- Published: 05 June 2015
- Written by Investor Ideas
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?
A: David Berger, Founder and CEO, Digital Currency Council (DCC)
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?
A: David Berger, Founder and CEO, Digital Currency Council (DCC)
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?
A: David Berger, Founder and CEO, Digital Currency Council (DCC)
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?
A: David Berger, Founder and CEO,Digital Currency Council (DCC)
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 www.briankellycapital.com
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.
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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