Bitcoin is currently on its longest winning run since 2019. Bryan Routledge, Associate Professor of Finance at the Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University, joins Yahoo Finance Live to break down how Bitcoin rallied to record levels this year and the outlook for crypto in 2021.

- Bitcoin at a record once again. It touched above 28,000 overnight. And it has had quite a run thus far in 2020. Hasn't had the end pullback that we saw, for example, in 2017. Let's talk more about what could happen next for Bitcoin as well as for the bigger cryptocurrency complex.

Brian Rutledge is joining us now. He's an Associate Professor of Finance at Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business. He has written a lot about cryptocurrency, but about blockchain as well.

And it's actually there, Brian, that I want to begin because as Myles my co-host has pointed out frequently, the blockchain conversation is definitely not as prominent now as it was in 2017. The focus has really come in on Bitcoin and its rise. Do you think that that's sort of a mistaken perception? Do you think that there is still-- I mean, is-- is blockchain out there? Is-- how much is it being used? And what's sort of the use case as we move forward?

BRIAN RUTLEDGE: Wow. OK. Lots packed in there. I think the-- the thing-- the thing to appreciate about Bitcoin and its rise in price-- I mean, 28,000 is remarkable. 3,000 was remarkable for Bitcoin in the sense it is built on blockchain technology. And so I think the fact that you're not talking about it is, in some sense, an acknowledgment that blockchain technology is effective. So it is big dollars that are in Bitcoin that are built on this underlying-- underlying blockchain technology of competitive decentralized recordkeeping.

And if you had asked me in 2013 if this was going to be viable, I certainly wouldn't have said yes. And so I think the-- some of the price of Bitcoin is a bit of a mystery in the sense of why it has quadrupled over the year. But the fact that it is what it is I think is a validation that the blockchain technology is real and effective.

Story continues

And then the second half of your question, I think, is, what's the sort of killer app for blockchain technology that's waiting to happen? I think that is still unanswered. And it is a very good question in the sense of, where will blockchain technology go beyond just, say, record keeping on who owns Bitcoin?

- You know, Brian, the perspective that I have on Bitcoin is basically from Finance Twitter and public media, so it's everyone bragging about how smart they are because they own all these coins and they went up a lot. I'm curious how your students-- what your conversations with your students are like as it relates to the entire crypto space, what they're interested in right now.

BRIAN RUTLEDGE: I mean, it is-- an awesome thing to put on your syllabus is cryptocurrency, blockchain technology. You just-- you track students. It is-- I think it's a really interesting and attractive thing for a student in the same way it's an interesting, attractive thing just in general in the sense of, it is a mashing up of economics and business with the underlying technology of cryptography and distributed computing.

And so there is really interesting technology problems that are there. And then, there are really interesting business problems. And so it-- it-- it's a rich, fun topic to teach because the students are just-- they're keen.

- Brian, just based-- based on your understanding of Bitcoin and its history and where it's been this year, do you think what we're seeing in terms of price action reflects that at some point in our lifetimes, Bitcoin might be a viable replacement to the dollar?

BRIAN RUTLEDGE: That's a good question in the sense of, what is it people are buying Bitcoin for and the sort of speculation? But the two things that people might be thinking about-- one is it's an alternative to something like gold. And we think about-- gold is not sort of an alternative to the dollar, but people hold it in their portfolio as, say, a hedge against inflation. We don't use gold in our everyday transactions.

The price of gold is much higher then the intrinsic value of gold you would find. And so people moving into cryptocurrencies or Bitcoin as a, here is something that is commodity-like that is independent of, say, the Federal Reserve, and I want to hold that as a hedge against inflation. That-- that-- that is not a-- that's a sensible argument. It's belayed a bit by the fact that the price of Bitcoin is stunningly volatile. It's orders of magnitude more volatile than the price of gold or even the stock market.

And then, I think the second sort of reason that people might think about Bitcoin as something they want to own is, it is perhaps access to this blockchain technology in the sense of, I want to own a piece of this future technology. And there, I think-- you know, like all bets, it's risky.

And the bet there is twofold. One would be that blockchain technology indeed will be something new and useful. And then the second part of that is that Bitcoin would be relevant in that, I don't know, blockchain-enabled future.

