alternative Investments Archives

Bitcoin News Bites

Posted on April 4, 2016 | by [email protected]

An investment bank, Needham & Company, has just released a report which states bitcoin’s value is understated by 58% of its current value. Bitcoin’s ostensible value is $412, but should really have a value of $655, according to the report.

You can now get bitcoin from an ATM at 17^th and Mission Streets in San Francisco. This is now the third bitcoin ATM in the Mission.

Bitcoin technology is stirring controversy on Wall Street. Early in March, 2016, the company CVR3 announced the successful completion of a trial in which over 40 of its member banks put blockchain technology to a test. Each member issued, traded and redeemed a fixed-income product. Although the test results threaten to make current Wall Street trading technology obsolete, Wall Street spokespeople promise they’ll now use the test results to refashion their old technology for better trading performance.

After claiming it would no longer accept bitcoin on its Windows Store, Microsoft announced a complete reversal in policy. The IT giant has offered no explanation as to why it had initially rejected bitcoin as a payment option.

The noted email service, FastMail, that offers paid email accounts, has been accepting bitcoin payments through BitPay for customers who choose to upgrade to its premium option. FastMail’s work in this area has been completely unannounced and has remained under the radar. The service is used internationally by over 100,000 individuals and organizations.

The first Arab bitcoin community has recently formed. Until now, there has been little discussion in the Arab world about bitcoin. The primary purpose of the Arab bitcoin community is to understand the idea behind bitcoin and promote discussions about it. The group will be pushing for adoption of bitcoin throughout the Middle East and North Africa in the coming years.

Bovada Sportsbook, the online sports betting platform, now accepts bitcoin. This action is welcomed by frequent Bovada since it cuts down on transaction fees incurred through depositing or withdrawing funds. Also, the option to be able to pay with bitcoin represents a boon to privacy, a big concern among sports bettors.

According to the Financial Times, in the next two weeks, Australian Craig Steven Wright will announce he is Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin. What’s more, Stevens claims he will prove his identity cryptographically. Wired Magazine had claimed it received information through a link that Nakamoto is actually Stevens. Apparently, in about two weeks, we’ll find out the truth from Stevens (Nakamoto?) himself.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong reports his company is looking into the creating of “killer apps” for widespread bitcoin usage. Armstrong envisions, among other things, a world in which large populations with cell phones but no access to banking would be able to fill an immense financial gap through bitcoin transactions.

In March, 2016, WireX announced the very first two-way bitcoin debit card. The card also has a function with which a user can buy bitcoin. Users will be able to fund bitcoin accounts from any location by means of a traditional bank transfer and alternative payment methods. This is apparently the first “hybrid” banking operation that links blockchain technology to the traditional banking system.

Bitcoin: A Dynamic Alternative Investment for a Self-Directed IRA

Posted on April 4, 2016 | by [email protected]

Most people are passive and incurious in their strategy for setting up a self-directed IRA. They most frequently take the path of least resistance, and go with a self-directed IRA in stocks, bonds or mutual funds. This is probably because they’re not aware they have other options – quite a few other options, actually.

In a self-directed IRA, you can invest in commercial rental properties, precious metals, oil and gas organizations, tax lien certificates and even private placements. One of the keys to choosing a solid and allowable alternative investment in your self-directed IRA is to work through a reputable custodian. As the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) clearly states through its Office of Investor Education and Advocacy:

“Most IRA custodians are banks and broker-dealers that limit the holdings in IRA accounts to firm-approved stocks, bonds, mutual funds and CDs. Custodians and trustees for self-directed IRAs, however, may allow investors to invest retirement funds in other types of assets …”

Given this allowable path to an alternative investment, we highly suggest you consider an investment in bitcoin for your self-directed IRA.

Bitcoin is digital currency that originates and is sustained electronically. Unlike dollars or other fiat currency, bitcoin is not printed or controlled by any government. There is no intermediary between payer and payee. As such, bitcoin is frequently characterized as a “peer-to-peer currency.”

