Experts Talk about the Future of Bitcoin; the Obstacles and Opportunity
Author and Expert Brian Kelly; David Berger, Founder of Digital Currency
Council; Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial Corp. (OTCQB: BITXF) and Michael
Sonnenshein, Director-Sales & Business Development of Bitcoin
Investment Trust (OTCQX:GBTC),
Discuss Bitcoin
Point Roberts WA, New York, NY – June 4, 2015 -
Investorideas.com, a global news source covering leading sectors including Bitcoin
and payment technology releases commentary
from some of the leading digital currency experts along with management from two
public plays within the sector.
As Wall Street and global financial markets enter the space, these experts give insight into the future of Bitcoin and the obstacles and the opportunities it presents.
The following are questions and answers from the
participating experts; Brian Kelly, author of the book "The Bitcoin Big
Bang www.briankellycapital.com, David Berger,
Founder and CEO, Digital Currency Council (DCC), Mr.
Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial Corp. (OTCQB: BITXF) and Michael Sonnenshein, Director of Sales
& Business Development, Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCQX: GBTC).
Read this interview in full at http://www.investorideas.com/CO/BITXF/news/2015/06041.asp
Interviews:
Brian Kelly
Q: Investorideas.com
You have said you were a skeptic like many in the
beginning and now you are a respected expert in the sector. With recent
acceptance from The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Goldman
Sachs, Richard Branson and a list of new entries every day, what do you see as
the turning point for Bitcoin becoming legitimate?
A: Brian Kelly, author of the book "The Bitcoin Big Bang”
It seems that financial institutions finally
realized that Bitcoin and the blockchain is more than a currency. They realized
it is a tool to flatten the costs of financial services.
Q: Investorideas.com
Do you see many publicly-traded stocks in play now
and are you hearing of IPO’s in the space?
A: Brian Kelly, author of the book "The Bitcoin Big Bang”
I would expect IPOs in the next 3 years. If
we use internet companies in 1995 as a template, it took about three years for
major IPOs.
Q: Investorideas.com
With the major financial institutions now getting
involved, where do you see Bitcoin headed in the next few years and how will it
impact the future of currency?
A: Brian Kelly, author of the book "The Bitcoin Big Bang”
A year ago the survival of Bitcoin was 50/50...with
recent investments it's clear that blockchain technology is here to stay.
David Berger
Q: Investorideas.com
Can you give us background on the creation of the Digital
Currency Council (DCC) and why you formed it?
The early mission of The Digital Currency Council
was to set a common standard of understanding amongst professionals and help
those professionals achieve that standard.
Today, our over 1500 members across 90 countries are using the knowledge
they've gained to build various exciting businesses and streamline existing
business processes. Our software is
integral to these more complex efforts.
Q: Investorideas.com
With a primary focus of education, what kind of
individuals and companies are you seeing come forward to understand Bitcoin and
what percentage of the financial community at large do you think is getting
involved now?
We are at the very beginning. Most individuals and firms have a very
limited understanding. Our work with
these individuals and firms begins with general competency training. These general competencies are sufficient to
ensure that a firm is aware of the opportunities and risks. Our customized software solutions help those
firms that recognize an opportunity to capitalize.
Q: Investorideas.com
What do you see as the primary obstacles to the
acceptance of digital currency?
It's important that we ensure that bad actors don't
hijack this groundbreaking technology.
The general public will accept and adopt technologies that make their
lives better but only if they trust that the risk doesn't outweigh the
benefit.
Q: Investorideas.com
What do you see for Bitcoin within the next year
and over the next 5 years?
The next five years will bring increased
integration, complexity, and utility. Bitcoin
will become so easy to use that you won't even realize you're using it.
Brad Moynes
Q: Investorideas.com
What do you think was the turning point for making
Wall Street and the financial institutions take notice and want to participate
in Bitcoin?
A: Mr. Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial Corp. (OTCQB: BITXF)
The opportunity to develop technology that could
make financial institutions including stock exchanges, broker-dealers, banks,
transfer agencies and the DTC more efficient and less costly to reporting
issuers, investors and consumers would be considered by Wall Street as a really
good thing. The fact that DNCT (blockchain) technology has the potential
to achieve this and that many of these institutions have already invested
considerable capital into the technology at the fastest rate to date, suggests
that the turning point has already occurred. In addition, the recent
announcement that the NYDFS has released the final version of its long-awaited
regulatory framework for digital currency companies shall provide clarity to
the industry as a whole and ease concern regarding over-regulation and the
threat of stifling growth and innovation.
