More than Half of Russians Know About Bitcoin Now
More than half of Russians have some knowledge about bitcoin, according to a new survey. Awareness is higher among young people and in major cities. Three quarters of the Muscovites feel informed about the leading cryptocurrency thanks to 185,000 publications in news outlets. Bitcoin is the most popular word in Russian social media, another study shows.
Also read: Survey: Indians See Brighter Crypto Future than Americans
Young and Online (Profile of the Savvy)
The awareness among young Russians has reached 75% (18 to 24-years-olds), and 71% of all men know about bitcoin. 74% of the residents of the capital Moscow and the second-largest city Saint Petersburg have already learned about the decentralized cryptocurrency.
Few of the informed, however, possess profound knowledge of bitcoin. Only a third of them know that anyone can obtain it – 34%, and some 16% think that bitcoin is actually banned in Russia. More than a quarter know, though, that coins are not only purchased, but can be mined, as well (29%). Another 44% are aware that cashing them out is not yet legalized in Russia.
Better Known as Means of Payment
Despite often described to them as asset and defined as “other property”, 40% of the participants in study know they can use bitcoin to buy and sell goods and services. The question about how secure it is to keep funds on the blockchain divides Russians. 36% of them believe that it’s hard to steal digital cash. The sceptics, who think that’s easy, form 33% of the sample.
Bitcoin is not very popular as an investment opportunity in Russia, the study finds out. Two thirds of the people that know about it, or 67%, consider spending fiat rubles on bitcoins unprofitable. Only 9% of all Russians reckon they will buy the cryptocurrency in the future.
A recent survey conducted by an Indonesian company showed that less than half of the Russian citizens expected wide adoption of cryptocurrencies in the next decade. Russians questioned by VCIOM say the main reason for their anxiety is the insufficient information about bitcoin. The findings of another Russian study, however, point to a trend that may change that assessment.
According to data collected by Medialogia, the number of bitcoin related publications in Russian media has jumped last year to more than 185,000, peaking at 56,000 in December. Changing rates, record highs, and the increasing number of bitcoin billionaires have been widely covered.
Bitcoin Tops Social Media Ratings
“Биткоин“ (bitcoin) has climbed to the top among most popular words in Russian social media. It has been mentioned in 6,543,800 posts, Medialogia statistics revealed. “Блокчейн” (Blockchain) is second with close to 1.8 million posts in 2017. The Russian words for cryptocurrency, mining and etherium have also made it to the top 10, and ICO is number 11.
Not everyone in Russia is ready to make optimistic predictions based on the latest sociological data. VCIOM’s Lead Consulting Expert, Oleg Chernozub, shares a rule of thumb borrowed from “professional investors”:
If the price of an asset is discussed in TV shows for housewives, it will soon crash!
“We shall wait and see”, as the Russian saying goes. Housewives may soon know more about bitcoin than their husbands.
Do you think that the growing awareness of bitcoin will eventually lead to widespread adoption in Russia? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Медиалогия (Medialogia).
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Consumer Protection Association Slams Bank for Blocking Transfers to Bitcoin Exchanges
From Israel to Australia, commercial banks in various parts of the world have tried preventing people from entering the cryptocurrency market by blocking money transfers to bitcoin exchanges. Now the largest consumer association in Portugal has called out a local bank for trying to do the same.
Also Read: U.S. Rating Agency to Issue Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Grades Wednesday
Banco Santander Totta
Founded in 1974, DECO is an independent non-profit association with charity status. It is the largest consumer association in Portugal and has been afforded the status of ‘public utility’. Hopefully its position will help clients make Santander Totta reverse its policy towards transfers to bitcoin exchanges.
Banco de Portugal
The consumer association has determined this action has no legal support basis in Portuguese or European Union laws.
The Portuguese central bank, Banco de Portugal, said that there is no regulatory framework established in the country for virtual currency exchange platforms and its supervisory activity does not include actions related to this specific operational reality, essentially meaning that the central bank hasn’t issued any guidelines instructing banks not to approve money transfers to accounts of bitcoin exchanges. Additionally, at least one other Portuguese commercial bank, Novo Banco, commented to DECO that it has no current restrictions in place to inhibit these operations.
