government thinks and wants her to do.

The post - When Governments Get Intrusive, Bitcoin Provides Way Out appeared first on cointelegraph.com

People are 'underestimating' the 'great potential' of bitcoin, billionaire Peter Thiel says

Billionaire Peter Thiel said people are "underestimating" bitcoin and it has "great potential left"
Thiel said he is "skeptical" of most cryptocurrencies except bitcoin
He compared bitcoin to gold

People are "underestimating" bitcoin and it has "great potential left," billionaire investor Peter Thiel said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thiel compared the cryptocurrency bitcoin to gold.

"I'm skeptical of most of them (cryptocurrencies), I do think people are a little bit … underestimating bitcoin especially because ... it's like a reserve form of money, it's like gold, and it's just a store of value. You don't need to use it to make payments," Thiel said.

"If bitcoin ends up being the cyber equivalent of gold it has a great potential left."

There has been rising interest in bitcoin this year. The cryptocurrency recently hit a new record high above $6,100 and has rallied over 500 percent this year.

Thiel said that bitcoin is based on the "security of the math" which means it can't be hacked and it's secure. The PayPal founder and venture capitalist compared some of bitcoin's features to gold.

"Bitcoin is mineable like gold, it's hard to mine, it's actually harder to mine than gold. And so in that sense it's more constrained," Thiel said.

The cryptocurrency has a limited supply and only 21 million bitcoin will be mined.

Major figures in the business world have weighed into the debate over the sustainability of cryptocurrencies. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon called bitcoin a "fraud" and said people who buy it are "stupid". Saudi billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said Monday that bitcoin will "implode" one day.

On the other hand, former hedge fund manager Michael Novogratz said bitcoin would head to $10,000, mirroring the bullishness of some CNBC readers. Forty-nine percent of the 23,118 people who voted in an unscientific survey last week about the direction of the bitcoin price, said it was heading above $10,000.

UK Financial Regulator Vows to Give Blockchain 'Space' to Grow

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said it does not plan to regulate the blockchain industry for now as it believes the technology will need "space" to grow.

The news was delivered yesterday in a speech by Christopher Woolard, the FCA's director of strategy and competition, who took a focus on innovation at the start of London London Fintech Week.

Describing innovation as an "iterative process", Woolard said that it is "crucial" that innovators are given space to develop their solutions. He further framed the development of distributed ledger technology as a potential revolution in financial services, though he cautioned it has yet to be seen if the tech is "the panacea of all ills in the financial world".

Moving onto the authority's position on regulation of the blockchain businesses, Woolard said:

"The FCA continues to monitor the development of this technology but is yet to take a stance until its application is clearer."

Woolard went on to state that he believes there are "regulatory and consumer issues" that will need to be examined as the technology evolves, such as how individuals gain access to a distributed financial network and which entities control this access.

Additionally, he cited levels of data security for users as a further "vital consideration" for the FCA.

The FCA regulates domestic financial firms providing services to consumers, and is also charged with helping to maintain the integrity of UK financial markets

Applications for regulators

During the speech, Woolard took the time to discuss the FCA's Project Innovate initiative, launched in October 2014 to help startups improve policies and processes.

The FCA chief explained that the FCA will continue to work with firms developing distributing ledger technology solutions via the innovation scheme to ensure "consumer protections are being factored in during the development phase of this technology".

Woolard further explained that the FCA had identified some "key opportunities" in applying the technology to the needs of regulators, which he termed "RegTech".

He said:

"[This area] is an opportunity for us to understand how we can best support developments and potentially adopt some RegTech solutions ourselves."

Of particular interest to the authority is whether blockchain technology can help companies across industries meet know-your-customer (KYC) or anti-money laundering (AML) requirements "more efficiently and effectively".

The FCA is currently engaged in discussions with government and industry on the issue, he indicated.

Blockchain-friendly stance

To date, the UK has taken an extremely open stance on both digital currencies and blockchain technology, issuing a number of official statements and initiatives expressing a willingness to help the industry develop.

In October 2015, the economic secretary to the UK Treasury, Harriet Baldwin MP, spoke about the benefits of digital currencies and blockchain technology, explaining that the government was working to create the right regime for digital currency businesses that would attract both overseas investors and companies to the UK.

This January, a report from the UK Government Office for Science recommended a broad government effort to explore and test blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

The report, headed by the government's top scientific advisor Mark Walport, contained proposals aimed at pushing for segments of the UK government to pursue applications of the technology.

The Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, could be the richest celebrities in terms of Bitcoin investments as of late October 2017, as their one percent total holdings of the leading digital currency are already worth more than $1 bln.

The twins became infamous for their legal dispute with Mark Zuckerberg over the latter’s alleged stealing of their original concept for the Facebook social network.

The Winklevoss twins’ venture into Bitcoin
The Winklevoss twins claimed that they first learned about the oldest digital currency in 2012. In 2013, they announced that they had purchased one percent of the total supply (120,000 BTC) of Bitcoin at the time. In late 2013, the twins stated in an interview that they did not sell any of their Bitcoins and they keep their wallets in different safes around the world on universal serial bus (USB) drives.

In their announcement in a Reddit AMA, the twins claimed that they were immediately impressed by Bitcoin when they first heard about it in 2012 due to its elegance and very huge potential.

“We first learned about Bitcoin in 2012. Perhaps where you’d least expect — on an island off the coast of Spain in the middle of August. Our first impression was that this was either going to be really big or a complete zero. We were immediately taken in by Bitcoin’s elegance and enormous promise, and as we started to learn more, we became convinced that Bitcoin was the future of money.”

The twins launched their Gemini Bitcoin exchange in 2015.