Q: Investorideas.com
What do you think are some of the hurdles and
obstacles for Bitcoin?
A: Mr. Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial Corp. (OTCQB: BITXF)
Perhaps over regulation. Bitcoin appears to
be holding its value at current levels and the Blockchain is gaining
considerable awareness across a broad selection of industries.
I would expect many hurdles & obstacles along the way but
with big break-through ideas later this year and in 2016 to look forward
to.
Q: Investorideas.com
Will your exchange, when launched, offer any
educational tools for trading and investing in Bitcoin? What kind of investors/traders do you see
currently in the space and do you see the demographics changing?
A: Mr. Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial Corp. (OTCQB: BITXF)
The exchange will offer our users the tools they
need to buy & sell crypto-currencies including Bitcoin. Our customer
service will be the best in the business with rapid response time to meet user
demands, answer questions and provide solutions. We will also have a
Bitcoin forum for users to create various discussion topics. Generally these
forums are an excellent way for users to gain information and educate among themselves.
There are several investor/trader profiles which
include day-traders, medium to long-term investors seeking capital gains and entities
who offer investor’s exposure to Bitcoin via open market equity-share purchases
that tie their shares to an underlying asset [bitcoin] on a pre-determined
ratio basis.
A beneficial change to the demographic would be an
increase in demand for bitcoin in day-to-day use and consumer point of sale
purchases.
Michael Sonnenshein
Q:
Investorideas.com
The Bitcoin
Investment Trust’s shares are the first publicly quoted* securities solely
invested in and deriving value from, the price of Bitcoin. Can you tell
investors how investing in the shares of (GBTC) will give them a different
value/investment opportunity than strictly trying to buy and sell Bitcoin?
A:
Michael Sonnenshein, Director of
Sales & Business Development, Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC)
Purchasing Bitcoin outright can be a harrowing
experience for investors. More often than not, they don’t know who to purchase
Bitcoin from (are there counterparties they trust), what price they should pay,
or how to handle Bitcoin safely and securely. Even if investors can
overcome these challenges, storing Bitcoin on one’s own can be a
liability. If Bitcoin holders are hacked or lose the private key to their
Bitcoin wallet, they have zero recourse.
In sharp contrast to this experience, purchasing
shares of The Bitcoin Investment Trust gives investors the ability to gain
exposure to Bitcoin without the aforementioned challenges and through a titled
security in the investor’s name. Consequently, shares are eligible to be
passed onto beneficiaries under estate laws and are eligible to be held in
certain IRA, Roth IRA, and other brokerage and investment accounts (this is not
possible with outright Bitcoin). The Bitcoin Investment Trust has also
brought together credible service providers, as shares are marketed and
distributed through a FINRA-registered broker-dealer, and the Trust’s financial
statements are audited annually by Ernst & Young LLP.
Each share of The Bitcoin Investment Trust
represents approximately 0.1 Bitcoin and shares are tied to a daily 4pm net
asset value that is representative of the Bitcoin market price. Qualified
accredited investors have the ability to purchase shares of The Bitcoin
Investment Trust at the daily NAV through an ongoing private placement. However,
these shares carry resale and transfer limitations. Both accredited and
non-accredited investors have the ability to purchase shares of The Bitcoin
Investment Trust on OTCQX under the symbol: GBTC. These shares have been
deemed freely tradable and are subject to market-driven price movement, which
does not reflect the restricted shares daily NAV.
In offering these two avenues for investors, their Bitcoin
exposure is able to sit alongside their existing investments and their exposure
to Bitcoin is attained through a transparent and familiar experience.
Additionally, as a titled security, The Bitcoin Investment Trust has resonated
well with investors’ financial advisors, lawyers, and accountants. More information
on The Bitcoin Investment Trust is available through its sponsors website, www.grayscale.co
Q:
Investorideas.com
Where does the
company see the Bitcoin industry now as Wall Street has begun to embrace it and
what was the turning point that legitimatized Bitcoin? Where do they see the
future of Bitcoin1-5 years from now?
