Category Archives: Bitcoin

After testing out digital currencies earlier this month, independent stock research analyst Ronnie Moas on Sunday published the first two parts of his 122-page report on bitcoin and other digital currencies.

"In my view, the genie is out of the bottle, and cryptocurrencies will continue to rise and take market share away from stocks, other precious metals, bonds and currencies," Moas, founder of Standpoint Research, said in the report.

"I think investors should take a shot on this and hold for a few years. If you lose a few bucks, at least you took a shot," he said. "In life, you miss every shot that you do not take. It will probably be more upsetting to watch it (from the sidelines) go up another 1,000%."

Moas gave bitcoin a $5,000 price target for 2018, reflecting nearly 80 percent upside from Monday's price of about $2,800. He also expects rival digital currency ethereum to more than double in value from just under $200 to reach $400 in the next year, and another digital currency, litecoin, to double from about $40 to $80.

In the next week or two, Moas said he plans to issue the third part of the 122-page report about how a fourth and much smaller digital currency could rise a few hundred percent in the near future.

The stock analyst said he's bought 10 of the top 20 digital currencies by market capitalization in order to be diversified, marking the first time in 20 years he's put money into his own recommendations.

"In my view, 10-15 years from now, the charts on a few of the top 20 names will look like the Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Facebook, Netflix and Google charts look today," Moas said in the report.

Top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization

Source: Standpoint Research

Moas' report comes just before a possible split in bitcoin Tuesday, if some developers go ahead with a scheduled upgrade known as Bitcoin Cash. Direct owners of bitcoin will then hold two versions of the digital currency.

"The market is telling you right now that we will get through this event tomorrow," Moas told CNBC in a phone interview Monday, noting bitcoin traded close to its all-time high.

The digital currency hit a record $3,025 in mid-June, fell to $1,837 in mid-July, before recovering about $1,000 to trade near $2,800 on Monday, according to CoinDesk.

Bitcoin (2010 -2017)

Source: CoinDesk

Back on July 5, Moas told CNBC he bought some bitcoin, ethereum and litecoin and expects bitcoin could reach $5,000 "in a few months." He subsequently published an article on Reddit outlining his views on digital currencies.

Since then, institutional attention on bitcoin has only increased.

Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee became the first major Wall Street strategist to publish a report about bitcoin on July 7. Less than a week later, Switzerland's financial market regulator authorized the first Swiss bank to manage bitcoinfor clients, while the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission last Monday approved the first bitcoin options platform.

Last Tuesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also issued a report and investors bulletin on initial coin offerings, or sales of new digital coins.

"I have little doubt that 1% of the money in cash, bonds, stocks and gold will end up in cryptocurrencies," Moas wrote in his report.

Since the $80 billion cryptocurrency market right now is a 25th of 1 percent of the $200 trillion in gold, cash, stocks and bonds, Moas pointed out digital currencies will need to increase by 25 times in order to reach 1 percent of the overall capital market.

If cryptocurrencies become part of asset allocation models and take 2 to 4 percent of capital markets, then the digital currencies will likely increase 100 times in value, Moas said

To be sure, Moas also laid out a host of risks for investing in digital currencies, including inherent high volatility, large-scale hacks on cryptocurrency firms and potential regulation, especially in China, that could cause prices to "collapse."

In addition, Moas pointed out the lack of customer support for online digital currency products.

"There is no telephone support," he said in the report. "You must go to the FAQs section and spend a long time looking for the answer to whatever question you may have and then you may not be happy with the answer. Your only other option is to send an email to customer support which could take anywhere from one-to-seven days to get a reply."

Coinbase, a popular website for buying and selling digital currencies in the U.S., has repeatedly reported website loading delays or outages in the last few months due to high customer traffic.

All that said, the stock analyst said he believes the time to buy digital currencies is now. He described in his report how investors can buy bitcoin, and why financial institutions are interested in the blockchain technology behind bitcoin and other digital currencies.

"I watched from the sidelines for a few years and it felt recently as if the train is leaving the station," Moas said. "I think we are still in the first quarter of a four quarter game and that even though I missed out on significant gains (2014 - 2016), it is not too late to get in."

