https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/01/bitcoin-btc-is-at-a-tipping-point-citi-says.html PUBLISHED MON, MAR 1 20217:38 AM ESTUPDATED MON, MAR 1 202112:27 PM EST Ryan Browne@RYAN_BROWNE_ SHARE KEY POINTS Bitcoin could one day “become the currency of choice for international trade,” Citi said in a research note Monday. The cryptocurrency is “at the tipping point of mainstream acceptance or a speculative implosion,” the bank added. Bitcoin’s wild ascent over the last few months has forced big Wall Street players to reevaluate the cryptocurrency. A customer uses a bitcoin automated teller machine (ATM) in a kiosk Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Angel Garcia | Bloomberg | Getty Images Citi thinks bitcoin is at a “tipping point” and could one day “become the currency of choice for international trade” as companies like Tesla and PayPal warm to it and central banks explore issuing their own digital currencies. “There are a host of risks and obstacles that stand in the way of Bitcoin progress,” the U.S. bank’s global perspectives and solutions team wrote in a note Monday. “Bitcoin’s future is thus still uncertain, but developments in the near term are likely to prove decisive as the currency balances at the tipping point of mainstream acceptance or a speculative implosion.” It marks a change in tone for major financial institutions on bitcoin. Many banks have historically shunned the digital asset, arguing it has no intrinsic value and the hype surrounding it is akin to the tulip mania of the 17th century. But bitcoin’s wild ascent over the last few months has forced big Wall Street players to reevaluate the cryptocurrency. BNY Mellon, the oldest bank in the U.S., last month said it would offer custody services for bitcoin and other digital currencies. Meanwhile, JPMorgan has said it’s looking seriously as bitcoin. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are often subject to wild bouts of volatility. Just over a week after hitting an all-time high of more than $58,000, bitcoin’s price has shed more than $10,000. It’s still up more than 60% on the year and 460% in the last 12 months. Crypto investors say bitcoin’s latest bull run is unlike previous cycles — including in 2017, when it rose to nearly $20,000 before plummeting 80% the following year — as it has been driven by increased participation from institutional investors. Initially created as a digital payments system for bypassing banks and other financial middlemen, bitcoin has since gained traction among mainstream investors as a kind of “digital gold” that can act as a hedge against rising inflation. There are several hurdles that bitcoin would have to overcome before seeing mainstream adoption, according to Citi. “The entrance of institutional investors has sparked confidence in cryptocurrency but there are still persistent issues that could limit widespread adoption,” Citi said. “For institutional investors, these include concerns over capital efficiency, insurance and custody, security, and ESG considerations from Bitcoin mining,” the bank added. “Security issues with cryptocurrency do occur, but when compared to traditional payments, it performs better.” Bitcoin mining — the process that releases new coins into circulation — requires a considerable amount of power. So-called miners with purpose-built computers are competing to solve complex math puzzles to verify transactions. According to Digiconomist, bitcoin’s network has a carbon footprint on par with that of New Zealand. This has alarmed environmental activists. Last month, analysts at JPMorgan called bitcoin an “economic side show” and said crypto assets ranked as the “poorest hedge” against significant drops in stock prices. The rise of digital finance and demand for fintech alternatives is the “real transformation story of the Covid-19 era,” they added.
if one is looking way to store value, then you might want to buy farm land. (that story line makes more sense than buying computer bits, and turn them into value
Citi is doing what so many Bitcoin bears don't - they're not looking so much at Bitcoin rather the role something like Bitcoin is going to play in the new virtual/digital economy that's being built right before our eyes. When people do that, they almost certainly buy some Bitcoin (and maybe ETH).
Banks already use cryptos/blockchain for money transfers but guess what, it ain't Bitcoin. https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/01/27/3-banks-that-have-big-plans-for-blockchain-and-cry/ And as we know, a fast appreciating asset is not good for currency usage.
%% Farmland/RE can be good.That makes more sense than bitcon or C priced @$7 +/ on a reverse 10 times stock split. It can pay sometimes to split RE also. Wonder if someone could rent bitcon\they used to rent pineapples for $8,000 as @ first discovery\then pineapple plantations + mania disinterest changed everything..................................................................