A:
Michael Sonnenshein, Director of
Sales & Business Development, Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC)
Bitcoin is still in infancy and we’d liken where Bitcoin
and digital currencies are in their development to the internet in the
mid-to-late 1990’s. Namely, just like there were plenty of naysayers who
didn’t believe in the internet’s potential, there are folks who occupy that
same mindset when it comes to Bitcoin. While we can’t be sure of Bitcoin’s
ultimate fate, we can see is that there is an unprecedented amount of venture
capital and human capital pouring into the space. Entrepreneurs are
building the infrastructure and applications that will support Bitcoin’s
continued adoption and usage globally.
Over the past two years, there has been increasing
attention paid to Bitcoin from Wall Street. Every bank, broker-dealer,
asset manager, and other institution had formed internal task forces assigned
to understanding Bitcoin. Recently, many of these firms (and the work of
these internal teams) have begun putting their reputations on the line by
publicly getting involved in Bitcoin with the likes of Goldman Sachs, UBS,
Nasdaq, the NYSE, and other globally recognized institutions integrating Bitcoin
into their businesses and/or making strategic investments in some of the
aforementioned companies laying the ground work for increased adoption. I
think we will continue to see more of these large players get involved in the
space over the coming years and that Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain
technology will ultimately shake up and transform the entire financial services
landscape for the better.
Bios:
Brian Kelly is an investor, author, and financial
markets commentator. He is an expert in global financial markets,
macro-economics and digital currencies. Brian Kelly has over twenty years'
experience in financial markets and is the author of the book "The Bitcoin
Big Bang - How Alternative Currencies are About to Change the World."
Brian is a graduate of the University of Vermont
where he received a B.S. in finance. He also holds an M.B.A. from Babson
Graduate School of Business with a concentration in finance and econometrics.
A passion for investments and entrepreneurship has
led Brian to start several successful investment businesses. His most recent
start-up BKCM LLC is a global investment management firm specializing in Global
Macro and Currency investing.
Prior to BKCM LLC, Brian was Co-Founder and
Managing Partner of Shelter Harbor Capital LLC and managed the Shelter Harbor
Capital Global Macro Hedge Fund. As well, Mr. Kelly was a co-founder and
President of MKM Partners, a brokerage firm catering to institutional
investment managers.
Brian provides money management services to a
select clientele and consults on digital currencies.
David
Berger, Founder and CEO, Digital Currency Council (DCC)
David Berger is the Founder and CEO of The Digital Currency Council (DCC), the leading provider of digital currency-related training, certification, and continuing education. Mr. Berger is an attorney with extensive experience in finance in the United States and Asia. He has a passion for building professional networks that support members’ advancement with actionable commercial insight.
David Berger is the Founder and CEO of The Digital Currency Council (DCC), the leading provider of digital currency-related training, certification, and continuing education. Mr. Berger is an attorney with extensive experience in finance in the United States and Asia. He has a passion for building professional networks that support members’ advancement with actionable commercial insight.
Prior to launching the DCC, Mr. Berger was
the CEO of Americas at Campden Wealth, the parent company of the Institute for
Private Investors – the premier decision support network for ultra high net
worth investors and family offices. Mr. Berger is also the founder of Private
Investor Collective, a Hong Kong-based network for sophisticated private
investors, and played a key role in the development of two network-based
advisory firms for CEOs in Asia Pacific. He also founded Asia Executive
Solutions, a Hong Kong-based strategy consulting firm, where his clients
included SecondMarket, Corporate Executive Board, and NPD Group.
Prior to his career in finance, Mr. Berger
was an attorney in the Washington, DC office of the global law firm O’Melveny
& Myers LLP, where he focused on securities law. Mr. Berger also spent two
years at the United States Department of Justice. He is a graduate of New York
University School of Law and Emory University.
About BIT-X: (OTCQB: BITXF) Bit-X Financial Corp is a Vancouver; British Columbia
based Company listed on the OTC.QB under the trading symbol BITXF. Bit-X
Financial Corp is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia,
Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in
the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC." www.bitxfin.com
About The Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC)
The Bitcoin Investment Trust is a private,
open-ended trust that is invested exclusively in Bitcoin and derives its value
solely from the price of Bitcoin. It enables investors to gain exposure to the
price movement of Bitcoin without the challenge of buying, storing, and
safekeeping Bitcoins. The BIT's sponsor is Grayscale Investments, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group.
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