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Bitcoin to surge nearly 80% to $5000, ethereum to double, Standpoint's Moas predicts - CNBC

A controversial scaling proposal activated on bitcoin last night, though it happened quietly.

Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 148, the much-discussed user-activated soft fork (UASF)activated at block 478,484 on the bitcoin blockchain, though its code changes were supercededby another proposal designed to disable it.

Sometimes branded as a protest effort, BIP 148 allowed bitcoin's node operators a way to show their displeasure with miners, who theybelieved were blocking popular code updates, who they argued should not have a say in such matters.

As such, BIP 148 emerged as perhaps the most controversialway for the network to enact Segregated Witness, one that while influential, never achieved widespread endorsement.

If things had gone differently, users, mining pools, and companies running the BIP 148 nodes would have started rejecting blocks that did not signal support for SegWit yesterday.There's a chance this would have caused bitcoin to split into two competing assets.

By now, however, fears of a sudden split by way of BIP 148 have been avoided. Thanks partly to a proposal known as BIP 91, bitcoin mining pools were able to rally together before August 1 by locking in SegWit for activation. UASF supporters often argue that mining pools were incentivized to signal for SegWit because they wanted to avoid the activation of BIP 148for more political reasons.

In this way, BIP 148's activation importance is arguably more symbolic, marking the avoidance of a split.On the other hand, a miner-activated hard fork (MAHF) that will fork bitcoin is scheduled for later today.

Match imagevia 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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Bitcoin UASF Proposal Quietly Activates to Little Effect - CoinDesk

Image credit: Francis Storr/Flickr

Despite its reputation for getting constantly hacked, cryptocurrency like Bitcoin remains a hot commodity. If youve got a Satoshi or two in your wallet, you probably want to stay up to date on its value to make sure you dont lose your shirt if (lets be real, when) it crashes. Thats where Bitcoin Tracker comes in.

Unknown hackers made off with an estimated $32 million in hot cryptocurrency Ether, one of the most

Bitcoin Tracker, a free Chrome extension from developer Rahul Devaskar, lets you check out Bitcoins value every time you open a new web page.

After installing the extension, youll be able to pick your currency of choice and check out the current Bitcoin value. It also shows you its value whenever you open a new tab. There are other Bitcoin price trackers online, but Bitcoin Tracker seems the more polished of the bunch.

Devaskar wrote the extension after growing tired of missing out on buying Bitcoin during its lower price points. I built this tool to make sure that I dont miss on the next bitcoin price surge, Devaskar wrote. It has worked beautifully for me. Smart thinking. Buying Bitcoin when the price drops has proven a pretty effective way to make a quick buck in the short term, and sites like WhatIfBitcoin can show you how much money you would have made had you gotten in early.

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Bitcoin Chrome Extension Keeps You Up to Date on Price Fluctuations - Lifehacker

BigStock Image / Inked Pixels

Bitcoin has been gradually shedding its reputation as a fringe investment, as its value zig-zags into the stratosphere, and it becomes accepted by businesses such as Expedia and Microsoft. But while financiers have been paying more and more attention to cryptocurrencies, so have state governments.

On July 23, Washington became the latest state to regulate the digital currency market, ostensibly to protect consumers. The bill establishing the regulations, passed by the state legislature in April, has prompted both scorn and praise within the cryptocurrency community, and has led some Bitcoin-related businesses to shut down their Washington operations rather than comply.

The bills primary targets are digital exchanges, which allow customers to trade and deposit their Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other currencies. Every exchange with Washington customers must now operate under the states money transmitter laws, which have traditionally applied to businesses like Western Union. That includes an obligation to be licensed by the states Department of Financial Institutions, and to maintain virtual currency reserves equal to the funds they retain on behalf of customers.

In addition, exchanges must agree to third-party security audits of their systems, and post surety bonds of between $10,000 and $550,000, which work as security deposits in the event customers deserve compensation from an exchange.

We had these old regulations for money transmitters in the state, and they were clearly meant for older business models, said Charles Clark, who helped craft the new laws at the Department of Financial Institutions. The virtual currency industry had issue with that. This gives them some clarification and guidance.

