Big money stays away from booming bitcoin

[FordGT90Concept]

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin is booming, digital currency hedge funds are sprouting at the rate of two a week and the value of all cryptocurrencies has surged tenfold this year to more than $170 billion.

Yet for all the hype, mainstream institutional investors are steering clear of the nascent market, taking the view that it is too lightly regulated, too volatile and too illiquid to risk investing other people’s money in.

More at source...

 

[cdawall]

What are they talking about? There is gobs of big wallstreet money playing the bitcoin market...

 

[FordGT90Concept]

For now, those investing in crypto funds are high-net worth individuals, companies managing money for wealthy families, private wealth managers and some venture capital investors.

There's 111 hedge funds in BTC with total assets coming to about $2.2 billion of $100 billion. In other words, companies investing other people's money in BTC accounts for only 2% of BTC's value.

“If the supply is truly fixed then the price of these securities are determined purely by demand which, in turn, is determined largely by sentiment,” said Ken Dickson, investment director, money markets and FX at Aberdeen Standard Investments.

“This means huge price swings with bubbles, booms and busts. Unless the supply processes of these instruments are reformed then it is unlikely that they will play any part of an investment portfolio,” he said

It's too risky.

 

[trog100]

too risky for anyone that likes long term assets that are proven over time.. too profitable for them to maintain that stance for much longer though.. he he

trog

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

The UK financial watchdog has said that investors seeking to get into the world of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum should approach the fast-growing Initial Coin Offerings sector with care.

The Financial Conduct Authority said ICOs were ‘high-risk’ investments since they come with no investor protection, their value is volatile and can often be linked to illegal schemes or fraud.

ICOs are not currently regulated, which means that if investors lend money to a fraudulent firm, they will be unable to recover it. In fact, the FCA warned that some companies issuing ICOs may be fraudulent.

 

[jboydgolfer]

imo, The moment big$ puts a "green lght" on b¢, is when it drops like a stone & reaches a much lower ppb¢

 

[Aquinus]

their value is volatile and can often be linked to illegal schemes or fraud.

That's why hedge funds are using it, right? What better way to make money than to manipulate the currency you're using?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Martin Shkreli was a hedge fund manager...now convicted felon (securities fraud)...

 

[R-T-B]

This is actually showing the majority of belief in btc is coming from individuals.

If anything, that adds to it's legitimacy.

 

[Ebo]

If its cant be messured in gold like normal currency which is accepted arround the world, it has absolutely NO value at all.
If you allow compagnies to envent another crypto"f*ckup", for people to mine its all artificial and has NO base in reality, its just greed thats fuels the fire for its downfall.

 

[R-T-B]

If its cant be messured in gold like normal currency which is accepted arround the world, it has absolutely NO value at all.

https://www.goldbroker.com/charts/gold-price/btc

You can exchange btc for gold as easily as currency. I am unsure what gold has to do with legitimacy at all though. Again, the gold standard died in the 60s over most of the world.

I can probably trade coconuts for gold too, if I had enough.

 

[R0H1T]

This is actually showing the majority of belief in btc is coming from individuals.

If anything, that adds to it's legitimacy.

Well previously we've also had collective amnesia, cluster*ck & a myriad of other disasters attributable to herd mentality. The 2008 meltdown was also not all banks & hedge funds' fault, a lot of the blame should go to individuals as well who borrowed way beyond their means!

The reason institutions, with a clear & well defined mandate, can't invest in BTC is because it's too volatile & still vaporware atm, no one can guarantee what it's price will be tomorrow & whether your BTC will even be in the wallet. Public or even private institutions cannot invest in such instruments where there's no redressal mechanism of any sort, like who governs anything BTC when there's fraud involved, especially if this thing's as uber global as it gets?

 

[trog100]

there is gold and there is paper comex gold.. one is real the other is not.. its said that for every once of real gold there are 200 paper ounces or 200 theoretical owners.. or the same once of gold has been sold to 200 different people..

central banks create fiat money out of thin air.. most of it ends up in the stock markets.. which is why stocks keep going up..

nothing is real any more.. the entire financial system is based on one huge fraud.. he he..

trog

 

[R-T-B]

Well previously we've also had collective amnesia, cluster*ck & a myriad of other disasters attributable to herd mentality. The 2008 meltdown was also not all banks & hedge funds' fault, a lot of the blame should go to individuals as well who borrowed way beyond their means!