And I guess-- when thinking about that one, if you go back to, I don't know, the internet in the 1990s and thinking about, gee, I want to-- I think this is going to be revolutionary, it was pretty hard to see where the internet was going, and harder still to pick, I don't know, Amazon over Pets.com or Netscape or somebody.

- Yeah. And most people-- a lot of people didn't do that correctly, certainly. I mean, but speaking of forecasting, Brian, you received a grant from the International Institute of Forecasters for your work on forecasting. When it comes to Bitcoin price, is there any way to even do it with any degree of accuracy?

BRIAN RUTLEDGE: The financial prices in general are hard to forecast in part because everybody is trying to forecast them, so the famous or book of Burton Malkiel of a random walk down Wall Street is still applicable in the sense that, for the most part, prices go up or down with almost equal probability per day. There's lots of people trying to sort of find some wedge of a signal in there to predict the price of Bitcoin.

The-- the-- if you do have some-- so, no. I have no forecasting ability. If you think you have some forecasting ability, Bitcoin prices are attractive in the sense that they are just so volatile, right? And if-- if you think you can forecast something, predicting, forecasting something that's volatile lets you make a lot of money.

- Yes, it does. And a lot of people certainly have done that even if their forecasts have been wrong. So we'll see what happens next year. Brian, thank you so much. Happy new year to you, and we'll see what ends up happening with those Bitcoin prices.

Brian Rutledge is an Associate Professor of Finance at Carnegie Mellon's David Tepper School of Business. Thank you so much.

Follow this link:
Associate Professor of Finance on Bitcoin rally: Blockchain technology is real and effective - Yahoo Finance

Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Russell Okung will be the first professional athlete in any U.S. league to receive Bitcoin as a form of payment.

WASHINGTON NFL Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Russell Okung will be the first player to be partly paid in Bitcoin.

In May of 2019, he tweeted asking to be paid in Bitcoin. On Tuesday, he confirmed that he will indeed be paid by the digital currency.

"Paid in Bitcoin," he tweeted.

Okung, who is had a $13 million salary in 2020, will receive half of it in Bitcoin, according to a press release from Strike, a company that helps users convert traditional money to the cryptocurrency. He will be the first professional athlete in any U.S. league to receive Bitcoin as a form of payment.

Money is more than currency; its power, the two-time Pro Bowler said in a statement. The way money is handled from creation to dissemination is part of that power. Getting paid in Bitcoin is the first step of opting out of the corrupt, manipulated economy we all inhabit.

NFL Network said Okung's U.S. dollars paycheck will go into an account that's controlled by Strike. There it will convert to Bitcoin before going to Okung.

HOW DOES BITCOINS WORK?

Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not tied to a bank or government and allows users to spend money anonymously. The coins are created by users who mine them by lending computing power to verify other users transactions. They receive bitcoins in exchange. The coins also can be bought and sold on exchanges with U.S. dollars and other currencies. Some businesses also accept bitcoin, but its popularity has stalled out in recent years.

HOW BITCOINS ARE KEPT SECURE

The bitcoin network works by harnessing individuals greed for the collective good. A network of tech-savvy users called miners keep the system honest by pouring their computing power into a blockchain, a global running tally of every bitcoin transaction. The blockchain prevents rogues from spending the same bitcoin twice, and the miners are rewarded for their efforts by being gifted with the occasional bitcoin. As long as miners keep the blockchain secure, counterfeiting shouldnt be an issue.

HOW BITCOIN CAME TO BE

Its a mystery. Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by a person or group of people operating under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin was then adopted by a small clutch of enthusiasts. Nakamoto dropped off the map as bitcoin began to attract widespread attention. But proponents say that doesnt matter: The currency obeys its own internal logic.

In 2016, An Australian entrepreneur stepped forward and claimed to be the founder of bitcoin, only to say days later that he did not have the courage to publish proof that he is. No one has claimed credit for the currency since.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Go here to see the original:
Russell Okung to become first NFL player paid in Bitcoin - KHOU.com

What happened

If you're looking for a nonvolatile investment, stocks related to bitcoin aren't a good place to look these days. The price of bitcoin has gone up around 150% over the last three months. During that time, many bitcoin-related stocks have made big daily moves -- sometimes up, sometimes down.

Today was a down day. CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) stock fell 8% but had been down 16% earlier in the day. Shares of Xunlei Limited (NASDAQ:XNET) likewise traded 9% lower. For its part, Bit Digital (NASDAQ:BTBT) stock recovered from a 20% plummet early in the day, finishing flat.

