Bitcoin: Now Coming To a Trading Screen Near You? Reply

  MarketsMuse Editor Note: On the heels of the recent announcement that the proposed Bitcoin ETF aka “Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust” with slated ticker symbol COIN is about to be bankable by ETF traders and investors, below extract courtesy of Traders Magazine Online News, July 15, 2014, written by Gregg Wirth

Bitcoin, the crypto-currency that initially became infamous as the tender of choice for drug traffickers and mercenaries, may be coming to a trading desk or institutional portfolio near you – and sooner than you think.

“2014 is going to be the year Bitcoin hits Wall Street,” said Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of SecondMarket, a capital-raising platform for private companies and investment funds. Indeed, there is a growing consensus in some corners of Wall Street and the buyside community that the $7.8 billion  Bitcoin industry is going to become the new, flashy darling of investors, with dedicated digital currency funds, venture capitalists and asset managers all chasing after those 12 million bitcoins currently in circulation.

“Digital currencies like Bitcoin are not going away,” Silbert explained. “And Wall Street and the regulators know this, they’ve studied how to deal with it, and now they are starting to understand its potential.” SecondMarket has gone heavy into the Bitcoin phenomenon, launching the Bitcoin Investment Trust, a $70 million open-ended trust that invests exclusively in bitcoins, as well as a dedicated desk of 10 traders who buy and sell bitcoins for the trust and other institutional clients. SecondMarket is also creating what it hopes to be the largest, best-capitalized and well-run Bitcoin exchange in the U.S., and is enlisting banks and Bitcoin-related firms to be exchange members.

The Anger Indicator: A Rareview Reply

Below extract courtesy of this a.m.’s edition of Rareview Macro’s Sight Beyond Sight..(Re-published with permission from Neil Azous)

Neil Azous, Rareview Macro LLC

Here is an aggregation of the various statistics either sent to us from subscribers or we came across during our readings this weekend.

1.  Japan Government Pension Fund (GPIG):  Apple (AAPL), Exxon and Microsoft have the heaviest weighting in the MSCI Kokusai Index; ~87% of GPIF’s foreign stock holdings follow this benchmark. (Source:  Eurofaultlines)

2.  As far as we can tell the degree of these inflows have not yet been widely observed by other paid forecasters on the Street. EM Portfolio Inflows Reach New High In May: Our EM portfolio flows tracker indicates that portfolio inflows to emerging economies continued their upward trend of the last several months, reaching the highest level since September 2012, when the Fed launched QE3 (Chart 1). In May, EMs are estimated to have received $45 billion in portfolio inflows from global investors, up from $28 billion in April and $27 billion in March. The May figure reflects $28 billion going into EM bond markets (portfolio debt flows,Chart 2) and $17 billion into EM stock markets (portfolio equity flows, Chart 3). (Source: Institute of International Finance) Report

3.  This week the S&P 500 will surpass the 1995-96 record for number of consecutive days in which the index has traded above its 200-day moving average.

4.  SPY closed above its upper Bollinger 5 days in a row through Friday. SPY has only closed above its upper Bollinger 4 days in a row 4 times since 2009. (Source: Fat Pitch)

5.  Relative Strength Indicators (RSI)

a.  The S&P 500 (SPY) 9-day RSI is over 70 = Overbought

b.  The NASDAQ (NDX) 9-day RSI is 74 and AAPL’s is 80 = Overbought

c.  The Transports (IYT) 9-day RSI is over 77 = Overbought

d.  The Semiconductors SOX) 9-day RSI is over 70 = Overbought

6.  Since 1950, the DJIA has lost -1.9% and SPX -2.1% in June. The last 20 years have been even weaker. Moreover, the SPX has been down in 11 of the last 16 mid-term elections Junes (Source: Stock Traders Almanac).

7.  The VIX has closed below 12 for five straight days, the longest streak at that level since 2007 (Source:  Volatility Trader)

Batter Up: New Hedge Fund For Bitcoins Reply

  Below excerpt is hot of the press and courtesy of one of MarketsMuse’s favorite outlets: FINalternatives..

Coin Capital Management is this week launching a Bitcoin-focused hedge fund, which will buy and hold the leading crypto-currency in an institutional grade environment.

“We are pretty excited about Bitcoin…it is an exciting payment technology,” said Samuel Cahn, managing partner at the New York-based firm. “We are fully dedicated to holding Bitcoin, and we are the first ones to do so in an institutional grade hedge fund using the same types of checks and balances that investors have come to expect.”

For the rest of the reporting, please visit FINalternatives

Bitcoin: Debunking the Myths Reply

Courtesy of TABB Contributor Nicholas Colas, ConvergEx Group

In the rush to understand what bitcoin is – and isn’t – the public discussion on the topic has gotten a bit muddy. Here are 11 bitcoin myths and the reality under the hype and confusion.

MarketsMuse Editor Note: In deference to copyright and proprietary content protocols, below are 7 of the 11 myths characterized by Nick Colas.. Link below brings you to the full article at TABB Forum. If you are not a paying subscriber, no worries; unconfirmed rumors indicate that TABB is said to be pondering the acceptance of Bitcoins

Haters gonna hate, but the “Bitcoin bubble” meme has become the financial equivalent of a viral online cat video – wildly popular but pretty vacuous. Today we separate fact from fiction and review 11 bitcoin myths.

Myth #1: Bitcoin is huge

Myth #2: Bitcoin is a major problem in dealing with drugs and terrorism

Myth #3: Bitcoin is a currency. Reality: Bitcoin really is a cross between a mutually held company or large partnership and a money transfer business.

Myth #4: Bitcoin has never been more volatile than now, with all the attention it is getting.

Myth #6: Bitcoin is a store of value.

Myth #7: Bitcoin is untraceable.

Myth #8: Loss of anonymity will make bitcoin worthless.

To read the full article from TABB, click here.

Is a #Bitcoin ETF Next?? Reply

Courtesy of ETF Trends’ Tom Lydon

Bitcoins, a type of highly encrypted digital currency, are surging on a wave of speculation and demand for alternative currencies as central banks continue to print.

Could we soon see the launch of a Bitcoin ETF? It’s an interesting idea, but experts say don’t hold your breath.

Bitcoins, which trade hands online, have surged over 14% in the past week, reports Jeff Cox for CNBC. The digital currency has jumped to $250. The Bitcoin is a type of decentralized digital currency based on a peer-to-peer network and can be exchanged through computers internationally without a financial intermediary. The system was first introduced by developer Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009.

As the digital currency gains momentum, some have floated the idea of a ETF backed by Bitcoins. Alternatively, Bitcoins could be a candidate for the exchange traded note structure, but the sponsoring bank would have to be willing to back the appreciation or depreciation of the Bitcoin currency. What started off as a joke, may not seem like a joke at all.

“With global BitCoin exposure north of $2 billion and global currencies on the verge of a valuation war one has to wonder how this new asset is going to make its way into our lives,” said Chris Hempstead, director of ETF execution services at WallachBeth Capital.

Nevertheless, Hempstead does not believe Bitcoins can be structured to fit the ETF vehicle. For instance, if a Bitcoin ETF were to act like another currency offering, it would require futures contracts.

“You’d need securities that are based in Bitcoins,” Hempstead said. “Since the Bitcoin is unregulated and no futures exist, an ETF is not possible today.”

For the full article from ETF Trends, please click here