Should any banks be allowed to decide on their own that they are blocking transfers to bitcoin exchanges? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
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This Week in Bitcoin: Up, Down and Sideways
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. From the hubris and excess of the North American Bitcoin Conference to the gloominess of the crypto markets, it’s been a feel-o-coaster of a week. Fear, uncertainty and doubt were the overarching emotions amidst a turbulent seven days, but there was also space for cheer, schadenfreude and disbelief. Welcome to another week in bitcoin.
Also read: Blockchain Rolls Out Trading Feature for 22 States in the U.S.
High Drama Amidst Low Prices
Everyone had a theory behind the slump that saw bitcoin drop below the champagne threshold of $10k for the first time since early December. It was a price bracket that many thought we’d never see again. Theories postulated included threats to ban crypto in South Korea, threats of China cracking down further on bitcoin mining, historical data which shows bitcoin always performs badly in January, or the fact that bitcoin was “overbought” in the run-up to CME and Cboe futures launching last month, and thus a correction was necessary. Some people even chose to blame falling markets on the cycles of the moon, which seems as good a theory as any.
It Came From Korea
It’s impossible to review a week in bitcoin without acknowledging Korea, so here goes: our most popular story concerned government officials profiting on advance knowledge of regulatory action. That’s right, insider trading. Everyone seems to be at it, though it doesn’t require a man on the inside – simply the ability to sense a storm coming, as futures traders appear to have done, according to Eric Wall. He notes “there was an unusual increase in short positions around January 11. At the same time, the price was just bouncing around in the 12800-14200 range.” In other words, the markets looked normal, but futures traders had an inkling that something was brewing.
On Wednesday, every asset in the cryptocurrency top 100 was in the red. 24 hours later and we were back to fields of green. It was a non sequitur the likes of which hasn’t been since 1986 when Dallas’ Bobby Ewing reappeared in the shower after having been killed off in the previous season. In the words of Biggie Smalls, it was all a dream. The dreaming didn’t last for long unfortunately, as by the weekend the market revival had died out and we were back in the low eleven-hundreds. Quick, someone order more tethers.
Bitcoin Gets a Haircut, Bitconnect Gets Scalped
If bitcoiners thought they had it bad, they should spare a thought for bitconnectors. All those with their wealth locked up in the Church of Ponzi had their assets savagely crushed from $290 a token to $18. It would be heartening to say that everyone who got duped by Bitconnect has learned their lesson, but judging by the number of “victims” who are now piling into the Bitconnect X ICO or Davorcoin – yet another Ponzi – the signs aren’t encouraging.
To finish this week’s highlights, of which there are too many to list as usual, we have another tale from South Korea, suggesting that normal banking service may soon be resumed for cryptocurrency exchanges, which is just as well given the rate at which new exchanges are springing up in the country. While the mantle of crypto-friendliest Asian nation resides with Japan for now, in Europe, Belarus is staking a claim as a new haven for crypto’s rax averse.
If you’ve had the temerity to skip straight to the end of this review for the This Week in Bitcoin podcast, here it is. In it you’ll get the tl;dr on this week’s burning stories, delivered by your amiable host Matt Aaron. Catch you next week for more highlights from the heart-stopping world of bitcoin.
What was your favorite story from this week in bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Dallas.
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Grayscale Will Launch Stock Split for Bitcoin Trust Shares
This week the sponsor of the Bitcoin Investment Trust, Grayscale Investments has announced the launch of a 91-for-1 stock split of the Trust’s issued and outstanding shares. According to Grayscale, the division will take place on January 26 and shareholders will receive 90 shares for each their original shares held.
Also read: Markets Update: Cryptocurrency Prices Rebound But Uncertainty Still Lingers
The Bitcoin Trust Is Creating a 91-1 Stock Split
From $1,800 Shares to $18 Per GBTC
“It is the only product (of its kind) available to investors for purchase at net asset value,” explains the Grayscale director Michael Sonnenshein in a recent video interview.