CLSK data by YCharts

To be clear, the only one of these three companies that has reported anything lately is CleanSpark. On Dec. 28, CleanSpark had two filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These filings showed that two directors increased the amount of CleanSpark stock they own. Typically, increased insider ownership is a bullish signal. However, in this case, both directors were merely compensated 740 shares each -- they didn't actually buy shares with their own cash. So this news doesn't really have an actionable takeaway for investors.

Generally speaking, stocks like CleanSpark, Bit Digital, and Xunlei Limited march to the beat of bitcoin's drum. If bitcoin is rising, they go up. If bitcoin is falling, they go down. But this generalization has limits. They rarely move by the same percentage point as bitcoin. In fact, they're often much more volatile. Therefore, predicting their movements day by day is impossible.

For example, according to CoinDesk, the price of bitcoin has changed less than 0.5% over the past 24 hours -- that's pretty stable. Nevertheless, CleanSpark, Bit Digital, and Xunlei Limited are making big moves without any news of their own. The reason for this disparity, in my opinion, is short-term traders.

CLSK Volume data by YCharts

As the above chart shows, these stocks are trading hands at a staggering pace, with Bit Digital's trading volume surging in particular. For perspective, the trading volumes for CleanSpark and Xunlei Limited are comparable to that of one of the biggest companies in the world: Amazon. Considering these are all small-cap stocks, it's outrageous for their trading volume to exceed that of large-cap companies like Amazon.

Due to high trading volume with these stocks, it's highly likely a large percentage of shareholders are thinking short term, looking to make some easy money. They're smart enough to know that as the price of bitcoin rises, CleanSpark, Bit Digital, and Xunlei Limited will receive greater visibility from investors. But their ultimate goal is trading in and out for outsize gains.

Image source: Getty Images.

A company's intrinsic value doesn't change very much over short periods of time. Therefore, trading stocks over a short period has little to do with fundamentals -- you're simply hoping to outsmart some stranger on the other side of the trade. Consider that every time you buy a share, someone is selling it. And every time you sell, someone is buying. You're the smart one (or so you've told yourself) and you're counting on someone else being the greater fool.

In practice, I don't personally know anyone who trades frequently over short periods of time and consistently outperforms the market averages. That's why I advocate for investors to enlist a powerful ally to achieve superior gains: time. Over time, companies do create or destroy shareholder value, something much easier to forecast.

The three bitcoin-related companies we looked at today -- CleanSpark, Bit Digital, and Xunlei Limited -- are all very different businesses. Investors shouldn't plop down their hard-earned dollars unless they understand what each one does, how it can create value, and what could go wrong.

Here's a brief overview of each company to get you started. First, Bit Digital is a pure-play bitcoin-mining operation. The company has been mining the cryptocurrency since February, and has mined over 1,300 bitcoin tokens since then.But its operating costs are robbing it of profits, keeping me on the sideline.

Next, Xunlei Limited operates a blockchain-as-a-service business in theory. But in reality, the only part of its business that's growing is its mobile advertising segment. That doesn't inspire much confidence from me.

Finally, CleanSpark's primary business focus is related to making the consumption of electricity more efficient. Mining bitcoin is an energy-intensive process. So the company's bitcoin-mining operation is less about bitcoin and more about demonstrating the ability of its technology. Considering power consumption is a big environmental concern that's only getting worse, CleanSpark could be solving an important problem.

CleanSpark's revenue has doubled for three consecutive years. Given its business growth and the service it offers, it's the most investable of the three companies here, in my opinion. However, more in-depth (and necessary) research would shed light on the long-term value proposition.

The rest is here:
Bitcoin Stocks Continued Their Volatile Ride on Tuesday - The Motley Fool

Fred Pye, chief executive of 3iQ , which in April launched a Toronto-listed Bitcoin fund that has grown to roughly $400 million in market capitalization, thinks Bitcoin has an edge because it can more easily be used to conduct transactions.

Golds use case is largely a store of wealth, and then its jewelry and possibly gold colouring for windows theres not a lot of uses, Pye said.

He added that supply and demand factors should work in Bitcoins favour as well.

As gold prices go up, it becomes economical to mine gold deposits that were previously considered too low-grade to profitably exploit. That means increases in the price of gold should help the supply grow.

