Digital Assets, Blockchain Consulting, xBullion, DX Americas, Bitcoin Fund - Main Discussion Thread, page-8

Hi Soothsayer,

Like all HC members, you certainly have the right to share your opinion on the stock market.

There are times you make quite insightful contributions to discussions which I have agreed with in the past. However, this post seems to lack factual evidence and clearly carries a very negative tone.

The dinner party anecdote is a weak attempt to dismiss the legitimacy of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology and the amount of mainstream attention they receive. I guess it's subjective - it depends who you talk to and whether they have their heads in the sand hey?

I'm not sure where you've read that "no one is buying" crypto's.

"The prolonged bear cryptocurrency market, coupled with reports of scams, has not dampened investors’ interest in initial coin offerings (ICOs) this year. Contrary to expectations, token sales volume for the first nine months of 2018 alone doubled compared with the total ICO volume last year."

"For comparison, ICO volume from Jan. 1 up to Sept. 30 is almost double the total token sales for the entire 2017. According to data from CoinSchedule, the total ICO volume last year is only $6.56 billion."

Read more here: ICO Volume Doubles in 2018 Despite Slump in the Crypto Market

You raised the topics of "corruption, manipulation and lack of regulation". Two things to be aware of are the forthcoming ETF regulation and Bakkt.

Bakkt offers a point of entry for financial institutions and businesses interested in cryptocurrency. Through this initiative, it will join the ranks of a small group of businesses offering cryptocurrency investment solutions to corporate clients. Read more here: Bakkt to the Future: a digital exchange in a physical world 

Following on with your views on institutional investors entering the Crypto space, Bakkt has that covered with its initial slate of venture capital firms. If these firms are willing to stick their necks into the crypto arena, so the thinking goes, it’s just a hop-skip-jump for even larger firms to come onboard. This is particularly likely if Bakkt plays by the regulatory rules and secures approval for its operations moving forward.Oddly, this argument also works in reverse. If big-ticket investors are fine with Bakkt’s operations, then it follows that small-time investors should come on-board, as well. It’s a known fact in the financial world that little money follows big money, the way little fish trail bigger fish to feed on scraps. If a large venture capital firm is confident in Bakkt, the firms that look to it for guidance will follow suit. This has the potential to bring in a slew of capital from previously untouched resources — credit unions, retirement accounts, and 401(k)s. By nature, these types of holdings need to be conservative. They exist, after all, to help investors prepare for the future. Without significant institutional backers, the crypto market has been famously volatile. In kind of a vicious circle, that lack of institutional money due to volatility has prevented an injection of capital which could keep volatility to a minimum. It’s obvious, then, that Bakkt’s entry into the market can only calm the fears of naturally conservative investment vehicles.

Read more here: https://blockonomi.com/what-is-bakkt/

Investors rightly see an approval for Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC as the single-biggest growth catalyst the cryptocurrency industry has seen to date. Although the SEC rejected several proposals for Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, it has softened its stance towards the industry in a series of steps over recent months by having the proposals reviewed again, and by more recently inviting investor opinions about the pros and cons of a Bitcoin-linked ETF. While little has been done over the months to alleviate the SEC’s fears of widespread market manipulation in cryptocurrency trading (which still remains a stumbling block when it comes to an actual approval), the SEC’s willingness to give the proposals a chance should drive Bitcoin prices higher in the near future. Read more here: Optimism Surrounding SEC's Bitcoin ETF Approval Could Boost Bitcoin Price Massively By Mid-2019

If you have some time, it may be worth getting up to speed with Security Token Offerings (STO's) also. Banking on Security Token Offerings (STO)

If you're having difficulty wrapping your head around the concept of digital currency and it's purpose, I recommend having a read of Satoshi's Whitepaper, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System