On one hand, it's hard for many investors not to be excited about the meteoric rise of cryptocurrencies in the past few months. Bitcoin has roughly tripled in value since the beginning of the year, Ethereum is up by about 40 times, and Ripple, one of the newest arrivals on the scene, gained a shocking 3800%. What's more, the total market cap for the cryptocurrency industry has been steadily increasing as well, and more and more businesses are finding ways to incorporate digital currencies into their models and payment systems. However, with all of this excitement about the new industry, there are also many analysts approaching with caution. Aberdeen Asset Management is one of the latest firms to do so, suggesting that there is a virtual currency bubble which will, at some point, eventually burst.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the head of global venture capital at Aberdeen Asset Management had some words of caution for investors considering the cryptocurrency field. Peter Denious said that "prices right now aren't being driven by network usage, they're being driven by speculation that tokens are going to appreciate. It's a gold-rush mentality." Denious and others point to the rapid increase in the number of initial coin offerings, or ICOs, as well as the quick gains in the price of tokens upon listing as two signs that a bubble is in effect. ICOs are tremendously successful, with many companies operating in the blockchain space making millions of dollars in minutes, even if they have no proven or distinctive idea backing their token.

It may be important to note, however, that digital currencies are not the only assets which have seen gains to record levels in recent months. The returns on the leading cryptocurrencies so far in 2017 have been unparalleled in other areas, but other asset classes have also made impressive gains. Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices are at record levels, despite the widespread uncertainty surrounding global markets. At the same time, housing prices seem to have mostly recovered from an earlier burst.

Coin Telegraph suggests that the increase in asset prices may be due to large degrees of liquidity across global markets, thanks to quantitative easing by many central banks around the world. Considering this possible reason for the gains, it may not be just a cryptocurrency bubble that eventually bursts. If there is, in fact, a burgeoning bubble in either the real estate or equity worlds, those could have serious and long-lasting effects on the worldwide economy. As cryptocurrencies are untested, it's more difficult to say what the impact of a bubble burst would be in that area.

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Beware Cryptocurrency "Gold Rush Mentality": Aberdeen Asset Mgmt - Investopedia

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.s stock fell Wednesday, bucking the sharp gains enjoyed by its peers and the broader stock market, amid growing concerns that cryptocurrency miners may start going elsewhere for their graphics cards.

The chip-makers stock AMD, -1.27% closed down 1.3% at $13.23, paring earlier losses of as much as 2.3% at an intraday low of $13.09. With volume of 84.8 million shares, the stock was the most actively traded on the Nasdaq exchange.

Meanwhile, the PHLX Semiconductor Index SOX, +1.77% climbed 1.8% and the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.88% rallied 0.9%.

Analyst Christopher Rolland at Susquehanna Financial said that after a recent trip to Asia, he can confirm recent media reports that key rival Nvidia Corp. NVDA, +3.53% will release two new cryptocurrency-specific graphics processing units (GPUs) during the third quarter. Nvidias stock surged 3.5% to snap a four-session losing streak.

As these new products are more price competitive, they may pose a risk to AMDs current offerings in the market, Rolland wrote in a note to clients. [The] new cards may upset AMDs alt-crypto coin dominance.

Nvidia said it had no comment. AMD did not respond to a request for comment.

AMDs stock has run up 16.7% year to date, after rocketing nearly fourfold in 2016, fueled by news that Apple Inc. AAPL, +1.46% would use AMD chips in its new iMac Pro. It also got a boost from a surge in demand from cryptocurrency miners and hard-core gamers and optimism over the release of new Epyc chips for the enterprise market.

Dont miss: AMDs stock extends rocket climb, fueled by tremendous graphics cards demand.

See also: AMDs stock takes another Epyc leap.

Nvidias stock hasnt been far behind, soaring 42.2% year to date after more than tripling in 2016, on the back of a strong showing in the server business and the potential for strength in the autonomous vehicles market.

On Wednesday, Mizuho Securities analyst Vijay Rakesh reiterated his bullish stance on Nvidia, while raising his stock price target to $17012.0% above current levelsfrom $145.

While the gaming business has been soft so far this year, conservative gaming estimates for the second half of the year could see upside, as near-term cryptocurrency and mining trends are driving GPU shortages and pricing, combined with new auto wins and ramps at ZF, Rakesh wrote in a research note.

Although AMD has held a dominant position in the cryptocurrency market, Susquehannas Rolland said that position could be threatened by the lack of supply of AMD GPUs and from a cost-reduced part supplied by the competing Nvidia. But perhaps not for very long, as AMD also have its own new offering coming soon, Rolland added.

We note that while contacts did not mention upcoming AMD mining-specific cards, some media reports suggest their coming arrival, perhaps favoring a modest swing in competition back to AMD, Rolland wrote.

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AMD's stock falls as Nvidia's upcoming cryptocurrency GPUs pose a threat - MarketWatch

One of the world's largest technology hardware makers has announcednew graphics cards (GPUs) aimed at the cryptocurrency mining market.