Meanwhile, Bitcoins supply growth rate is algorithmically fixed to drop in half every four years.

Right now, Pye said, the supply of both gold and Bitcoin is growing at about four per cent per year.

While that may persist for gold, new Bitcoin will become much harder to come by when the growth rate drops to two per cent in 2024.

I think theres some short-term risks to Bitcoin, but the reality is the long term is so rosy, he said.Pye forecast that in 2021 the price of bitcoin would hover between US$20,000 and US$30,000 and that by 2022, it would reach $50,000.

Theres some short-term risks to Bitcoin, but the reality is the long term is so rosy

Fred Pye, chief executive, 3iQ

Grosskopf, meanwhile, said he believes gold has a digital future that will improve its value as a currency as well.

Im still a huge believer that the biggest thing that will ever happen to gold is it will go digital, he said, noting that such a move would allow the metal to be stored in a central location while ownership is being tracked on a blockchain ledger much the way Bitcoin is. What digital gold will be is one standard, one denomination, stored where its quoted to be stored. You never have to move it, but its on the blockchain. The two (Bitcoin and gold) are going to come together.

Follow this link:
Showdown 2021: Why Bitcoin and gold investors may both be right in the year ahead - Financial Post

Continuing its upward rally, the world's most popular digital currency, Bitcoin, touched another record high of $28,600 on Wednesday, recording a 4.4 per cent surge from its previous high. The cryptocurrency has surged nearly half in just 15 days since it achieved the psychological milestone of $20,000 on December 16. The main reason for the rising Bitcoin streak may be bulk buying by big US investors. They expect to make quick gains amid some positive developments around the cryptocurrency, including speculations that it could become a mainstream payment method.

Bitcoin has seen an unprecedented rise this year, with its value witnessing a 240 per cent jump in 2020, giving investors better returns than other traditional mainstream investment platforms.

Since its meteoric rise in December, Bitcoin's market value has now exceeded $500 billion, as per Coindesk, a cryptocurrency platform. This is more than $460.06 billion m-cap of Visa, the world's biggest financial service company, as per the Companiesmarketcap data. Both, however, are different and may not be compared: Visa is for-profit financial business while Bitcoin peer-to-peer software system.

Not only Visa, but Bitcoin is valued more than biggest publicly traded companies like Samsung ($463.63 billion) and Walmart ($406.00 billion), the data shows.

Also read:Bitcoin sprints over $27,000 mark; rises over $2,500 in 2 days

A major jump in Bitcoin price -- from $5,000 to $25,000 -- was seen after PayPal - the online payment major - announced in March that it'll enable its account holders to use Bitcoin. This marks a colossal 400 per cent increase in the past eight months. ZebPay, one of India's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has predicted that Bitcoin's value could hit over $135,000 by 2030.

Meanwhile, as the popularity of Bitcoin grows, the Indian government is planning to impose 18 per cent GST on its transactions. The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), an arm of the union finance ministry, has put forward a proposal to impose 18 per cent GST, saying it could potentially gain Rs 7,200 crore annually on bitcoin trading. The CEIB came to the conclusion based on a study on levying GST on cryptocurrencies.

Also read: Bitcoin hits $25,000-mark; 400% increase since March

See the original post:
Bitcoin's rally continues! Digital currency hits another high of $28,600 - Business Today

Bitcoin has been declared dead or dying roughly 390 times since 2010. But this year its dying much less frequently.

In 2020, bitcoin has been reported dead or dying only 11 times, per a list of these faux obituaries maintained by a Singapore-based website called 99 Bitcoins.

Bitcoins yearly obituary count hasnt been so low since 2012, three years after bitcoin launched. The team behind the website confirmed to CoinDesk the list is actively maintained to date.

The sharp decrease in obituaries correlates with bitcoins record-breaking price action this year after breaking its 2017 all-time high in November with a total year-to-date gain of over 270%.

In the past, it was in vogue to publicly dismiss or even shame those who believed in bitcoins value proposition, said Kevin Kelly, global macro strategy lead at Delphi Digital and former equity analyst at Bloomberg, in a direct message with CoinDesk.

But now the game has changed.

Mass retail speculation and viral memes have been swapped for family offices and world-class macro investors, Kelly said.

Bitcoins quickly-growing cadre of institutional buyers includes giants MassMutual and Guggenheim. And their sizable investments combined with signs of rekindled retail interest make announcing the bellwether cryptocurrencys death increasingly difficult.