Shortly after the regulations were signed into law, exchanges such as Bitfinex, Bitstamp, Kraken, and Poloniex pulled out of the state, and informed Washington customers they needed to take their business elsewhere. In a statement, Kraken said that while revenue continues to grow, operating costs have become prohibitive, primarily due to the high cost of continuing to meet the regulatory compliance requirements imposed by the state. Unfortunately it has become impractical for us to operate in Washington and we must discontinue service for all residents.

Others have taken to Reddit to respond to the regulations, accusing Washington of having a cryptohating legislature and being a very sorry state for any forward-thinking, technology enthusiast individual to reside in.

Clark said hes followed the online conversation and the news of exchange closures. He downplayed the fallout, noting that Washington issued a regulatory guidance paper on virtual currencies in 2014, and that new regulations are similar to those found in states like New York or North Carolina.

This legislation shouldnt have come as a surprise at all, said Clark.

Washingtons new policies were formed through discussions with a range of cryptocurrency industry groups, licensees, trade associations, the Chamber of Digital Commerce, and companies involved in the space, Clark said.

One of the companies participating in these discussions was Coinme, which operates Bitcoin ATMs in Washington, provides wallet services and facilitates the exchange of virtual currencies in 18 states and internationally. Coinme CEO Neil Bergquist praised Washington states approach, calling Washington a leader among the 50 states on regulating virtual currencies, and early on the draw in providing guidance to companies. He predicted the exchanges leaving the state wouldnt make too many waves.

As long as there are still some (exchanges) standing at the end of it, I think it will have a somewhat minimal impact on consumers, said Bergquist, who pointed out that the largest exchange, Coinbase, is still operating in Washington.

The cryptocurrency industry has been a boon to the state economy, Bergquist said, creating high-paying jobs and a number of new millionaires in recent years. But even as it gains in popularity, its still confusing and arcane to many government officials. Lawmakers must recognize the gaps in their knowledge, he said, or risk squashing innovation.

There are some states whose approach is unfortunate, and some are doing a better job because they actually do the work to understand it, Bergquist said. Its important that regulators, entrepreneurs, and customers are all part of that dialogue.

Where some governments have addressed the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry with regulations, others have taken a different approach. This past June, for example, Montana awarded a $416,000 grant to a Bitcoin mining firm, and Nevada passed a law specifically prohibiting Bitcoin transactions from being taxed.

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New Bitcoin regulations shake up Washington state's cryptocurrency industry - GeekWire

Weve said previously how important August 1st is in the cryptocurrency world. August 1st is a signaled date in which decisions about Bitcointhe largest and first cryptocurrencywill be made. The repercussions of this go far beyond Bitcoin and will be a sign of things to come. Its also the first date in which the world beyond crypto first adopters will be watching, as new consortiums have joined into the burgeoning industry.

To show just how far thats come, lets look at some current figures. The entirety of cryptocurrency (including crypto assets and protocols) is around $90 million. Bitcoin itself represents half of that. The first huge news Bitcoin garnered was when its coin price hit $1,000which was in September 2013. During 2015 it made more headlines, as it crashed back down to $200. Its made headlines throughout this year as its price has crossed $2,000 and neared $3,000 and most recently has continued to make news as the August 1st deadline approaches.

What happens onand afterAugust 1st is crucial for any investor in Bitcoin.

The first crucial point is on the regulation (not financially, but in terms of stability) of the bitcoin protocol and problem-solving.

This is all born out of identified problems with Bitcoin, from both investors and miners (if youre not within this world, you can think of miners as financial verifiers). Bitcoin was moving too slowly and too expensively, and the future scaling viability looked meek given these. Without a central presence propping up and/or regulating Bitcoin, these issues could go unsolved, plummeting the value for investors and scaring away miners, who earn the currency by doing work to verify transactions.

Because theres no central authority, users will signal problem-solving methods, which is essentially like a vote.

So we see now that two things are going to happen within Bitcoin. The first is a hard-fork. Hard-forks create new coins, with new code, and potentially new use cases. So we expect that a new coincalled Bitcoin Cashwill be introduced. This article explains Bitcoin Cash for the curious. Essentially its implementing the things that Bitcoin will not be doing on August 1st. It will have its own investors who believe that August 1st BTC solutions are not viable enough. Exchanges are already preparing to support Bitcoin Cash for trading. Keep an eye out for its movement.

