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China feeds bitcoin frenzy

"More than a third of the world's bitcoin transactions now flow through China's largest bitcoin trading website BTC China, according to bitcoin data websites. China has surpassed Japan's Mt.Gox and Europe's BitStamp, reaching 100,000 Bitcoins in daily trading volumes, or more than 400 million yuan (U.S.$65.7 million) in daily transactions. In recent years China has been pushing to internationalize the yuan, adding more value to the once tightly controlled currency on international markets. But despite the changes, controls mean individuals still find it difficult to invest in assets outside China. As a result, more Chinese are looking to invest in alternative assets like bitcoin." Continue reading →

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Fund Manager Hugh Hendry: I would buy Bitcoin if I could

"'This is the environment where Bitcoin could go to $1m. There is no qualitative reason, but it is trending. If I could own Bitcoin, I would. If I own 3D printing, it is just the same thing,' he said. Hendry added fundamentals do not matter at a time when policy is misaligned, emphasising instead the ‘feedback loops’ created by QE. 'There is no point arguing about the one-way causality we [as an industry] believe determines our processes. That is all about a belief this is rational. We want to believe markets go up because the economy is improving, because corporate cashflows are improving. But when you get monetary disturbances creating loops, it does not really matter.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFund Manager Hugh Hendry: I would buy Bitcoin if I could

China central bank warns banks against use of bitcoin

"China's central bank warned on Thursday that financial institutions should not trade the digital currency bitcoin, saying that while it does not yet pose a threat to China's financial system, it carries risks. The central bank also said in a statement on its website that it would act to prevent money laundering risks from bitcoin, a prominent digital currency that is not backed by a government or central bank. The PBOC will require trading platforms that deal in virtual currencies such as bitcoin to register with telecommunications authorities, it said. The central bank did allow that ordinary individuals were free to use bitcoin, so long as they take on the risk themselves." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina central bank warns banks against use of bitcoin

Everyone Is Baffled By Alan Greenspan’s Comment About Bitcoin

"'You really have to stretch your imagination to infer what the intrinsic value of Bitcoin is. I haven't been able to do it. But if you ask me, 'Is this a bubble in Bitcoin?' 'Yeah, it's a bubble.' People are baffled by this remark. That's because Greenspan refused to call the housing bubble a bubble, and presided over the dot-com bubble despite seemingly having recognized it as such as far back as 1996, when he made his "irrational exuberance" speech." Continue reading →

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French central bank warns against using bitcoin

"France's central bank has warned against the use of the virtual currency bitcoin, noting that it is not only highly volatile but also unregulated by authorities. Launched in 2009 as the invention of a mysterious computer guru who goes by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoins can be exchanged online for real money or used to buy goods and services on the internet. But the Bank of France is sceptical about the currency, and underlined that the 'highly speculative' currency poses a 'certain financial risk' to users. 'Even if the high volatility of the bitcoin is of possible interest for individual or professional speculators, they should be aware of the risks they are taking,' the bank said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench central bank warns against using bitcoin

Bitcoin hype worse than ‘tulip mania’, says Dutch central banker

"The former president of the Dutch Central Bank, Nout Wellink, has told students at the University of Amsterdam that the hype around bitcoin is worse than his country's Tulip mania in the 17th century. 'Sooner or later the facade will fall', Wellink said, calling bitcoin 'pure speculation' and 'hype' according to comments reported in the Dutch press. 'This is worse than the tulip mania,' he continued. 'At least then you got a tulip [at the end], now you get nothing.' Wellink's comments follow a warning from the Dutch Central Bank about the risks of virtual currencies like bitcoin, which fall outside Dutch financial supervision laws." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin hype worse than ‘tulip mania’, says Dutch central banker

Alan Greenspan: Bitcoin Is a Bubble Without Intrinsic Currency Value

"The former Federal Reserve chairman said Bitcoin prices are unsustainably high after surging 89-fold in a year and that the virtual money isn’t currency. 'It’s a bubble,' Greenspan, 87, said. 'It has to have intrinsic value. You have to really stretch your imagination to infer what the intrinsic value of Bitcoin is. I haven’t been able to do it. Maybe somebody else can.' 'I do not understand where the backing of Bitcoin is coming from,' the former Fed chief said. 'There is no fundamental issue of capabilities of repaying it in anything which is universally acceptable, which is either intrinsic value of the currency or the credit or trust of the individual who is issuing the money.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAlan Greenspan: Bitcoin Is a Bubble Without Intrinsic Currency Value

PBS: It’s No Bubble – Why We Should All Give Bitcoin a Chance

"The long sweep of financial history tells us that many extremely valuable innovations were initially viewed with suspicion. But without them, we'd still be bartering. Bitcoins may well be one of the truly major financial innovations that brings the world together and forces long-needed fiscal and financial reform. Let's give it a chance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPBS: It’s No Bubble – Why We Should All Give Bitcoin a Chance

Proposals announced to boost Shanghai Free Trade Zone

"In a six-page report that included 30 detailed instructions, the People's Bank of China said yesterday it would allow residents of the zone - seen as a test bed for liberalising the financial sector - to set up 'resident free trade accounts' in both domestic and foreign currencies, and would allow yuan to be fully convertible under those accounts 'when the time is ripe'. The 29 sq km zone, the first of its kind on the mainland, was set up two months ago and the guidelines suggest it will offer benefits that Beijing has been reluctant to offer other pilot areas. For example, 'qualified' individual investors will be able to make various foreign investments, including trading overseas securities." Continue reading →

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Why You Shouldn’t Write Off BitCoin Just Yet

"BitCoin poses a pretty substantial challenge to business people: it requires sufficient understanding of computer science to appreciate its elegance and idiosyncrasies but, perhaps more importantly, it requires a sufficient understanding of finance to appreciate it vis a vis other fiat currencies and gold. Despite this complexity, business leaders are pressured to take a stance on this fledgling techno-currency. Most have chosen the safe approach writing it off as the latest Ponzi scheme with some even arguing that it will be the largest bubble burst in the history of Ponzi bubbles. I’m afraid I’m not so sure… And here’s why." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy You Shouldn’t Write Off BitCoin Just Yet