In a December bitcoin report, Kellys research team wrote, Institutional investors have not only turned net long since September, but also the magnitude of their net exposure, measured in BTC, has increased relative to prior periods as well.

Curiously, authors of disingenuous bitcoin obituaries have overlooked both times when the network actually has died, according to Pierre Rochard, Krakens lead bitcoin strategist.

In 2010, an inflation bug briefly enabled anyone using the network to create an infinite amount of bitcoins, which, for many intents and purposes, caused the network to die, Rochard said. In 2013, bitcoin died a second time when a flawed version of its source code unexpectedly caused the block size limit to increase.

In both cases bitcoin was promptly resurrected by the collective will of its users, Rochard said. To save the network, bitcoin nodes reverted to an older version of the software in 2013 and rewound the blockchain back to a point before the inflation bug in 2010.

Few critics understand what happened when bitcoin actually died, twice, Rochard told CoinDesk in an email.

In the aftermath of these incidents, bitcoins robust fundamentals and rapid adoption have created market conditions with multiple parabolic revaluations, Rochard said, increasing both its adoption and the attention paid to its technical strength, leaving skeptics with little room for continued death pronouncements.

As bitcoin lives on, the career risk is no longer from embracing bitcoin, according to Kelly. Its from failing to give [bitcoin] the time and respect it deserves.

More here:
2020 Saw the Fewest Bitcoin Obituaries in 8 Years - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

Bitcoin just wont go away. The original cryptocurrency again had commentators eating their words in 2020 -- yours truly included. Its now time to accept its here to stay.

Like Monty Pythons Black Knight, Bitcoin believers treat near-fatal volatility as mere flesh wounds. Drops of 80% are welcomed as fortuitous buying opportunities. But far from being a weakness, this is evidence of the asset class longevity. The cryptocurrency rallied 224% this year, bringing to mind the wild advances of 2017 as it soared to record highs.

While the supply side of the schedule is algorithmically defined, I was caught off guard by the ability of the demand side to withstand volatility. I went into more detail in how my thinking on this asset class evolved in this YouTube podcast:

Talking Gold and Bitcoin with Anthony Pomp Pompliano

Supply of the digital tokens are capped at a maximum of 21 million which it is expected to reach in 2140, with periodic reductions in the reward for the network of computers that certify transactions. Yet supply dynamics arent sufficient to guarantee a long-term future. Many assets have artificially limited supply: Baseball cards, limited print-run art work, and a number of historic Ponzi schemes fall into this category.

What distinguishes the successes is how investors respond to crashes. In most cases, when a vehicle designed purely around the greater-fool theory collapses, it never recovers. There has been no substantial progress made on Bitcoin as a unit of exchange. Its far from widespread adoption as a currency.

Since Bitcoins market capitalization reached $1 billion in March 2013, there have been two cycles of spikes to record highs, followed by drawdowns of more than 80%. Each of those cycles were preceded by a halving of the block reward.The first cycle could be dismissed as an anomaly, the second as a coincidence. But a halving again occurred in May, and the cycle is repeating before our eyes with the cryptocurrency coming within a whisker of the all-time peak last week. To ignore it now is to dismiss the evidence of history.

Like social networks, cryptocurrencies derive their value from the number of users. I could build a platform with the exact qualities of, and even some improvements over, Facebook, but achieving critical mass is another matter.

The cryptocurrency remains a speculative asset and more needs to happen to secure its claim to preserve wealth over time. Volatility would have to decline, and a reliable link to inflation would have to emerge. But to bet against Bitcoin recovering from the next crash is to bet against experience. And its sheer, bloody-minded survival is what gives it the best chance at eventually becoming the ultimate store of value.

(Eddie van der Walt writes for the Bloomberg Markets Live blog. The observations he makes are his own and not intended as investment advice. For more markets commentary, see the MLIV blog.)

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Go here to read the rest:
Bitcoin Crushes Doubters as 224% Rally Proves Its Here to Stay - Bloomberg

Bitcoin in Uncharted Territory. (Photo Illustration by Nik Oiko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ... [+] Images)

The bitcoin rally has seen the cryptocurrency climb to uncharted highs and this hasnt just been reflected in the markets. Away from the exchanges and OTC desks setting the price of BTC, private and institutional investor interest is growing at pace. Evidence of this can be seen in the growth of crypto venture capital funds, which have raised billions of dollars in 2020.