The second implementation is called SegWit (which stands for segregated witness). This is meant to increase blocksize (allow for more transactions to be tied into a block and to resolve a bit of troubled spot in the software. You can read more here. This is good news for most, and the value of Bitcoin is up 10% in the last 30 days, reflecting investor confidence.

The second crucial part of all of this, however, is what it means for the value of Bitcoin and your role as an investor.

There have been two camps lately on this aspect: one that points out that, while this implementation cycle has been steady in the last few weeks, it caused more panic and volatility than necessary over the last few months. Its also likely to bring some ups and downs to Bitcoin Cash post August 1st. But I think its important to remember that this wont be the last time there will be signaling needed for updates.

Mahin Gupta, co-founder and CTO of Zebpay told Investopedia, Bitcoin is a decentralized technology. Which means discussions on changes to the network happen in the open, in public and not behind closed conference room doors. These debates are visible and can be messy. This is a feature of bitcoin, not a problem. Such debates are not a one-time issue. They will keep happening as bitcoin grows in popularity. I am confident that the community will come to a consensus soon and then we shall debate how to scale it again.

Gupta is right. Bitcoin, lacking the central authority and community of its younger brother Ethereum, is going to continue to have debates over its scalability. These will not subside, and indeed, will likely cause future forks, debates, and panic. Investors need to take this into effect, as the technology behind Bitcoin will need sporadic updating.

The second camp thinks that this is a major hump to get throughwith more attention and money in this as ever before (see first paragraphs). A Goldman Sachs analyst recently said Bitcoin could hit $5,000 (nearly double its current value), mostly based of the scarcity of the coin itself. The analyst, Ronnie Moss, thinks theres more room to grow before this enters bubble territory as well.

Other analysts have the same sky-high expectations, showing that with more adoption, especially by larger nations around the world, Bitcoin has been on a rocket upward and will continue to trend, based on that adoption. The linked article compares Bitcoins current rise to the Internets in the mid-90s, a comparison many like to use.

Okay, so where does this get us?

In terms of investing, this is a huge moment. Bitcoin is successfully implementing large-scale upgrades with $45 billion invested in it. This can set the precedent for future implementations and debate. This means it can continue to use its momentum (adoption and recognition from global superpowers) to see its value rise nearer to $3,000 and potentially beyond.

Yet, well need more time and adoption to see if it can go much further than that. Other coins and technologies are easier to pivot and update that can do exactly what Bitcoin is doing. As its so large that implementations take time (this one has been talked about since late May) and happen slowly.

This will not be the end and if Bitcoin Cash succeeds, it sets a dangerous precedent for hard-forking off of Bitcoin every time a group of miners or exchanges demand changes be made. If Bitcoins value is hard-forked along with new coins that users find liquidity in, its value will tumble. Same too with any P/E ratio expectations (heres a chart for that, albeit built by a coder himself).

The short call is that Bitcoin value will likely rise on the good news and momentum. The long-term outlook right now is seeing how Bitcoin Cash plays out and if Segwit works, or if it immediately sparks new debate on upgrades. If we see the latter, Bitcoin may be in for a rough road to have any sustained value gain.

Disclosure: I am/we are long BTC.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Buying Bitcoin: August 1st And Everything After - Seeking Alpha

As initial coin offerings (ICOs) start to come under regulatoryscrutiny in the U.S., one Australian venture capital firm isexperimenting with a new way to convert cryptocurrency into regulated corporate shares.

Following a decision to offer a 300,000 Australian dollar ($239,000) convertible bitcoin loan to blockchain payments startup DigitalX, investment firm Blockchain Global Limited has revealed exclusively to CoinDesk that it has completed its due diligence and will close the entire AU$4.35 million investment in bitcoin.

However, what distinguishes the deal from past startup investments using bitcoin is that, following a series of unusual events, DigitalX is now a publicly listed company that trades under the ticker symbol DCC on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

As such, Blockchain Global CEO Sam Lee believes the completion of the deal will mark a milestone in cryptocurrency history.

He told CoinDesk:

"With our due diligence process satisfied, we look forward to completing the AU$4.35 million transaction entirely in bitcoin, a world's first for a listed public company."

