Tag Archives: Bitcoin

- Click to enlarge I had to be on Bloomberg’s Day Break with David Westin and Alix Steel earlier today. We talked about the collapse of talks to put together a new coalition following the results of the September election. I suggested that the initial reaction was exaggerated, negotiations will likely resume in some fashion, and speculation of Merkel’s demise are premature. We also discussed Brexit. I opined that...

In recent years, there has been a major debate about the respective merits of gold versus Bitcoin, even though many, not all, gold bulls are also supporters of the latter. Gold advocates generally view favourably Bitcoin’s inherent characteristics of decentralisation, finite supply and ability to operate (so far) outside of the usual interference by western central banks. Having said that, the launch of Bitcoin futures...

Amid the cataclymsic collapse of Bitcoin late on Friday night, the crypto currency suddenly saw a large buyer step in as prices plummeted below $6000. We now have an idea who that buyer of last resort was... As a result of a giant publicity effort from its proponents, BCH saw mass investment as it heads towards a potentially contentious hard fork set for just after 7 p.m. GMT today. The failure of SegWit2x, coupled with endorsement from the soon-to-be-defunct Bitcoin...

Das Angebot hält mit der Nachfrage nicht mit: Ein chinesischer Bitcoin-Miner untersucht einen defekten Rechner. Foto: Liu Xingzhe (Keystone) Beginnen wir mit vier Fragen: Verfolgen Sie die Preisentwicklung von Bitcoin? Kennen Sie jemanden, der mit Bitcoin in den letzten Monaten viel Geld verdient hat? Ärgern Sie sich, dass Sie nicht schon früher Bitcoin gekauft haben? Überlegen Sie sich, jetzt Bitcoin zu kaufen, weil Sie denken, dass der Preis noch viel weiter steigen wird und Sie den...

If the ownership of bitcoin is as concentrated as some estimate, then the liquidity issue distills down to the actions of the top tier of owners. Whenever I raise the topic of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, I feel like an agnostic in the 30 Years War between Catholics and Protestants. There is precious little neutral ground in the crypto-is-a-bubble battle; one side is absolutely confident that bitcoin and the other...

If bitcoin can be converted into fiat currencies at a lower transaction cost than the fiat-to-fiat conversions made by banks and credit card companies, it’s a superior means of exchange. One of the most common comments I hear from bitcoin skeptics goes something like this: Bitcoin isn’t real money until I can buy a cup of coffee with it. In other words, bitcoin fails the first of the two core tests of “money”: that it...

Gold mining production in China fell by 9.8% in H1 2017  Decreasing mine supply in world’s largest gold producer and across the globe GFMS World Gold Survey predicts mine production to contract year-on-year Peak gold production being seen in Australia, world’s no 2 producer Peak gold production globally while global gold demand remains robust China Gold Mine Production 1H 2016 vs 1H 2017 - Click to enlarge Gold...

While Bitcoin bulls will probably never have it so good as they have in 2017, we wonder whether many of them have stopped to think about the environmental downside of this roaring bull market. After all, back in the dot.com boom, people had ideas about potential internet businesses, issued pieces of paper representing ownership and watched their prices go parabolic parabolic. All it took was a Powerpoint presentation,...

While Bitcoin bulls will probably never have it so good as they have in 2017, we wonder whether many of them have stopped to think about the environmental downside of this roaring bull market. After all, back in the dot.com boom, people had ideas about potential internet businesses, issued pieces of paper representing ownership and watched their prices go parabolic parabolic. All it took was a Powerpoint presentation, some computer programming expertise and a “research” report,...

The risk budget this month shifts slightly as we add cash to the portfolio. For the moderate risk investor the allocation to bonds is unchanged at 50%, risk assets are reduced to 45% and cash is raised to 5%. The changes this month are modest and may prove temporary but I felt a move to reduce risk was prudent given signs of exuberance – rational, irrational or otherwise. Moderate Allocation - Click to enlarge   No...