On December 23rd, Seoul-based blockchain investment group Hashed revealed that it has raised $120 million for its first crypto fund. The firm, led by CEO Simon Kim, intends to invest in disruptive blockchain startups including base layer protocols similar to Ethereum. According to Kim, the next wave of crypto networks will mark the start of the protocol economy, an era in which data and value is transmitted globally by crypto networks using a shared public ledger. He predicts strong government and institutional support for this new paradigm and has had no trouble selling out the groups first VC fund.

Accredited investors are limited in terms of the crypto assets they can trade, primarily consisting of BTC and ETH via regulated brokers and custodians. Blockchain funds provide an alternative way of gaining exposure to digital assets and the ecosystem they support. As bitcoin has broken new records, surging past $22,000, some investors are looking beyond the 12-year-old cryptocurrency to bootstrapping the next wave of blockchain networks.

Data from research group The Block shows a record $900 million was invested in blockchain startups in Q3 of 2020. Investors rushed to bootstrap decentralized finance projects in particular, including those focused on portfolio management, lending, and derivatives.

No one knows where Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto originated, with speculation placing him everywhere from London to LA. What can be said is that the movement he started, founded on blockchain technology, has become a borderless industry thats attracting major investment around the globe. In the U.S., Andreessen Horowitz subsidiary a16z was founded to seek out promising crypto startups, alongside firms like Pantera Capital and Galaxy Digital, led by veteran investor Mike Novogratz.

In Asia, meanwhile, Hashed is not alone in securing private investment to fund public blockchain networks. A number of cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and BitMax, have their own VC arms, tasked with nurturing next generation crypto companies. The symbiotic relationship often results in the same exchanges listing the native token of the projects theyve incubated once they reach maturity.

Its not just VCs that have sought exposure to blockchain either. Family offices and hedge funds have also taken an interest in the space. Harvard Universitys investment arm is one endowment fund that has already jumped into the crypto market, joining two other investors in an $11.5 million investment in crypto company Blockstack. Yale University is also known to have made a significant cryptocurrency investment.

Bitcoin is going through the early stages of a new asset class, from suffering early bubbles to attracting scammers with their get-rich-quick schemes. The frothiness of the market has been tempered by robust products that cater to a professional audience. Crypto is significantly more mature now than in 2017 when BTC last approached the heights it is now trading at. Today, the industry supports a healthy futures market, while enhanced options and custody have all anchored bitcoin while making it palatable to institutional investors.

Elon Musks flirtation with bitcoin, which has largely consisted of tweeting crypto memes to his 41 million followers, hints at a deeper interest in the digital currency. In a typically Musk-ian exchange on December 20, the Tesla CEO was encouraged by MicroStrategys Michael Saylor to follow his lead and convert some of Teslas cash reserves to BTC.

Are such large transactions even possible? pondered Musk, to which bitcoin bull Saylor replied in the affirmative, before offering to show Musk how.

Bitcoins low correlation to traditional assets has compelled some investors to rebalance portfolios that were heavy on bonds and equities, allocating a tranche to BTC. Bolder investors, however, are looking beyond bitcoin to the possibilities afforded by new blockchain protocols, where the risk-reward is higher, but so is the potential for outsized returns.

While institutional investors have been buying bitcoin, and investing in the industry thats formed around it, companies have been trialling their own blockchain solutions. Hashed has publicly supported Kakao, responsible for developing the countrys Klatyn blockchain, and LINE blockchain, owned by Tokyos LVC Corporation. Big Four accountancy firm KPMG, meanwhile, has expanded its blockchain strategy, supporting Microsoft, Tomia, and R3 in developing a solution for 5G network, and filing its own blockchain patents.

Against this backdrop of corporate innovation and private investment in blockchain, VCs have seen crypto funds fill up fast. This digital gold rush has prompted a booming business in picks and shovels - the tools and apps for interacting with the next wave of decentralized protocols.

