Very objective perspectives, and I agree with the justification of creating value through hard-work, great utility functions, and not just US$8 - $12 Billion popping out of the genie bottle. But would this vaporize in six months?

Sadly, maybe not. Human greed and fear will continue and many are very happy to exploit them to their benefits. As often being said – there is a sucker born every minute. Some will get rich quick -very quick, but many more will be left holding the “bag” – many bags with big holes. Your hard earned $$$ - gone. Until there is some law and order, the wild west gold rush continues.

Unfortunately, this is not the route to gaining mass acceptance of digital currency. It is ironic that some in our industry are far more ruthless and exploitive than the “bankers” are so despise.

Personally, I am not shocked. Where there is fast easy money – there is plenty of greed. But this kind rampage cannot go on forever without serious harm done to consumers. I just hope that the law-men will not overshoot and kill the good guys as well. I support reasonable consumer protection regulations that do not stifle technology innovations.

What I will say is that, over the long run, the right way always prevails. DNotes is here for the long-term. We are committed to educating the masses while we building trust and value. 

I certainly hope the lawmakers do not overshoot in their crackdown on the industry. At the end of the day it will depend on what their primary motivation for the crackdown is. If it is consumer protection, then there won't be much more required than Know Your Customer (KYC) type laws - which of course if passed in New Zealand, should provide a legal basis for banks to be required to begin offering financial services to companies that trade in Bitcoin, and that would allow us to finally participate easier on this side of the world.

Within the article below is a link to one of the best mainstream media discussions on bitcoin I have ever come across (they still a few things to learn ). It starts around the 41 minute mark of this video on The Street:

https://vid.thestreet.com/p/105/sp/0/playManifest/protocol/https/entryId/0_v3sys6ip/format/url/flavorParamId/35/video.mp4


Bitcoin Is Going Mainstream

The response to the Bitcoin Fork (discussed here) has been overwhelming - people like free money!

For those people who kept their wallets at exchanges that would support it, you woke up with your 'old' Bitcoin and got some shiny new digital Bitcoin Cash.

The appeal of Bitcoin Cash is that it is meant to be able to handle transactions much more quickly - which is important as transaction volumes rise exponentially.  The one view, which I am admittedly only getting up to speed on, is that Bitcoin Cash will be easier to transact with.

While I am not sure about that - what I am sure about is interest in Bitcoin and Crypto Currencies has skyrocketed.  The fact that Bitcoin, as I'm writing this, remains around $2,700 and the new Bitcoin Cash is rising (some have an expected valuation of 1 Bitcoin Cash = 0.5 Bitcoin or $1,300) creating even more free money that you had when you woke up.

It is clear that Crypto Currencies aren't going away any time soon (much to the chagrin of some very famous investors who have been calling it a bubble or fake for years - just one example here).  I think this latest burst of interest really started with the stories that Fidelity was allowing employees to use Bitcoin in their cafeteria (here)

It is also becoming a gaping hole in big Wall Street research.  The one big area of potential growth, the one areas where customers really need some help to understand if Cyber Currencies are right for them, or how they fit into their portfolio, is being under-served.

My goal is to help fill that void.  I have followed and occasionally been involved in Bitcoin. It first hit my radar screen in a meaningful way during the Cyprus Banking Crisis - when use of Bitcoin soared.

I have reservations about the currencies.  Who is using them, how they are being used, what government intervention is possible, valuations, etc., but at the same time not only do these 'currencies' have their devoted followers, but the interest seems to be spreading like wildfire - globally and with millennials in particular.

I have been told by some longtime believers that this article (link) is the best place to start learning if you haven't already begun to do so.  I discuss it (here) with a group of panelists starting at the 41 minute mark.

For those who missed the huge run up (and I missed most of it), it might not be the ideal time to load up, but I think understanding this better can be a crucial part of your investing returns over time (even if it is just identifying companies like NVIDIA who benefit from the growth of cyber currencies).

Peter Tchir - https://www.forbes.com/sites/petertchir/2017/08/02/bitcoin-is-going-mainstream/2/#2eebc0f642dc

The really interesting thing I find about this "8-12" billion that has been created out of the genie bottle, is that the moving price from demand and supply dictates that number, but of course to get a market cap at that number, it doesn't mean that 8-12 billion dollars ever went into the network at any time. For example, if somebody put a million dollars into a low value asset, with a very tiny sell wall, it could settle at 100x its current price if demand suddenly shot up as a result, and the market cap could be, say a billion dollars, with only a a little more than a million in investment having gone into the entire network.

As a general thing, Bitcoin Cash appears here to stay in the short term, but it will require a dedicated development team to make anything of it when compared to Bitcoin. That said, ~700 dollar starting price isn't a bad place to begin, and it already has a massive user base. It's no wonder crypto like clams and stellar used the "free coins for all Bitcoin holders" to get a massive community of owners to support its marketing and growth.

I certainly hope the lawmakers do not overshoot in their crackdown on the industry. At the end of the day it will depend on what their primary motivation for the crackdown is. If it is consumer protection, then there won't be much more required than Know Your Customer (KYC) type laws - which of course if passed in New Zealand, should provide a legal basis for banks to be required to begin offering financial services to companies that trade in Bitcoin, and that would allow us to finally participate easier on this side of the world. If the motivation is beyond consumer safety, and instead in incumbent interests, then regulations are very likely overstep that mark, which could be very damaging for the industry.

I've been having some chatter with various people in regards to advising government working groups within New Zealand on cryptocurrency, blockchain, and regulation. Hopefully the basis for action will be primarily to help protect consumers from fraud, as opposed to a fixation on tax and crime issues - which will likely result in very different outcomes in the ease for further for crypto adoption.

Is new wallet release still set for september? I am excited to stake dnotes.

Hi FogHorn_LegHorn, we are all excited about DNotes 2.0! We are on track for September. We are also committed to ensure DNotes 2.0 is completely ready and fully tested before releasing it, which will likely be late September.