Currently there are many large technology companies and institutional investors pouring money into technology startups to develop the e...
Currently there are many large technology companies and institutional investors pouring money into technology startups to develop the electronic money industry.
Many 'giants' pour capital into the electronic money market.
Reuters led data from PitchBook that said venture capital investment into pre-coding startups and blockchain. Including money from businesses, reaching $ 850 million from the beginning of the year so far. 13 investment agreements put capital flows into pre-coding on the momentum to the second highest consecutive record.
Investments come from companies like Microsoft and London Stock Exchange Group. The total amount increased fivefold to a record of $ 2.4 billion in 117 investments in 2018. This shows that large businesses find promise in fledgling technology, even when the technology is tight. objects to be accepted.
Pre-coding, particularly bitcoin, is often avoided by direct investment because of concerns about tightening regulations, safety, security and high volatility. Because it is not favored by many major firms, cryptocurrency is suspected of being able to develop from a purely speculative asset to a payment instrument that can compete with real money.
Bitcoin prices have dropped by three quarters of last year after reaching a record of 20,000 USD in the bubble bubble at the end of 2017. Bitcoin still has strong price movements so far, recently increasing prices by 20%, causing traders and distributors. confused. Blockchain technology, although applied in a number of areas such as finance, trade, the scope of application is still relatively narrow.
Many companies are considering how and if it is feasible if the blockchain and related technologies are used in a way that can create more dramatic changes. Richard Hay, head of financial technology section of the law firm of Linklaters in the UK, said:
"There are two main directions: we can have something that can operate and save costs, or we can look longer at deploying technology in a multitude of more transformative ways," he said. Or comment.
For example, the cash flow poured into the blockchain recently is the $ 20 million capital related to the London Stock Exchange and Banco Santander pouring into a British startup with the platform that can be used to issue debt on blockchain, technology. platform of most co-coding. Investments range from manufacturers of pre-coding equipment to exchanges.
A major investment driver is the growing expectation that "tokenization" of assets such as stocks and oil. "Tokenization" is basically digitizing these types of assets, allowing them to be traded on the blockchain. This will change part of the market and therefore, a lot of money is pouring in, according to lawyers and consultants of financial technology firms.
Investments related to venture capital of businesses are often small. Agreements this year cost an average of 6.5 million USD, lower than the threshold of 8 million USD last year. However, there are also many big, remarkable deals. For example, Bakkt, the cryptocurrency trading platform established last year by the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) received $ 180 million from investors, including M12, the company. Microsoft venture capital.
Last year, traditional venture capitalists also paid attention to pre-coding. 617 investment deals poured a total of $ 5.6 billion into the global industry. Venture investors still try to assess the impact of technology on the online economy. Some bets on pre-coding have so far failed.
Examples are Basis pre-coding projects. The project said they closed and returned money to investors, including teachers, investment subsidiary companies of Alphabet and Bain Capital Ventures, because of concerns about the regulation. Digging firms or cryptocurrency transactions are also difficult. Bitmain Technologies, the company valued at US $ 12 billion, dropped its Hong Kong listing plan last month.
But there are many companies that still eat and make. Coinbase, valued at $ 8 billion, is a non-US profitable business that grew 20% in 2018 to $ 173 million. Its subsidiary in the UK accounts for one-third of the company's total revenue of $ 520 million.
Also, there are some other notable news, let's go along with Hightechbrain:
Comments about bitcoin and the market
In CNBC's Fast Money program, host Melissa Lee described the narrow channel between $ 6,000 and $ 7,000 as "where Bitcoin belongs".
Guest chief of Susquehanna International Group's digital money group, Bart Smith said, "bitcoin is in review mode." He believes that investors are finding evidence that the market is growing before entering the position, so the price increases are high and the volume of bitcoin transactions decreases.
Market commentary, Nick Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, said market volatility in the past few months is not surprising given that prices only fluctuate based on market sentiment.
"The problem with bitcoin is that prices are 100% driven by market sentiment. It is still a new technology and in the early days of acceptance, there are not so many other things than the public belief to be the core of its value.
Regarding investment advice, Neu-Ner, CEO of Onchain Capital digital money fund, said: The current market is difficult to predict, but we can predict a recovery. If we're still not at the bottom now, then maybe after another wave. But for me as an investor, I am starting to buy now.
Only 10% of digital money is used in real life
Coinbase's CEO, Brian Armstrong, made a poor statement about bitcoin and the digital money market for digital payment. "I think it will take a relatively long time for you to cross the street to Starbucks and pay with digital money," he said on the San Francisco Bloomberg Technology Conference.
He estimates that only 10% of digital money, including bitcoin, is used in real life, in games and other online payments.
He also made a comment about the future market: "This technology will undergo a series of bubbles and adjustments, and each time, it will be in a different position. Everyone's expectations are everywhere, but actual acceptance is still rising. ”.
Thailand has opened the door to welcome electronic money and licenses for startups
Since July, Thailand and the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have spoken out about the intention to legalize virtual capital calls (ICO) and open to startups.
However, on December 1, 2018, Cointelegraph stated that it was illegal for the SEC SEC to announce securities token services (STO) related to Thailand (in the international market) and said they There will be appropriate legal action against companies trying to distribute STO created in Thailand to overseas markets.
Tipsuda Thavaramara, deputy secretary of the Thai SEC, said:
“Regulatory agencies will have to consider how to deal with STO issues, issues such as stock ownership, voting rights and dividends. Currently, we have not decided whether STO is under the SEC Act or the Digital Asset Act, but this depends on the STO's conditions and details of the project prospectus.
The Thai government's initial stance on STO approval in the domestic market contradicts the plans of the Thai SEC to legitimize ICO and allow companies to raise capital from investors. on the market.
This month, the Thai SEC announced the launch of its first ICO portal, with a plan to approve an ICO project in the near future. Archari Suppiroj, director of the Fintech department at the SEC, said that the launch of the ICO portal could lead to STO's approval in the domestic market.
Bitcoin prices are underestimated?
According to Francis Pouliot, CEO of Bull Bitcoin, the current price is underestimated.
In his tweet, he said: “Looking back on the bitcoin market over the past year, I see a sense of nonsense in trading the bitcoin market. My strategy: stable bitcoin income, profit from bitcoin, doesn't have to own this currency.
That's what he sees when paying with bitcoin or paying bitcoin will also make the price go up. This currency will increase in price as people continue to build on the protocol and foundation of this currency.
In Time magazine, Alex Gladstein, director of strategy at the Human Rights Organization, wrote: “Certainly, bitcoin is still a fledgling technology, and does not offer sharp application, speed or computation. security. But engineers are working constantly to bring these values to bitcoin by building better applications, upgrading the platform protocol, and creating second-class technology like the Lightning Network, the last thing. can cover and increase the number of bitcoin transactions per second ”.
Synthesis source
Edited by hightechbrain.com
