Third Edition
Every day in the investment world there is a deluge of news and chatter about BITCOIN, the other 1000 digital tokens, and the underlying technology of them all – Blockchain. At Crypto TREND we sort out what matters and provide you with solid information that you can use to make informed, rational, and profitable investment decisions. Some early investors in this space have seen returns of 10,000%, 100,000%, and even over 1,000,000%. As we said in issue #1, we are in the “wild west” phase of the Crypto Coin (CC) market right now, however, there are several indications that the CC market is moving towards becoming mainstream. Many investors want more credibility and stability in the CC market space, and that may be coming.
- The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has received regulatory approval and is preparing to launch Crypto Coin (CC) futures contracts as of December 18.
- Nasdaq is planning to launch Bitcoin Futures in the first half of 2018
- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the largest US options exchange, is planning to launch its own Bitcoin derivatives trading products by early 2018.
- The Bank of Canada is considering the merits of establishing a digital currency. Of course, this is somewhat troubling, as governments that are heavily in debt want to find ways to see and tax every transaction they can find. Many investors see anonymity and low fees as two of the great benefits of CC’s. Bank involvement in the CC market place could conceivably compromise or erase those benefits.
- Many governments around the world are actively considering if and how to regulate and tax the CC markets. This is an indication of how significant these markets are becoming.
To gauge for yourself how close the CC market is to becoming mainstream, try this little test. When you are with a group of friends or relatives, ask how many have heard of the BITCOIN phenomenon, and if so, how many have made a purchase. At this stage, there will likely be many who have heard of BITCOIN, but very few or none who have actually invested. We believe the number of CC investors will increase dramatically.
At Crypto TREND we see opportunities to invest in this market space, but only on a speculative basis. We see two different investment strategies to explore and consider:
One – to invest directly in the various tokens and other offerings available at the CC Exchanges.
There are many CC Exchanges, and below we provide a brief list of exchanges that offer a variety of products and services. To become a client, most of the Exchanges will require you to be “verified” and it will take some time to go through the verification process and the initial “funding” process. Funding will typically involve a fee, as you need to move fiat currency into your CC Exchange account in order to purchase CC’s. Compared to dealing with your current Broker or Exchange, these Exchanges may seem quite awkward, but they are all in a relatively new market space and will need more time to develop into mature entities. Each exchange offers a different selection of products for sale or exchange, but they all include BITCOIN – the original Crypto Coin.
Brief list of CC Exchanges:
COINBASE – One of the major exchanges, based in the USA, with many subsidiaries around the world. Coinbase is relatively easy for new investors to use, however transaction fees are higher than many other exchanges. As with most CC Exchanges, they permit only a low initial funding which will increase over time as trust is earned. They have a limited selection of Alt-Coins available. Transferring your CC’s to your digital wallet is easy and free.
Web Site: https://www.coinbase.com/
COINSQUARE – A Canadian exchange based in Toronto, which bodes well, as Canada has a sound financial and regulatory environment. COINSQUARE has a unique bundle of offerings, such as gold bars, silver bars, silver coins, as well as a good variety of CC’s and global currencies. They also feature a “Quick Trade” window for very fast quotes and transactions. Fees are in line with most other CC Exchanges.
Web Site: https://coinsquare.io
KRAKEN – Based in San Francisco, and very popular with Bitcoin and Ethereum investors in Europe, Kraken has a solid reputation and a good selection of CC’s, and intends to add more in future. Fees are in line with other exchange averages, and they have good charting tools using TradingView.
Web Site: https www.kraken.com
QUADRIGA CX – Another Canadian exchange, this one based in Vancouver, with a current selection of seven CC’s. The web site is well designed and easy to navigate. Funding options are varied and fees are a little higher than average. The exchange does not have charting or analytical tools, but is a solid contender in the small scale exchange space, with good security and performance.
Web Site: https://www.quadrigacx.com/
Two – to invest in this market space indirectly. This is a strategy that we think has great promise, as we note that there are increasingly more ways to invest in publicly held companies that utilize Blockchain technology, or are involved in funding Blockchain projects. Also, there are efforts being made to launch ETF’s that track Crypto Currencies, which will make it easy for retail investors to use their current Broker or Stock Exchange to invest in crypto coins.
We are actively following about fifteen companies to determine if and when they will fit our model investment parameters. With change happening so quickly, we expect to see many of these companies come and go from the evolving list of rational investment choices.
More than any other sector, investing here will be only for your most speculative capital, money that you can afford to lose.
CRYPTO TREND will be your guide if and when you are ready.
Stay Tuned!!