The decision to invest in DigitalX further comes after a due diligence period that initiated in June with a disclosure on the ASX site detailing the terms of the loan. Under the terms,Blockchain Global was given the option to covert the AU$300,000 into shares or receive repayment plus 12 percent interest one year after the drawdown of the loan.

Now that DigitalX has passed the due diligence process, the investor firm has opted to convert the entire bitcoin investment into shares, and has asked that the interest on the initial loan be paid in bitcoin.

"Conducting transactions via bitcoin guarantees that the transfer is near instant," said Lee. "And is transparent to the public in addition to the parties involved."

Since first posting the terms of its convertible bitcoin loan online, DigitalX CEO Leigh Travers told CoinDesk he's been contacted by several "investor relations departments of major blockchain companies" with questions about how they can do the same.

It turns out, it's not actually that difficult. But, to understand how the bitcoin loan was executed, it's important to grasp a bit about DigitalX's unusual background.

Back in March 2014, DigitalX became Australias first listed bitcoin company following the reverse takeover of "dying oil and gas firm" Macro Energy. The cash-rich company acquired DigitalX (then called Digital CC), but gave more shares to the acquiring company than the original shareholders had, resulting in a shift of control.

Then in August 2016, following news that Macro Energy's original founder had been indictedfor fraud, shares in DigitalX plummeted, resulting in the company distancing itself even further from the founder, according to an Australian Financial Review report.

It was after a brief stint as a bitcoin mining operation that the startup pivoted to focus on developing a money-transfer app called Airpocket that usedblockchain technology.

And it's at this point in the startup's story where the unusual capital raise, and bitcoin loan, come into play.

Followingthe reverse acquisition, the company had gone from what Travers described as having "a low number of shares issued and with cash in the bank" to having "a low amount of working capital." But along the way, he said he's never doubted the blockchain market and DigitalX's ability to gain marketshare.

Still, to bridge its funding gap, DigitalX announced in June it had received an agreement to invest from Blockchain Global and other investors, but that the majority of the infusion was subject to due diligence and shareholder approval.

During this period, DigitalX needed cash in a hurry to maintain its operations. So, using Tradeblock's XBX reference rate to determine price, the loan was made, without middlemen, directly from the lender to the borrower.

Corporate advisors Ironside Capital Pty Ltd are helping manage the investment process for a 6 percent fee.

While bitcoin loan platforms such as Nebeus and Bitcoin Lending Club do exist, Travers said the direct method provided a series of additional benefits. This included the ability to complete the transaction on a national holiday, nearly instantly, and because the loan was visible on the bitcoin blockchain, to do so without the need for a receipt.

"Within the hour we were able to register that those funds had been transferred to use and had been cleared," said Travers. "So we were able to move onto the next part of the transaction."

From a lender perspective, Lee said the transaction was equally streamlined. Now that the decision to invest has been made, all that remains to do is to receive shareholder approval.

Lee concluded:

"Conducting transactions via bitcoin guarantees that the transfer is near instant, and is transparent to the public in addition to the parties involved."

Australia dollar 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. Interested in offering your expertise or insights to our reporting? Contact us at [emailprotected].

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Public Company to Convert Bitcoin to Stock in First-of-Its-Kind Fundraise - CoinDesk

The Blockchain Education Network will be conducting a global Bitcoin Airdrop in partnership with Bitjob. It has been announced that fintech universities and cryptocurrency communities from 7 countries will participate in the airdrop, with the first event commencing on August 11 in Colombia. The events will distribute free bitcoin to young adults, and is set to see participation from many significant entities within the cryptocurrency industries.

Also Read:BEN Pays Students Bitcoin to Create Blockchain Course

The Blockchain Education Network has announced that it will be conducting a global Bitcoin Airdrop, starting in Colombia on August 11. The bitcoin event will then move to Russia, and will also make stops at the McGill University and the Richard Ivey School of Business in Canada; UC Berkeley, Wake Forest University, and St. Petersburg in the United States; the University of Queensland in Australia; Trivandrum and Bangalore in India, and in Puerto Rico. Several educational institutions are giving away small quantities of bitcoin during the event, providing young adults with the opportunity to experience cryptocurrency use.

