Skip to main content

WHAT IS BITCOIN?

Bitcoin is an online currency operating as a peer-to-peer network. Miners produce, and sell bitcoins, and the price rises as more bitcoins are bought. The commodity 's price has skyrocketed recently, rising over $1000 per bitcoin between 4/25/17-5/25/17.
Satoshi Nakamoto is the anonymous name of the creator(s) of bitcoin. The currency was created in January 2009. Nakamoto's motivation for creating bitcoin was to create a currency which was not controlled by a centralized body such as a government susceptible to turmoil, but rather by a computer program. As such, bitcoin is impervious to foreign exchange rates, and can be used for international trade without the requirement of changing currencies.
The currency is generated through bitcoin mining. Bitcoins are “mined” by solving mathematical tasks which increase with difficulty as the number of bitcoins grows. As of the time of this post, approximately 16,350,000 bitcoins exist. To put the rate of growth in perspective, there were 16,000,000 bitcoins in circulation in 11/2016. The number of total bitcoins which may exist within bitcoin's network is capped at 21,000,000.  When a mathematician produces a hash by cracking the mathematical puzzle from a certain “block” of the software, they are presented with 25 bitcoins, and have the option of selling or exchanging the bitcoin for goods. While a government controls the value of a currency by printing, or declining to print the currency, bitcoin is only regulated by the success of the miners solving the mathematical blocks with hashes.
The increase in complexity that comes with each hash solved requires faster processors which will not overheat while mining the data. Demand for processors capable of mining bitcoins has led to the success of several companies such as bitmain, a processor developer.
In 2015, over 100,000 merchants accepted bitcoin. The number has only grown since. Some of the more notable companies accepting bitcoin currently are Paypal, and Expedia. There are also debit cards that utilize bitcoin to fund transactions with merchants who do not accept the currency.

Trading bitcoin on the stock exchange is possible through GBTC. GBTC is a bitcoin investment trust with a market cap of $530.1 million. As companies perfect the payment processing system with bitcoin, wall street may see more companies dealing in the currency come public, as the demand from small and large businesses alike to process transactions with this growing currency increases.

SOURCES:









Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PXD STOCK WRITE UP

 PXD (PIONEER NATURAL RESOURCES) P/E: N/A GAAP DILUTED Y-O-Y EPS GROWTH LAST QUARTER: $.67 SECTOR: ENERGY MINERALS ASSETS-LIABILITIES: 1.58 DIVIDEND: .04% Pioneer Natural Resources has recently made the jaw-dropping switch from negative EPS to positive with its last quarter. Situated in the largest oil-producing region in the US, the company is utilizing its good fortune to produce profits. The company has a good balance sheet, a wealth of resources, and a business model which has afforded it growth. This last quarter does not mark the first occasion on which Pioneer has posted a profit. In 2014, and 2012, Pioneer posted a positive EPS for the full year. While the 2016 oil and gas revenues have grown from 2015, the 2014 and 2012 levels were higher. The company's revenue from oil and gas is largely based on market prices. In order to mitigate the market volatility, Pioneer has made efforts to reduce their cost of production, according to their earnin...
1 comment
Read more

CLS STOCK WRITE UP

CLS (CELESTICA) P/E: 15.1 GAAP DILUTED EPS Y-O-Y GROWTH LAST QUARTER: $.14 SECTOR: ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY ASSETS-LIABILITIES: 1.78 DIVIDEND: none Celestica, a spinoff from IBM, manufactures electronics and provides supply chain services for a variety of businesses. The company has successfully improved upon its operating margins and revenue during its last fiscal year. Reporting April 20 th before market open, the company will try to beat Wall street expectations of $.28 and its own guidance of $.24-$.3. Celestica provides services for the communications, consumer, server, and storage industries, as well as working in diversified companies. This wide array of services gives Celestica the opportunity to expand on revenue when one of its segments is lagging. Rather than developing new products to boost revenue, Celestica must rely on increasing customer satisfaction by managing supply chains well for its clients. In order to showcase their services,...
Post a Comment
Read more

GOOG STOCK WRITE UP

GOOG (ALPHABET INC) P/E: 31.7 GAAP DILUTED EPS GROWTH Q4 '15 to Q4 '16: $.50 SECTOR: TECHNOLOGY SERVICES ASSETS-LIABILITIES: 5.8 DIVIDEND: NONE This stock is a new addition to my portfolio. The price-to-earnings multiple is higher than my target price-to-earnings multiple, but I decided to purchase the stock due to its solid year-over-year EPS growth, positive chart alignment, positive cash flow, ubiquitous market presence, and rapid growth in the technology sector. I believe this stock will head much higher, and that its earnings will keep up with the rapid pace of its growth to ensure its stability. Google became a popular product due to its excellent search engine. As a result of its success, with approximately 80.5% of global market share according to a recent survey, Google has built a strong revenue base through its advertising services. However, Google has taken the challenge of expanding its services beyond the search engine field i...
Post a Comment
Read more