Bitcoin has virtues traditional money can’t compete with. You can set up a bitcoin account in no time. With a traditional bank account, you sometimes have to wait days for a new account to be approved.
Also, with bitcoin, you can send money internationally in seconds and not have to wait for approval. Remember, large banks don’t control bitcoin. Details of every bitcoin transaction are stored in a general ledger called a blockchain. But since it’s not possible to get to the person responsible for a bitcoin transaction by knowing a bitcoin address, all bitcoins transactions are anonymous.

Bitcoin reputation for quick anonymous money has definitely caught on. Businesses like Dell, Target, Amazon, Victoria’s Secret, Paypal, and many others all accept bitcoin.

Because of its volatility and possibility for very wide use, bitcoin offers solid opportunity for upside potential. It’s for these reasons, we suggest you consider a self-directed bitcoin IRA as a long-term investment.
This kind of investment is not for everyone. You have to be an accredited investor to participate. In other words, you need a net worth of a million dollars, not counting the value of your primary residence. Or you need to have an income of $200,000 dollars in each of the last two years (or $300,000 with a spouse).
You can have an IRA consisting exclusively of bitcoin, or as part of a mixed portfolio with other assets; but, in either case, your IRA must be self-directed. And to have a self-directed IRA, you’ll need a custodian. There are only a few custodians who handle bitcoin.

If you want to set up a bitcoin self-directed IRA, call BitcoinIRA at 1-800-717-1130. One of our representatives will help you initiate your account through a reputable and knowledgeable custodian.

Bitcoin – the Elegant New Alternative to Money

Posted on February 1, 2016 | by [email protected] | Leave a Comment

What is this strange new object called “bitcoin,” anyway? Many feel stymied, even intimidated, by the possibility of buying a thing or a service without reaching into their pockets for the familiar green and white printed paper buried in their wallets or stuffed into their handbags. Others still are suspicious of initiating a click on their computers without the inevitable follow-up act of volunteering sensitive personal credit card information.

But once you come to appreciate how bitcoin enables you to bypass the banking system and any intermediary altogether, you’ll feel only too happy to embrace a commercial transaction without using traditional money or plastic.

The fundamental way all of us can become more comfortable with bitcoin is to rethink the idea of money and currency altogether. What is money and what is currency, after all? In his positively reviewed 2013 book, Money,TheUnauthorized Biography — From Coinage to Cryptocurrencies http://www.amazon.com/Money-Unauthorized-Biography-From-Coinage-Cryptocurrencies/dp/0345803558, former World Bank official, Felix Martin, provides us with an alternative definition to the traditional definition of money we’ve come to accept without examination or question:

“Coins and currency … are useful tokens to record the underlying system of credit accounts and to implement the underlying process of clearing….But currency is not itself money. Money is the system of credit accounts and their clearing that currency represents.

…The vast majority of our national money – around 90 per cent in the U.S., for example, and 97 per cent in the UK – has no physical existence at all. It consists merely of our account balances at our banks. The only tangible apparatus employed in most monetary payments today is a plastic card and a keypad.”

There you have it – money is not truly a physical object, per se, but rather “the system of credit accounts and their clearing.”

Once you read through the exhaustive history he cites, and give the matter some thought, you’ll realize Martin’s analysis is unassailable. You’ll realize too that former U.S. Mint Director, Ed Moy, nails the essence of bitcoin when he writes:

“…The physical form of money has evolved from commodities to precious metal, to coins and paper bills and to electronic representations. Digital currency is just the next step in the development arc of money http://www.newsmax.com/Finance/Ed-Moy/cryptocurrencies-bitcoin-book-money/2015/05/29/id/647430/.”

And if we actually do rethink the definition of money, we canappreciate what Felix Martin means when he refers to money as “social technology,” and what writers about digital currency mean when they report how the bitcoin system works through “peer-to-peer technology.” They give a whole new meaning to the time-honored maxim “money talks.” Indeed it does – but in a more universal language.