The director of growth at the Blockchain Education Network, Alberto Jauregui, has stated that he believes the Bitcoin Airdrop serves as an engine to introduce students to the disruptive blockchain industry and incentivize them to band together to form new [Blockchain Education Network] chapters or regions. The airdrop will explore a wide range of topics and themes pertinent to different sectors within the cryptocurrency industry. Jorge Perez, the director of the Blockchain Education Network Columbia, will be hosting the first event at a local restaurant, and is expected to focus on bitcoin adoption throughout Colombia and Latin America.

The second event is to be hosted in St.Petersburg in Russia on August 16, and will be a collaborative event held in unison with an ICO-Hypethon an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) focussed hackathon where developers will be developing digital infrastructure surrounding ICOs to pitch to investors. Director of the Blockchain Education Network in Russia and key organizer of ICO-Hypethon, Rodion Mikhalev, describes the ICO-Hypethon as a mix between a hackathon [and] an accelerator. Its a 48-hour event hosted by Crypto Friends, where Eberhard Lindfort will screen the top 20 projects out of hundreds of applicants. Teams chosen will receive help from experienced [b]lockchain experts which will help them finalize their business and them into successful ICO launches. The Blockchain Education Network will also incentivize investment from ICO angels at the event, offering bitcoin to investors who partner with projects during the 48-hour event.

The Blockchain Education Networks bitcoin airdrop began as a small event held outside of the main library at the University of South Florida last year, for which Alberto Jauregui hid paper wallets throughout the campus. For this years airdrop, Jauregui has planned a Bitcrawl in St. Petersburg, Florida an event pioneered by McGill Students Cryptocurrency Club in Montreal, which sees the entirety of a main street agrees to accept bitcoin and become overrun by cryptocurrency enthusiasts for an evening.

The director of the Blockchain Education Networks high school network, Sunrose Billing, has expressed his enthusiasm for the airdrop as a means to expose young adults to bitcoin, inspiring growth in the next generation of cryptocurrency adopters. Blockchain [technology] and cryptocurrencies are really taking off and will absolutely continue to grow at a rapid pace. Thats clear when you see teenagers day trading, analyzing macro landscapes and taking the time to educate themselves about innovation in this space in their spare time.

The airdrops principal sponsor is Bitjob, with Blockchain TV, Btc Media, Diid, and MLG Blockchain also supporting the event. Dror Medalion, co-founder and CEO of Bitjob, has stated that It is a true honor to be sponsoring the 2017 Blockchain Education Networks Global Bitcoin Airdrop across university campuses This years event is shaping up to be the largest ever as the popularity of Bitcoin and blockchain [technology] continues to rise globally.

Do you think that the Blockchain Education Networks international airdrop will be successful? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Blockchain Education Network

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check ourtoolssection.

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Blockchain Education Network to Conduct Multi-City 'Bitcoin Airdrop' - Bitcoin News (press release)

The Bitcoin community has finally done what for years seemed impossible, pulling together to approve a software upgrade, known as Segwit2x, intended to increase network capacity. That has forestalled the looming threat of a potentially damaging "fork" that could have split the network .

But, unsurprisingly, not all of Bitcoins players are happy with the solution. A relatively small faction, spearheaded by former Facebook engineer Amaury Sechet , still believes that Segwit2x doesnt go far enough in scaling Bitcoins capacity. Sechets faction says that on August 1st, theyll launch a fork known as Bitcoin Cash, and take some of Bitcoin's processing power with them.

Bitcoin Cash is planned to have a bigger "block size" than Bitcoin after Segwit2x, ostensibly giving it more capacity to handle transactions with low fees. But it wont implement the SegWit upgrade that allows more transactions to be handled by secondary systems.

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Bitcoin proper will be basically unaffected by the creation of the new cryptocurrency, and all holders of Bitcoin will get equivalent funds in Bitcoin Cash on the day of the fork. A futures market for Bitcoin Cash has already emerged, and currently values it at around 13% of Bitcoins price. That means that when the split happens, something like $6 billion in new market value will be created from thin air.