Visit link:
Bitcoin Rally Attracts Wave Of Private Investment As Leading Blockchain VC Raises New $120 Million Fund - Forbes

TipRanks

Semiconductors are one of the modern worlds essential industries, making possible so much of what we rely on or take for granted: internet access, high-speed computers with high-speed memory, even the thermostats that control our air conditioning there isnt much, tech-wise, that doesnt use semiconductor chips.With the end of 2020 in sight, its time for the annual ritual of evaluating the equities for the New Year. Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers has cast his eye on the chip industry, tagging several companies as likely gainers next year.The analyst sees several factors combining to boost demand for chips in 2021, including cloud demand, new gaming consoles, and a market resolution to the future of the PC segment. Overall, however, Rakers expects that memory chips and 5G enabled chips will emerge as the drivers of the industry next year. The analyst expects that semiconductor companies, as a group, will see between 10% and 12% growth over the next 12 months.Thats an industry-wide average, however. According to Raker, some chip companies will show significantly higher growth, on the order of 30% to 40% in year ahead. We can look at those companies, along with the latest TipRanks data, to find out what makes these particular chip makers so compelling.Micron Technology (MU)Among the leading chip makers, Micron has staked out a position in the memory segment. The company has seen its market cap expand to $78 billion this year, as shares have appreciated 32% year-to-date. The surge comes on a product line heaving on computer data storage, DRAM, and flash storage.Look back at 2020, Micron has seen revenues increase each quarter, from $4.8 billion in Q1 to $5.4 billion in Q2 to $6.1 billion in Q3. Earnings came in at 87 cents per share, up from 71 cents in Q2 and 36 cents in Q1.The calendar third quarter was Microns 4QFY20, and the full fiscal year showed a decline due attributed to the COVID pandemic. Revenue came in at $21.44 billion, down 8.4% year-over-year, and operating cash flow fell to $8.31 billion from $13.19 billion in FY19. During this past quarter, Microns 1QFY21, the company announced the release of the worlds first 176-layer 3D NAND chip. The new chip promises higher density and faster performance in flash memory, and the architecture is described as a radical breakthrough. The layer count is 40% higher than competing chips.Looking ahead, Micron has updated its F1Q21 guidance, predicting total revenue of $5.7 billion to $5.75 billion. This is a 10% increase from the previous guidance.Wells Fargo's Aaron Rakers calls Micron his top semiconductor idea for 2021. He points out a deepening positive view on the memory, and in particular the DRAM industry. DRAM accounts for approximately two-thirds of Microns revenue and over 80% of the companys bottom-line profits. In addition, Rakers notes Microns technology execution 1Znm DRAM leadership; recently outlined 1nm ramp into 2021, as well as Microns move to 176-Layer 2nd -gen Replacement Gate 3D NAND to drive improved cost curve. We would also highlight Microns execution on graphics memory (e.g., GDDR6X), Multi-Chip Packages (MCPs), and High-Bandwidth Memory (e.g., HBME2) as positives.In line with these comments, Rakers rates Micron shares a Buy, along with a $100 price target. This figure suggests room for 41% growth in 2021. (To watch Rakers track record, click here)Micron has 24 recent reviews on record, breaking down to 19 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1 Sell, and giving the stock a Strong Buy from the analyst consensus. Shares are priced at $70.96, and recent appreciation has pushed them almost to the $74.30 average price target. But as Rakers outlook suggests, there may be more than just 4.5% upside available here. (See MU stock analysis on TipRanks)Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)With $6.5 billion in total sales last year, and a market cap of $110.7 billion, AMD is a giant company but it doesnt even crack the top five of the worlds largest chip makers. Still, AMD has a solid position in the industry, and its x86 processors provide stiff competition for market-leading Intel (INTC). AMD shares have shown solid growth this year, and are up 101% as 2020 comes to a close.The share growth rides on the back of steady revenue gains since the corona crisis peaked in Q1. AMDs Q3 top line came in at $2.8 billion, up 55% from the $1.8 billion recorded in the year-ago quarter and beating the forecast by 10%. Earnings, at 37 cents per share, were up 220% year-over-year. The company credited the growth to solid results in the PC, gaming, and data center product lines, and boasted that it was the fourth consecutive quarter with >25% yoy revenue growth.AMD announced last month a new product for the scientific research market, the Instinct MI100 accelerator. The new chip is billed as the worlds fasted HPC GPU, and the first such x86 server to exceed 10 teraflops performance.Covering AMD for Wells Fargo, Rakers wrote: We remain positive on AMDs competitive positioning for continued sustained gradual share gains in PCs We also believe AMDs deepening data center GPU strategy with new Instinct MI100 GPUs and the release of RoCM 4.0 software platform could become increasingly visible as we move through 2021. AMDs roadmap execution would remain an important focus 7nm+ Ryzen 4000-series, new RDNA Radeon Instinct data center GPUs (MI100 / MI120), and the 3 rd -gen 7nm+ EPYC Milan CPUsRakers stance supports his Buy rating, and his $120 price target implies a 30% one-year upside to the stock.The Moderate Buy analyst consensus view on AMD reflects some residual Wall Street caution. The stocks 20 recent reviews include 13 Buys, 6 Holds, and 1 Sell. AMD shares are selling for $91.64, and like Micron, their recent appreciation has closed the gap with the $94.71 average price target. (See AMD stock analysis on TipRanks)Western Digital Corporation (WDC)Closing out the Wells Fargo picks on this list is Western Digital, a designer and manufacturer of memory systems. The companys products include hard disk drives, solid state drives, data center platforms, embedded flash drives, and portable storage including memory cards and USB thumb drives. WDC has had a tough year in 2020, with shares down 19% year-to-date. Still, the stock has seen gains in November and December, on the heels of what was seen as a strong fiscal 1Q21 report.That earnings report showed $3.9 billion in revenue, which was down 3% year-over-year, but the EPS net loss, at 19 cents, was a tremendous yoy improvement from the 93-cent net loss in the year-ago quarter. The earnings improvement, which beat the forecast by 20%, was key for investors, and the stock is up 30% since the quarterly report. The company also generated a solid cash flow in the quarter, with cash from operations growing 111% sequentially.Wells Fargos Rakers acknowledges WDCs difficulties in 2020, but even so, he believes that this is a stock which is worth the risk.Western Digital has been our toughest constructive call of 2020 and while we believe calling a bottom in NAND Flash (mid/2H2021?) remains difficult and WDs execution in enterprise SSDs will remain choppy, our SOTP analysis leaves us to continue to believe that shares present a compelling risk / reward. We continue to believe that Western Digital can drive to a ~$7/sh.+ mid-cycle EPS story; however, we continue to think a key driver of this fundamental upside will not only be a recovery in the NAND Flash business, coupled with WDs ability to see improved execution in enterprise SSDs, but also a continued view that WDs HDD gross margin can return to a sustainable 30%+ level, Rakers opined.To this end, Rakers rates WDC a Buy along with a $65 price target. Should the target be met, investors could pocket gains of 29% over the next months Where does the rest of the Street side on this computer-storage maker? It appears mostly bullish, as TipRanks analytics demonstrate WDC as a Buy. Out of 11 analysts tracked in the last 3 months, 7 are bullish, while 4 remain sidelined. With a return potential of 9%, the stocks consensus target price stands at $54.44. (See WDC stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for tech stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

