Crouching Tiger, Hidden Crypto
It’s all happening in Cryptopia, so buckle up and HODL on.
Bitcoin has had a short lifespan so far, some ten years (although the last bitcoin will be mined in 2140, more than a century away). In its short life, bitcoin has been banned over 2000 times in China alone (the government kept banning BTC and unbanning it, as arguments raged around whether BTC was a commodity, a currency, or a threat to national security).
This month, October 2019, the Chinese President Xi Jinping called on his country to “seize opportunities” in blockchain technology.
In what some reporters are likening to the “space race” between the USA and the USSR in the 1960’s, China has taken a bold step where the USA feared to tread. In the USA, Facebook has had its ‘worldwide currency’ Libra project soundly trounced by US Congress, yet China is diving headlong into blockchain, with the government’s blessing.
If you listen to western mainstream media, you will hear bad things about China, such as human rights issues or dictatorial control from Communist leaders. The USA would love to think that it’s the greatest country, or the land of the free, but wait… and watch.
Look at what is happening to freedom in the west. CCTV’s are everywhere, and the (supposedly free country) Australia has implemented facial recognition into Perth and Brisbane. Anyone who has watched a TV crime show knows that the FBI/CIA etc can track down criminal suspects by using the phone towers, and it is no longer paranoia to think that *anyone* can be a criminal suspect, therefore anyone can be tracked, traced and identified.
Location freedom gone. Facial freedom gone. Financial freedom? Well, there are the cash bans to reflect on.
Australia has implemented a ban on cash transactions over $10 000, and anyone who has over $10k in cash sitting at home can go to prison for two years. In several countries in Europe, the cash bans are as low as €2000. One can only wonder what the Chinese newspapers are saying about “freedom” in the west.
Despite western concerns that a Chinese digital currency could be used for monitoring its citizens, the Chinese themselves seem to be embracing the crypto revolution.
Chinese Congress passed a cryptography law in the last week of October 2019, which will not be effective until January 1st 2020, but things move fast in the land of the erstwhile sleeping dragon.
Within hours of the news, the Chinese began piling into bitcoin research and purchases. WeChat (China’s google, with over a Billion users) saw a 1200% increase in queries for “blockchain”.
On October 25th, the day of the Chinese president’s announcement, there were 9.2 million searches for “Blockchain” and 1.3 million for “Bitcoin.” Bitcoin’s price surged around 40% in one day. It’s amazing what can happen when a billion people step into a market…
Asian coins surged; Bytom (BTM) jumped 86%. VeChain (VET) and Neo (NEO) rose 25%. Qtum (QTUM) and Ontology (ONT) both spiked over 15%.
Those who have been around in the crypto space for a few years will remember to be cautiously optimistic. We recall three or four years ago when bitcoin was mostly known only to computer nerds, anarchists and secret billionaires with doomsday bunkers.
In 2017, the price zoomed up enough to catch the attention of the mainstream media, and the bitcoin price went bananas when it received so much publicity. In early 2017, a single bitcoin was priced at US$998. By December, they were changing hands for US$19 700. You can see why an almost 2000% return would make the news. But after this meteoric rise, the price tanked, reaching $6000 by February 2018.
For those who had bought one year earlier, they were still up by over 500%. For those who came in late to the bitcoin party, you may have seen your investment slashed by more than half. This volatility is common in new investments, with bitcoin having crashed down by 50% to 70% several times in its earlier years. Those who held on for the longer term enjoyed far greater gains than what their losses were.
Many of the altcoin projects have faltered or crashed also, some by up to 90%. Fundamentals may indicate that some will bounce back, but without crystal balls, the only way to know which altcoins will recover, how soon and how large, is to wait and see.
Regardless of what crypto projects emerge from China’s foray into blockchain, the increased exposure is a reason to celebrate. China has a massive population, and a burgeoning middle class. There are reportedly now more billionaires in greater China than in the USA. The people who used to work on farms just two decades ago are now working in factories, high-rises, boardrooms and yachts.
The government in China may be guilty of a few bad decisions, but as Confucius said, “You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs”. Never before in the history of our planet, have we seen such an incredible number of people lifted from poverty to prosperity in less than one generation.
The Chinese population is larger than India, larger than Africa and has the power to shift entire economic markets. We look forward to seeing new crypto projects emerge from industrious and ingenious Chinese engineers. Be warned: just like 2017, with such huge new numbers of people entering the crypto universe, there will be more volatility, so buckle up for more potential 30% to 50% drops, followed by 1000% gains. With another billion people into crypto markets, there will also likely be an increase in crypto phishing attacks, spams, scams and flim-flams. Stay safe.
Closer to home, we have seen good performance from some projects
Binance coin (BNB) up 180%
Basic Attention Token (BAT) up 128%
SnagRide up a massive 282%
ChainLink up 242%
Celsius up 127%
For those who have not yet seen our #Cryllionaire video interview with Celsius, take the time to watch and learn how to get paid for holding crypto.
Tech Stocks
Stock in SuperLoop (ASX: SLC) is down 5-10% this month due to another round of capital raising, but as the SuperLoop is literally the tollroad on which all blockchain runs, we expect to make good income from this in the longer-term.
If you have not heard of SuperLoop, imagine a 50-lane highway running from Sydney to Perth, and then the same 50-lane highway taking a detour to run all the way from Perth to Singapore. Instead of cars on roads, it is blockchain and internet traffic running on 10 000 kilometres of fibre-optics. The system is vastly in excess of current and predicted future needs, so even if 20% of your friends want self-driving cars and smart fridges, SLC has you covered.
Free Swag
Just as SLC has our future blockchain needs covered, we would like to cover you in BostonCoin gear. Let’s face it, it’s great marketing for us, plus you get to look really good with great products plus a cute puppy logo. It brings a much bigger smile to anyone who sees it, rather than most other weird-looking crypto logos
Simply invest $5000 or more into BostonCoin before December 1st to secure a sweet Christmas gift. You can also refer a friend to invest and we will *double* the gifts. Stay paws-itive, puppy pack.
It’s a long way to Cryptopia, but with China endorsing blockchain, now we have a billion new travel companions.
BOS NAV at 29/10/2019 26.7829
BostonCoin Price 29.4612