Whether that value lasts, though, will hinge on whether cryptocurrency leaders and investors believe in Bitcoin Cash's technical visionand so far, the signals are decidedly mixed. Many prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, including Coinbase and Bitstamp, have said they wont support Bitcoin Cash. Investors who want a piece of the action are being advised to move their Bitcoins either to a wallet they control directly, or to an exchange that has pledged to pass Bitcoin Cash along to them, currently including Kraken and Bitfinex .

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Bitcoin Just Avoided a Massive Breakup, But It's Getting a Little One Instead - Fortune

The price of digital currency bitcoin rose Friday, putting it on track for a modest weekly gain, while rival cryptocurrency Ether extended its recent weakness.

At latest check, a single bitcoin BTCUSD, +0.63% was up 3.8% to $2,783.18, according to cryptocurrency research-and-data site Coindesk. While it remains down from an all-time high above $3,000 on June 11, its recent trend has been largely positive. It is on track for its second straight positive session, and it is up 3.3% over the past week.

The market capitalization of bitcoin rose to nearly $46 billion, meaning it once again accounts for more than half of the entire market cap for cryptocurrencies which stands at $89.9 billion, according to Coinmarketcap.com.

This is the first time since May that bitcoin has represented 50% of all crypto assets, according to Tuur Demeester, a bitcoin investor who is also the founder of Adamant Research. Earlier this year, cryptocurrencies topped $100 billion in market capitalization.

Thus far in 2017, bitcoin prices have gained more than 180%.

Related: Bitcoin investors: things may get very ugly soon, if this chart overlay is right

Ether, the digital currency that runs on the Ethereum network, fell 5.7% to $192.70 on Friday, extending its recent weakness. For the week, Ether is down more than 15%, trimming its market cap to $18.2 billion.

The chief rival to bitcoin remains the bigger year-to-date gainer by farit is up nearly 2,300% in 2017although it has struggled since hitting an all-time peak of $395.16 on June 13. At current levels, Ether is trading at levels last seen in May, according to Coindesk.

Much of this weakness has come on recent regulatory moves, including a recent announcement from the Securities and Exchange Commission that signaled it would scrutinize a recent torrent of so-called initial coin offerings, or ICOs. ICOs refer to previously unregulated offerings of digital currencies, many of which were tied to the Ethereum blockchain.

Read: What is an ICO? What investors need to know about initial coin offerings

More broadly, cryptocurrencies have come under increasing fire of late.

Howard Marks, the co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, said they were nothing but an unfounded fad, adding that bitcoin was based on a willingness to ascribe value to something that has little or none beyond what people will pay for it.

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Bitcoin prices rise as Ether extends recent weakness - MarketWatch

Walk into the Amante coffee shop at 2850 Baseline Road in Boulder on any given morning and youll see what looks like an automated teller machine sitting along one wall.

Throughout the day, a handful of people use it. One is a techie, another is a well-dressed, middle-aged couple. But this is not your grandmothers ATM. Its a Bitcoin teller machine, a portal into the brave new world of cryptocurrency.

Some call this new kind of money the grandest experiment of our time. Others fear its rising power and the rest of us have no idea what the heck it is.

Boulders Eric Weissmann was fascinated early on with the potential of digital currency. And when the opportunity arose to own and operate Bitcoin teller machines, or BTMs, he jumped in and founded Modern Tender. Weissmann thought the architecture of the code, the blockchain, had the potential to transform currency markets.

I was interested in Bitcoin and thought the blockchain technology was revolutionary, so I wanted a foothold in the space. We reached out to Amante because we wanted a location that was upscale, easily accessible, and attractive to early adopters and the tech demographic, Weissmann said.

BTMs are still rare. There are 13 statewide, including two in Boulder Weissmanns at Amante Coffee and a second machine in the Spark Boulder tech accelerator at 1310 College Ave.

The two BTMs in Boulder were installed in February of 2015. The Spark machine is owned by Aurora-based XBTeller. Officials there could not be reached for comment.

Operating outside the traditional banking system with no regulatory oversight, BTMs have experienced a surge in use as more people turn to cryptocurrencies as a haven from political instability and distrust of government-backed currencies.

To read more of this story go to dailycamera.com

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Bitcoin teller machines in Boulder let customers jump into the cryptocurrency market - The Denver Post