The reason institutions, with a clear & well defined mandate, can't invest in BTC is because it's too volatile & still vaporware atm, no one can guarantee what it's price will be tomorrow & whether your BTC will even be in the wallet. Public or even private institutions cannot invest in such instruments where there's no redressal mechanism of any sort, who governs anything BTC when there's fraud involved, especially if this thing's as uber global as it gets?

There's a lot of fearmongering here.

Who governs whether the BTC will be in your wallet? You. If you do proper security (and it really isn't that hard) you will have the same amount yesterday as the next day. I know because I've never lost a coin due to anything but me sending it or my own stupidity, and I've had a balance since practically 2012.

I also think you need to research what "vaporware" is.

no one can guarantee what it's price will be tomorrow

This is applicable to all nearly all tradable commodities.

 

[R0H1T]

There's a lot of fearmongering here.

Who governs whether the BTC will be in your wallet? You. If you do proper security (and it really isn't that hard) you will have the same amount yesterday as the next day. I know because I've never lost a coin due to anything but me sending it or my own stupidity, and I've had a balance since practically 2012.

I also think you need to research what "vaporware" is.



This is applicable to all nearly all tradable commodities.

MtGox ~ does the name ring any bells, granted it isn't exactly what you're saying but something along the line.

So long as BTC isn't printed on a paper, legal tender, or backed by real assets it can be termed as vaporware. Also as long as it isn't brought under the jurisdiction of central banks, to be precise national jurisprudence, it ought be seen as vaporware.

Who or what's backing BTC, at least with stocks we have tangible assets, even employees, that are worth something?

 

[R-T-B]

Who or what's backing BTC, at least with stocks we have tangible assets, even employees, that are worth something?

Other currencies largely.

So long as BTC isn't printed on a paper, legal tender, or backed by real assets it can be termed as vaporware.

So seeing as you can print it on paper, and it is legal tender in some jurisdictions, and it is backed by assets, it's not?

MtGox was an exchange, and not a proper wallet. Anyone storing large wealth in a place called Magic The Gathering Online Exchange is a fool.

The only proper place to store a large amount of BTC is in the real btc wallet app, or better yet, a paper wallet.

 

[Vya Domus]

imo, The moment big$ puts a "green lght" on b¢, is when it drops like a stone & reaches a much lower ppb¢

No ! Let them dream !

 

[StrayKAT]

This is actually showing the majority of belief in btc is coming from individuals.

If anything, that adds to it's legitimacy.

Legitimacy would just be seeing it used more. For all the money involved, it doesn't circulate much.

On a sidenote, it's funny to see it's rise when nationalism is also rising around the world.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

https://www.goldbroker.com/charts/gold-price/btc

You can exchange btc for gold as easily as currency. I am unsure what gold has to do with legitimacy at all though. Again, the gold standard died in the 60s over most of the world.

I can probably trade coconuts for gold too, if I had enough.

Very clearly tied to USD...

 

[eidairaman1]

So what backs bit/etherum/crypto currency?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Everyone that buys into it. Cryptocurrency's like an unregulated stock market.

 

[micropage7]

too lightly regulated, too volatile and too illiquid to risk investing other people’s money in.

i agree on this one, although the value is pretty high, its kinda too volatile in long term, bubble could pop anytime. maybe its the safe way than risking many $$ too much

 

[Fourstaff]

Bitcoins feel like the .com bubble: everyone is buying into it because everyone else is buying into it. Not sure what the endgame is with all these various different coin currencies.

 

[toilet pepper]

If its cant be messured in gold like normal currency which is accepted arround the world, it has absolutely NO value at all.
If you allow compagnies to envent another crypto"f*ckup", for people to mine its all artificial and has NO base in reality, its just greed thats fuels the fire for its downfall.

Gold standard died ages ago. Old money would say that it has an equivalence to gold. New money would say it is tender only when legal. Peoplecould straight up and refuse to accept new currency/money anytime.

 

[trog100]

Gold standard died ages ago. Old money would say that it has an equivalence to gold. New money would say it is tender only when legal. Peoplecould straight up and refuse to accept new currency/money anytime.

the gold standard died (or was put to death) because it was too restrictive.. governments could not spend what they did not have.. now of course they can and they are all doing so.. at a great rate of knots..

and why are people buying into the stock markets.. because they can.. no other reason.. all this magic money has to go somewhere.. the stock markets are at record highs.. all done with magic money.. governments use the ever inflating stock market as a sign that all things are hunky dory..

some are calling it an "everything bubble".. he he

trog