Excerpt from:
Here's How Much Investing $1,000 In Bitcoin On Jan. 1, 2020 Would Be Worth Now - Yahoo Finance

There is no enforceable regulatory mechanism or backstop available in its current form.

Investing in bitcoins is convenient and cheapthe minimum ticket size is as little as Rs 100. However, investors should be aware of multiple red flags before considering this as an investment option.

ET Wealth reached out to experts to know how investors can safeguard their finances from the volatility that raged in 2020 and the uncertainty that looms in the horizon. This weeks cover story explains 11 steps that one should take now to improve ones finances in the New Year.Here are the smart money moves for those looking to invest in bitcoin.Dont get tempted by bitcoin frenzyBitcoin prices have surged more than 200% this year, taking it

BY

ET Bureau

AbcSmall

AbcMedium

AbcLarge

Yearly

(Save 49%)

2499

15 Days Trial +Includes DocuBay and TimesPrime Membership worth 1499 & 999 resp.

2-Year

(Save 63%)

3599

15 Days Trial +Includes DocuBay and TimesPrime Membership worth 1499 & 999 resp.

Already a Member? Sign In now

Sharp Insight-rich, Indepth stories across 20+ sectors

Access the exclusive Economic Times stories, Editorial and Expert opinion

Clean experience withMinimal Ads

Comment & Engage with ET Prime community

Exclusive invites to Virtual Events with Industry Leaders

A trusted team of Journalists & Analysts who can best filter signal from noise

See the original post here:
Bitcoin prices sky-rocketed 200% in 2020 but small investors should stay away: Here's why - Economic Times