Stop it Curt because when the bears find out just what's going on in DeFi, they're not going to be happy. DeFi is why people like Dan Loeb are starting to deep dive into crypto. I'd say he's being forced to look, not forced by anyone, rather forced because he's obviously very smart and keeps his nose to the ground. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if he's using the bears and their constant and self-assured screaming of scams, ponzis and the like. Perhaps thinking - if that group don't like something and they're generally known for their bad calls and judgement, it means there's probably something there and I should start to get involved.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_S._Loeb#Investment_philosophy Investment philosophy New York magazine noted that Loeb's "preferred strategy" is to buy into troubled companies, replace inefficient management, and return the companies to profitability, which "is the key to his success."[4] Letters On Wall Street, Loeb has a reputation for "financial savvy" and for "his withering criticism of corporate executives who are unfortunate enough to stumble in his sights".[10] One of Loeb's signature tactics involves letter-writing: Loeb is well known in Hedgeworld for his attacks on what he views as greedy execs who also happen to be depressing shareholder value of shares he owns. "The moral-indignation business", Loeb sometimes calls it. "Hedge-fund guys love to read Loeb's attacks; 'he articulates what people feel', says one."[4] Often these letters cite the results of investigations he has ordered, detailing management decisions and actions he considers detrimental to shareholder value. The letters usually accompany his government filings.[4] Loeb once spent more than $4 million to increase his stake in a company to more than 5%, the statutory threshold requiring investor filings with the SEC, in order to file one of his letters criticizing the firm's management.[4] According to New York magazine, "Loeb is proud of his letters, which are thorough, well argued, and filled with clever turns of phrase. (He had a batch prepared for his high-school English teacher.)"[4] A 2005 New Yorker "The Talk of the Town" item described him as "a kind of investor's H. L. Mencken."[55] In a 2005 letter responding to a job inquiry by a U.K. fund manager Loeb bristled at the applicant's reference to his (the applicant's) "place in society", telling the applicant that he would "have plenty of time to discuss your 'place in society' with the other fellows at the club." At Third Point, Loeb explained, "'one's place in society' does not matter at all. We are a bunch of scrappy guys from diverse backgrounds (Jewish, Muslim, Hindu etc) who enjoy outwitting pompous asses like yourself in financial markets globally."[56] Similarly, in a September 2005 letter to Ligand Pharmaceuticals CEO David Robinson, Loeb expressed wonder that Ligand's board of directors had not shown Robinson "the door long ago – accompanied by a well worn boot planted in the backside."[56] Loeb sent a letter to John Collins, chairman and CEO of InterCept, in 2004, accusing InterCept of following "a 'good ol' boy' set of ethics", pointing out that InterCept employed Collins' daughter and son-in-law, the latter of whom Loeb had recently reached by phone on a golf course during working hours. Loeb further noted his discovery that InterCept leased a jet from a partnership controlled by Collins and another board member.[56] He wrote to Irik Sevin, CEO of Star Gas Partners, in February 2005, calling him "one of the most dangerous and incompetent executives in America" and accusing him of "ineptitude" and of using the firm as his "personal 'honey pot'". He wrote: "I was amused to learn, in the course of our investigation, that at Cornell University there is an 'Irik Sevin Scholarship'. One can only pity the poor student who suffers the indignity of attaching your name to his academic record." Loeb demanded the resignation from the firm's board of Sevin's "elderly 78-year old mom" and insisted that Sevin also "step down ... so that you can do what you do best: retreat to your waterfront mansion in the Hamptons where you can play tennis and hobnob with your fellow socialites."[56] A 2005 The New York Times article reported that many hedge-fund managers were now writing letters to the SEC demanding executives take specific actions and cited Loeb's letter to Sevin as exemplary of the genre, noting that three weeks after the letter was sent, "Sevin was gone, and a jubilant Mr. Loeb sent out an e-mail message to friends and associates declaring a 'huge victory for Third Point.'"[57]