You might think you are late. But Far from it. The next 12 months is going to be like a roller coaster ride. Bitcoin is going mainstream. $100,000 per bitcoin is very possible in less than 5 years coming
Start reading and learning.
Start making bitcoin.
Go with the flow. Dont be left behind.

If think Bitcoin is a joke

2017, Bitcoin Journey to $10,000
"buy bitcoin" overtakes "buy gold” on Google keyword search after hitting $10,000 earlier today.

Coinbase App- trending on iOS AppStore

With a market Cap of $168,463,613,136, Bitcoin now Bigger than #PayPal, #McDonald’s, #IBM, #Disney, #GeneralElectric

The average electricity used to mine bitcoin this year has surpassed the annual energy usage of some 159 countries. According to a cryptocurrency index from Alex de Vries, also known as #Digiconomist, bitcoin miners can consume more than 24 terawatt hours of electricity per year in producing bitcoin. The amount of electricity consumed in bitcoin mining is comparable to the amount used in Nigeria, a nation of 186 million residents, in one year.

Another major contributing factor for Bitcoin’s sizeable gains is the reality that Bitcoin futures will soon be traded on major regulated markets. Two of the world’s largest futures markets, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (#CME) and the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (#CBOE), will soon launch Bitcoin futures.

With More institutional investors arriving, hedge fund legend, Michael Novogratz says easily Bitcoin could hit $40,000 by 2018. Very Bullish?

Some say its a bubble, worse than the Tulip Mania.
Our own NDIC boss says its a gamble.
I say HODL.

- Source Joel Comms

BITCOIN
By now your feed is absolutely filled with Bitcoin. All of a sudden the “experts” are coming out of the woodwork. A bunch of people are offering courses. And there’s talk about the “bubble.”

I’m going to attempt to explain what is happening from a layman’s point-of-view. I don’t know much, but I know the future when I see it. I’ve built my entire career on being first or early to the game. So forgive me if I get it somewhat wrong, but this is what I believe is taking place.
The first thing you need to understand is that what’s happening is NOT about the price of Bitcoin. Sure, Bitcoin $10,000 is all over the news. There are scammy-sounding network marketing organizations capitalizing on people’s FOMO and greed. There are pumping and dumping operations and some coin offerings that are pure scams.

But this is all noise. Here’s what you really need to understand.

The world’s financial systems are broken. The US dollar goes down in value every year. The centralized banking systems put people at the mercy of their high fees and antiquated processes. Trust in the systems of the world, be they political or financial, is at an all-time low.
When Satoshi Nakomoto released the now infamous Bitcoin whitepaper in October 2008, he proposed a new form of currency that be decentralized, meaning no one had control over it. It would be peer-to-peer, meaning anyone could send money quickly and easily without incurring ridiculous fees. It would be anonymous, meaning no one could stick their nose into your personal business. And it would be trustworthy, meaning the ledger created by the blockchain technology that Bitcoin was built on would be without error.
Without explaining exactly how Bitcoin works, I want to focus on the real key word in the above paragraph.
It’s not Bitcoin. It’s not money. It’s not currency.

The word is BLOCKCHAIN. And it is the reason that Bitcoin is soaring, and that the cryptocurrency market cap currently exceeds $315 BILLION dollars (more than the value of Disney, Wal-Mart and VISA.

In 1993, a web browser was created that changed how we would access information… forever.
In 1997, a company dared take on Blockbuster Video by creating an easier way to rent movies, and eventually pivoted to the leading streaming service they are today.

In 2007, a smartphone was created that seized the market from Nokia and transformed the way we consume information.
And in 2008, an idea was proposed that would forever alter not only how we make purchases, but how we manage contracts of every kind.
You see, regardless of what happens to Bitcoin (bubble be damned), Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that is here to stay. And it is getting ready to disrupt just about every industry you can name. Yes, even your industry.

Is Bitcoin like the tulip craze? Could there be a more asinine question? Flowers vs. revolutionary technology. Hmmm… can you spot the difference?

Has Bitcoin risen ridiculous fast? Yes, there’s no question.
Will there be a pullback? There HAS to be. Gravity says so.

But here’s what’s different about Bitcoin. There are only 21 million of them… ever. Period.

17 million of them are currently in circulation. The other 4 million will slowly come into circulation over the next 120 years. (Yes, you read that right.)

Of the 17 million in circulation, it is estimated that at least 4 million are lost forever. It’s also believed that the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto owns up to a million of them.

That means only 12 million Bitcoin are actually in circulation.

How much printed money is out there? It’s a seemingly endless supply. It’s not hard to come by. It’s not scarce, and the government prints more whenever they feel like it.
Huh. How about that.

Even so, it’s NOT about Bitcoin. It’s about Blockchain, the technology which makes Bitcoin possible.
I’m not a financial analyst or a financial advisor, but I am a futurist. And I can clearly see that there is a revolution taking place right before our eyes.

Blockbuster didn’t see Netflix coming.

Nokia didn’t see Apple coming.

Sears didn’t see Amazon coming.

The world doesn’t see blockchain coming. But it’s here, and it’s not going away.

Bitcoin is now all over the news. Thursday night it hits the mainstream as an episode of The Big Bang Theory will introduce the concept to millions more people. (I'm sure the episode will be stupid because it's a stupid show.)

But the fact is we are at the beginning of the technology adoption curve and over the next ten years we are going to see a transformation of tech that is going to make the smartphone revolution look like a hop from writing with pens to using a typewriter.

Buy Bitcoin or don’t buy Bitcoin. It doesn’t matter. What DOES matter is Blockchain.

Pay attention, whatever your industry may be. If you can’t see how Blockchain WILL disrupt your industry, allow me to introduce you to the executive team at Blockbuster, Nokia and Sears. You’ll be in good company.

Blockchain, my friends. Blockchain.

====
Food for thought