Bitcoin is a SCAM, page-50

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    One Bitcoin could get you a lot of virtual daiquiris...but keep your real money to buy real things for now. Pic: Getty
    Where the Aussie crazy crypto road trip will take us in 2018
    Tech
    January 5, 2018 | Rachel Williamson


    Bitcoin began its seemingly inexorable rise only six months ago, and cryptocurrencies, Initial Coin Offers, and blockchain businesses will remain a feature of the corporate landscape in 2018.
    DigitalX (ASXCC) CEO Leigh Travers says 2018 will see the continued rise of Ethereum, currently no. 2 to Bitcoin’s top dog, and there will be a bigger focus on what blockchain can do for business.
    He sees supply chain companies leading that. Currently, the main blockchain-for-logistics play on the ASX is Yojee (ASX:YOJ) which is slowly building a customer base in South East Asia and Australia.
    Reffind (ASX:RFN) bought a stake in global blockchain rewards play Loyyal in December to get into the ‘blockchain for business process improvement’ game.
    Bitcoin, the world’s most famous cryptocurrency, dropped sharply over Christmas but appears not to be finished as a speculative play.


    In December, the value of transactions on the Bitcoin network went from $US1 billion to $20 billion.
    Settlement times to buy and sell the digital currency began stretching from hours to days, as the network struggled to process more than four transactions a second.
    Bitcoin hit a peak of $US19,694 on December 17, and crashed to $12,629 by the end of the month.
    Users began switching into Ethereum, Ripple and Bitcoin Cash, sending the value of the alternate cryptocurrencies surging.
    https://unauthorised investment advice/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Bictoin-chart.jpg
    The US dollar performance of Bitcoin, Ether and Bitcoin Cash over the last month. Bitcoin is the shaded line, Ether, purple and Bitcoin Cash, green. Pic Investing.com
    Crypto has legs
    Many agree that while the crypto-craze is here to stay, the current corporate buzz is a bubble.
    “If you want to play the whole blockchain thing just go and buy some Bitcoin and decide if you want to pay $22,000,” Cyan Asset Management’s Dean Fergie told *.
    “What you will find, and I can generalise for companies like Fatfish Internet Group and iCandy and Mobecom, is that lots of these businesses will know that this is a bit hyped up and try to make some tenuous kind of attachment to this whole blockchain, Bitcoin market.
    “What this will mean for actual revenue or profitability in the near term is insignificant to zero.”

    That didn’t stop 17 small caps from jumping on the blockchain bandwagon in the year leading up to Christmas.

    But only three had businesses that, by the end of the year, were revenue-generating blockchain or cryptocurrency operations: DigitalX, Mobecom (ASX:MBM) and Yojee.
    All the others were either rumours, promises, or to-be-completed investments or projects.
    At the time of writing iCandy had extended a six week trading halt as it tried to make an acquisition.
    By the end of December, Serpentine Technologies (ASX:S3R) had joined the list of companies being promoted as a crypto stock on rumour only. This list includes Transaction Solutions International (ASX:TSN), and the shell companies Alchemia (ASX:ACL) and Zyber (ASX:ZYB).



    Ticker Name 2017 price change Price (Jan 4) 2018 price change Mkt Cap
               
    1 ACL Alchemia 71% 0.049 0% $3,896,684
    2 BPG Byte Power Group 799% 0.009 0% $20,115,630
    3 CCA Change Financial 35% 0.81 -2% $64,684,924
    4 CHP Chapmans -50% 0.018 50% $13,000,000
    5 DCC DigitalX 706% 0.345 1% $169,753,312
    6 FFG Fatfish Internet Group 175% 0.079 4% $34,358,176
    7 FGF First Growth Funds 128% 0.037 118% $13,836,458
    8 ICI iCandy Interactive 14% 0.16 14% $44,350,840
    9 KYK Kycker -35% 0.24 17% $18,599,938
    10 MBM Mobecom 58% 0.42 7% $66,406,648
    11 NOV Novatti Group 111% 0.385 4% $51,489,140
    12 OOK Ookami 172% 0.14 -3% $19,954,792
    13 RFN Reffind -18% 0.047 -4% $15,465,000
    14 S3R Serpentine Technologies -38% 0.015 14% $5,236,170
    15 SHO Sportshero 345% 0.14 40% $21,723,514
    16 TSN Transactions Solutions International -60% 0.011 0% $23,386,144
    17 YOJ Yojee 546% 0.32 6% $181,376,592
    18 ZYB Zyber Holdings 133% 0.025 53% $9,073,101
    Crypto isn’t coming, it’s here
    Virtual currencies and tradeable tokens are being legitimised.
    This is thanks to institutional support like the Bitcoin futures markets in the US, and policy changes such as Australia’s move to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges under “Know Your Customer” (KYC) and anti-money laundering legislation.
    HopgoodGhanim Lawyers partner Josh Hunt says this year more institutions, like ETFs and property funds, will use their networks to issue tokens backed by real world assets.
    “If you’re backed by real world assets, your token should theoretically be a lot more stable and therefore be easier to trust as a medium of exchange,” he told *.
    Indeed, on Wednesday BitFund said it would launch a crypto futures company on the ASXto allow investors to more easily access the field.

    Indeed, even the RBA has thought about it.
    Governor Philip Lowe outlined in December the theoretical basis for an eAUD, but concluded it’s not feasible yet.
    “But in reality these currencies are not being commonly used for everyday payments and, as things currently stand, it is hard to see that changing,” he said in a speech.
    “The current fascination with these currencies feels more like a speculative mania than it has to do with their use as an efficient and convenient form of electronic payment.”

    ICOs are the next big thing
    ICOs, an IPO-like method of fundraising where issuers offer tradable tokens rather than shares, have people divided.
    Some lawyers and analysts spoken to by * say the unregulated sector is riding for a fall and will be unwound by regulators.
    The ASX is yet to be convinced, saying businesses listing, or backdoor listing, on the exchange or looking to get into ICOs will have to convince the bourse that they’re fully compliant with the minimal laws available.


    Others are hoping regulators do step in, but with light-touch rules.
    DigitalX’s Mr Travers says the ICO landscape is looking “at least as strong as the close of 2017”, when ICO Bench listed 18 ICOs in Australia and over half a dozen others were being marketed to Australians.
    He’s forecasting more regulated ICOs in 2018 – those which will fall under Corporations Act rules – and more companies that actually have a product rather than raising money for an idea.

    ASIC said in October it would regulate ICOs under the Corporations Act if they behaved as managed investment funds, offered tokens that were effectively shares or derivatives, or provided financial services such as crowd-sourced funding.
    HopgoodGhanim Lawyers partner Josh Hunt, who is a fan of ICOs, says light-touch rules would suffice around issues like basic transparency, background checks on the board, and know your customer/anti-money laundering rules.

    “There’s no doubt it’s still the Wild West, but we would see that it’s not overly different from early stage, risky exploration plays in countries that are pretty light on regulation. You only need to look at the DRC, or Egypt, or anywhere in Africa where the political risk is high [for examples of risky stocks],” he told *.
    Mr Hunt says Aussie ICOs are not clearly explaining why they aren’t a security in their prospectus-like white papers, because they don’t want to be the first ones to draw the line.
 
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