Taiwan-based manufacturer Asus revaeledtheMining RX 470 and Mining P106,which were designed to handle the energy and heat intensive process of mining. Though not expressly pitched as such, the release is undoubtedly aimed at capturing some of the interest in mining ethereum. Bitcoin mining, by comparison, has evolved to a stage in which application-specific integratedcircuits, or ASICs, are required to compete.

Cryptocurrency mining is a process by which new transaction blocks are added to the distributed network. When this happens, new blockchain tokensare introduced to the system and awarded to the miner as compensation in this case, a profit is achieved when the cost of electricity and the operation itself is lower than the revenue generated by selling those tokens.

According to today's Asus announcement, the new cards are "engineered especially for coin mining, positioning the products as capable of providing "maximum mega hash rates at minimum cost".

Interest in cryptocurrency mining has led to reported shortages of GPUsin the global market. One hobbyist miner recently told CoinDesk that local tech stores have run low on the cards, adding that online marketplaces like Newegg, Amazon and eBay, among others, are also largely out of stock.

It's a situation that echoes the earlier "GPU rush" from 2014, when mining activity around alternative cryptocurrencies like dogecoin and litecoin led to similar price increases and a decline in available inventory.

Shortages aside, ethereum network data suggests that more hash rate is coming into ply as time goes on.

According to etherchain.org, the mining difficulty which rises as more hashing power is brought online nearlytripled from 27th April to 27th June.

TheRX 470 will be available worldwide, according to Asus, while the Mining P106 card will be available in China and Eastern Europe only,beginning in July.

Image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at [emailprotected].

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Asus Announces New Graphics Cards Focused on Cryptocurrency Mining - CoinDesk

The reason Im so much fun at parties is that my idea of a good time is to lecture everyone on cryptocurrency. I can pretty much talk bitcoin and blockchain with Hamiltonian fervor all night.

Ever since I began writing about cryptocurrency in general in 2013I believe this story I wrote for Esquire in fall of that year was the first ever mainstream media mention of Ripple (on whose board I now sit) I have been making one point to anyone who will endure my what is cryptocurrency lecture. People are all wrong about the difference between cryptocurrency and real money.

By real money, people invariably mean fiat currency issued by a government. To counter the argument that real money is somehow safer than crypto Ive pointed to Argentinas 40 percentinflation rate, or the Weimar Republic, and its famous wheelbarrows full of money to buy a loaf of bread (which was arguably intentional as Germany sought to repay Treaty of Versailles debt with devalued deutsche marks). And of course the world has watched in horror as Venezuela has devalued the bolivar to the point of meaninglessness.

These are not hypothetical examples. If you think this is all futurist theoretical BS, read up on the devastating effect hyperinflation is having as it transforms what was once South Americas most promising economy into a hellish nightmare in which people are eating their pets. Governments constantly, reliably, invariably and maddeningly ruin their own currencies by giving in to the temptation to overprint it. The beauty of bitcoin is that, like gold, the entire supply of it that will ever exist on earth (21 million coins), is known about, finite, and will never increase.

Still, as powerful as these examples aresome from recent second-world countries and others from past first-world countriesthey do not vividly resonate with Americans. That makes perfect sense. The U.S. dollar, after all, has been so reliable that the very countries I am criticizing, like Argentina and Venezuela, turn to the greenback and use it as a shadow currency to store value as their own money fails.

Even when we see American commodities change dramatically in price, like we witnessed with gasoline in 2008 when it reached $4.11 in July and fell to $1.84 in January, people dont readily seem to connect that its not just gasoline fluctuating but American money fluctuating. If my $10 bought 4 gallons of gas on October 1 and two gallons of gas on November 1, gas doubled in price just as the buying power of the American dollar was cut in half. Its the same thing. (Not precisely the same, actually, but close enough for the point Im making.)

So what Ive been searching for in these years of evangelizing and explaining the revolutionary power of cryptocurrencyincluding bitcoin, ethereum, ripple, litecoin, this new one BAT that Im interested in and othersto transform basically everything, are examples that will resonate without sounding like Im talking about 1930s Germany or the struggles of the second world. These last few weeks, I think Ive got what I need. And it comes heartbreakingly from my home state.

Illinois faces financial distress thats unprecedented for any American state. Without a budget for two years and sitting on top of over $15 billion in unpaid bills, the state is, to use a phrase that State Comptroller Susana Mendoza borrowed from Bonfire, hemorrhaging money as the states spending obligations have exceeded receipts by an average of over $600 million per month over the past year.

While the United States Constitution prevents a state from declaring bankruptcy the way places like Detroit and Orange County have, the situation is so dire that the Tribunes prestige columnist, John Kass, is only partially kidding when he calls for the state to be divided up between its five Midwestern neighbors.

Again, this is not just wonky penciling. The people of Illinois are being crushed by the burden imposed by a state that cannot pay its bills. The Chicago Public Schools, for example, must now pay 9 percent on its adjustable bonds because they are rated as junk. S&P is warning of a negative credit spiral and threatened to lower its rating even further if the state cannot hammer out a budget by July 1, which is less than a week away.

