Tag: Bitcoin (CME:BRTI)

Bitcoin; Let's Just Call It What It Is, A Speculative Investment

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


An investment, as described by Webster dictionary, can be anything that an investor believes will produce income in the future or be worth more than it is today at some point in the future. Common investments include but are not limited to stocks, bonds, real estate, jewelry, artwork, or antiques.

Speculation, again as described by Webster dictionary, is the assumption of unusual business risk in hopes of obtaining commensurate gain. The dictionary has a definition of speculation specifically for students or kids which is, 'the taking of a big risk in business in hopes of making a big profit.'

The current situation with Bitcoin can best be explained by quoting the Merriam-Webster website when it is explaining speculation.

"Speculation can increase short-term volatility (and thus, risk). It can inflate prices and lead to bubbles, as was the case in the 2005-2006 real estate market in the UniteStates. Speculators who were betting that home prices would continue to increase purchased houses (often using leverage) intending to "flip" them for a profit. This increased the demand for housing, which raised prices further, eventually taking them beyond the "true value" of the real estate in many markets. The frenzied selling that ensued is typical for speculative markets."

Currently, it would be hard for anyone to argue that Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies aren't experiencing speculator behavior based on the above explanation. Continue reading "Bitcoin; Let's Just Call It What It Is, A Speculative Investment" →

Crude Oil Bounces Back

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Hello traders everywhere. Crude Oil (NYMEX:CL.Z17.E) had fallen as much as 1.4% in early morning trading heading for its first two-day decline in more than a month, but has since reversed course and is heading higher on the day. The reason for the early fall was a report on Wednesday by the U.S. Government that found swelling crude stockpiles, shrinking overseas demand and skyrocketing output from American wells.

MarketClub's Mid-day Market Report

The output from U.S. oil wells climbed by 0.7% last week to 9.62 million barrels a day, the highest seven-day figure since federal officials began tracking weekly data in 1983.

Crude stockpiles climbed to 457.1 million barrels last week, while inventories at the key Cushing, Oklahoma, pipeline hub rose by 720,000 barrels to the highest level since May, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Crude exports fell by 1.26 million barrels a day. Meanwhile, gasoline stockpiles declined to the lowest level since November 2014 and distillate stocks were at the lowest since March 2015.

Earlier in the day, ConocoPhillips announced a surprise 22% increase in next year's drilling budget, the latest signal that U.S. output may not be slowing down anytime soon.

Key levels to watch this week: Continue reading "Crude Oil Bounces Back" →

The Modern Gold Rush: These Three Stocks Could Benefit

Posted on by Aibek Burabayev

Aibek Burabayev - INO.com Contributor - Metals


History repeats again and again as human beings don’t change; they only change on the surface. There is a good lesson learned from the Gold Rush in the 19th century – there were some lucky diggers, who made a fortune, at the same time many merchants who were selling equipment and jeans became rich. But many adventurers left broke.

These days we have the Crypto-Mining Gold Rush led by Bitcoin with a market share of more than 60% and market capitalization over $124 billion. This coin is worth as much as the Hungarian GDP and exceeded the market cap of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) – one of those “merchants” selling “shovels” to modern “diggers” aka miners.

Today, as long ago, the competition gives an advantage to cooperated mining pools with the most advanced equipment, lowest electricity, and labor costs. That’s why there is no surprise that the top mining pools are located in China (70% of the Bitcoin hashrate).

There are two main types of suppliers to the crypto mining industry: electricity suppliers (up to 70% of all mining costs) and equipment suppliers. The massive demand for mining equipment attracts nimble middlemen, for instance, they resell the ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits, microchips) for 2x-3x of the original price tag, making relatively risk-free money on modern “diggers” that risk a lot. Continue reading "The Modern Gold Rush: These Three Stocks Could Benefit" →

Job Growth Spurs Stock Market Higher

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Hello traders everywhere. U.S. job growth accelerated in October after hurricane-related disruptions in the prior month, but a sharp retreat in annual wage gains and surge in the number of people dropping out of the workforce cast a cloud over the labor market. Despite the mixed news, the stock market is heading towards record highs after a somewhat weak opening.

MarketClub's Mid-day Market Report

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 261,000 jobs last month as 106,000 leisure and hospitality workers returned to work, the Labor Department said in its closely watched employment report on Friday. That was the largest gain since July 2016 but below economists’ expectations for an increase of 310,000 jobs. Continue reading "Job Growth Spurs Stock Market Higher" →

Bitcoin Becomes Impossible To Ignore

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Hello traders everywhere. I'm sure you've read and seen how Bitcoin (CME:BRTI) hit all-time highs today. The latest record surge has been brought on by an announcement from the CME that they are finally going to bring their long-awaited Bitcoin futures product to market. They intend to launch bitcoin futures in the fourth quarter of 2017, pending all relevant regulatory review periods.

The new contract will be cash-settled, based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR) which serves as a once-a-day reference rate of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin. Bitcoin futures will be listed on and subject to the rules of CME.

I believe this news legitimizes Bitcoin as a currency for all those skeptics out there. It's going to be tough to ignore moving forward and must be looked at in the same vein as gold and the U.S. dollar.

Disagree? Leave a comment below and let me know.

MarketClub's Mid-day Market Report

Key levels to watch this week: Continue reading "Bitcoin Becomes Impossible To Ignore" →