In other words, a bridge that used to cost $100 million to build because thats what it cost to borrow the money from bondholders, now might cost $150 million. Just as we saw in the gasoline example, anytime something costs more US dollars for the exact same product, you can look at it as the cost of a bridge going up, or you can look at it as the value of a dollar falling.

Thats why I believe in cryptocurrency.

Illinois cannot print its own money. I dont know what theyre going to do to crawl out of this mess. But there is no denying that all governments, including the United States, have manipulated their money supplies for political ends. And thats why I am so bullish on the future of cryptocurrency.

This isnt about whether bitcoin will soar to $5,000 or sink to $500. I think either is possible and equally likely, and Im not looking to give investment advice. All Im saying is that I trust currencies that are cryptographically enshrined and limited by the hard realities of math, at least as much as I trust human beings who are subject to the allure of popularity and other shiny objects.

The best book about cryptocurrency is Digital Gold by Nathaniel Popper. And the parts of it that most moved me occurred when he described how this incredibly complicated and novel technology actually affected human lives. One of the early innovators of the bitcoin ecosystem was Wences Casares, who founded Xapo and a bunch of other crypto-friendly fintech startups. When Casares was growing up in Patagonia in the early 80s, the Argentinian government was messing with its currency to disastrous effect. First, they issued a new peso, exchangeable for 10,000 of the old peso. When that failed, they rolled out something called the austral, which was worth 1,000 new pesos (ie, 10 million of the currency that had been in use two years earlier). The inflation rate was more than 1,000 percent a year. Casares describes his mother carrying two grocery bags filled with moneyher wages. He and his sisters rushed with her to the store to buy what they could because the market employed people who did nothing but walk the aisles all day repricing items.

These math-based moneys from the future have a lot of user-unfriendliness and even getting money into and out of accounts can be a customer service hassle. But bagfuls of nearly worthless cash are not an unimaginable reality for millions of people on the planet. Thats the human reason Im willing to continue to bore people with cryptoevangelism.

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Illinois Is Venezuela and the Solution Is Cryptocurrency - Observer

Singapore-based startup TenX Technologies founded back in June 2015 with its co-founders wanting to solve the problem of cryptocurrencies not really able to be used in everydaylife. Most people trying to spend Bitcoin, Ethereum or many others realize quite fast that it is hard to connect this revolutionary but novel system with real world transactions.

Fast forward to this year two years later, the company is proud to report following a 1 million USD seed round at the beginning of 2017 with famous lead investor Fenbushi, TenX completed a successful token raise over this past weekend on June 24, 2017, 1 pm UTC.Itexchanged an equivalent of 245,832 Ether (valued at roughly 80 million USD at the time of the swap)to the companys PAY tokens at a rate of 350 PAY tokens per 1 Ether (with a 20% bonus during the first 24 hours). The PAY tokens will provide access to part of TenXs revenue of their already live payment service and also serves as a loyalty program to its own users.

Contributors only had 7 minutes to submit their contributions to TenXs receiving address before TenX stopped accepting further offers at 1:07 p.m. UTC. Roughly 4,000 people managed to participate directly while an additional several thousand people joined through pools to make it in time. Roughly 40,000 people did not manage to swap their tokens and will have to wait until July when the PAY tokens will be tradeable on cryptocurrency exchanges all over the world.

During the token swap, TenX accepted one of the most diverse ranges of tokens any company has ever provided. In addition to Ethereum, also ERC20 tokens, Bitcoin, Dash, and Litecoin were accepted. TenX made sure the transaction burden on the Ethereum network was kept to a minimum. By keeping contribution addresses unpublished until 15 minutes prior to the swap, TenX reduced unnecessary spamming of transactions leading up to the event. Transaction limits were also not suggested since such limits favor those who know how to bypass them. This technical finesse combined with authentic outreach such as their regular vlogmade the company ICO a success.

Instead of refunding this excess, TenX has agreed to honor all contributions stating: We will not withdraw the extra 45,000 ETH but rather leave them for additional liquidity in the crypto ecosystem to support a decentralized TenX as outlined in our white paper. This is actually a WIN-WIN for token holders AND the company.

This decision was made after estimations showed that in order to refund the excess Ether, close to 75% or 3,000 people would see their tokens canceled a move TenX did not want for its community. TenX offered to anyone unhappy with this arrangement to reach out prior to Tuesday, June 27, 2017, 11:59 pm EST, to receive a full refund, and has also confirmed once again that no new PAY tokens after the token swap will ever be created.

TenX will use these funds to develop their payment system even further from where it already is today: This includes apps for The Web, Android, and iPhone; debit cards and other further payment services; a decentralized system to connect any blockchain and thereby add any new cryptocurrency to the already existing multi-asset platform.

A detailed funding breakdown and the next steps for TenX are laid out clearly in its white paper.

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TenX raises roughly $80 million for cryptocurrency payment system for everyday life - CryptoNinjas