The Possibility of Even More Shares and Automatic Issuance
Grayscale also reveals that the stock split could result in more shares than estimated on January 26.
“After the close of business on the record date, the Trust will announce the total number of shares that will be issued and outstanding immediately after effectiveness of the stock split on January 26, 2018, which will give effect to any such new shares created after the date of this press release and up through the record date,” Grayscale Investments details.
Shareholders are not required to take any action to receive the shares in connection with the stock split and they will not be required to surrender or exchange their shares in the Trust — The transfer agent will automatically issue the new shares in the stock split.
Stock Splits Can Affect a Stocks Overall Value Either Negatively Or In a Positive Way
Stock splits happen all the time in the financial world, but it’s interesting to see the method applied to an investment fund based on actual bitcoins held in storage. There are two scenarios that could happen when more GBTC shares become available as far as the stock’s price. One, the market could get over diluted, and the price drops in value at some point after the split; or, the split shares could make the overall asset holdings increase in value while also creating more accessibility to ‘average Joe’ investors. Grayscale is hoping for the latter outcome.
What do you think about Grayscale splitting GBTC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Images via Pixabay, Grayscale, and Google Finance.
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Coinbase to Reopen the GDAX Bitcoin Cash-Euro Order Book
Many European cryptocurrency investors are about to get another venue for investing in bitcoin cash with their regional fiat. The GDAX exchange will start offering BCH/EUR trading again in just a couple of days.
Also Read: Bitcoin Cash Added to Keepkey Wallet, Exchanges in India and Hong Kong
BCH/EUR on GDAX
As we previously reported, in December 2017 Coinbase was forced to halt bitcoin cash trading on both platforms soon after it started, botching the launch. Besides operational problems like an inability to handle all the traffic to specific BCH liquidity issues, the company was also accused by many clients of enabling insider trading. The GDAX BCH/BTC order book was restored only on January 17, exactly a week before the BCH/EUR.
Launch Sequence
The decision to move the market from one mode to another is made by the GDAX Market Operations team, taking into consideration factors such as order book liquidity and price volatility. Looking at the BCH/BTC order book relaunch for example, we can see it took 37 minutes to transition from the first mode to the second and another hour and 48 minutes to reach the final stage.
How is the European market going to react once BCH/EUR trading begins on GDAX? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
Do you like to research and read about Bitcoin technology? Check out Bitcoin.com’s Wiki page for an in-depth look at Bitcoin’s innovative technology and interesting history.
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U.S. Rating Agency to Issue Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Grades Wednesday
Additional Wall Street money might start making its way into cryptocurrency investments soon. An American rating agency is set to issue grades for bitcoin and a host of altcoins this week, possibly opening the door for more fund managers to enter the field.
Also Read: Bitcoin Hardware Wallet Maker Ledger Raises $75 Million from VC Investors
Weiss Cryptocurrency Ratings
The rating agency, which was founded in 1971, grades about 55,000 institutions and investments including banks, credit union, insurance companies, stocks, ETFs and mutual funds. Unlike Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, Fitch and A.M. Best, Weiss Ratings prides itself on never accepting compensation of any kind from the entities it rates.
The Importance of a Rating for Bitcoin
“Many cryptocurrencies are murky, overhyped and vulnerable to crashes. The market desperately needs the clarity that only robust, impartial ratings can provide,” said Weiss Ratings founder, Martin D. Weiss, PhD. “We’re proud to be the first to bring that benefit to investors — to help them cut through the hype and identify the few truly solid cryptocurrencies. Our ratings are based on hard data and objective analysis. But they’re bound to create controversy, including some grades that may come as a surprise to some people.”
Will this development help make bitcoin investments more mainstream on Wall Street? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
Do you like to research and read about Bitcoin technology? Check out Bitcoin.com’s Wiki page for an in-depth look at Bitcoin’s innovative technology and interesting history.
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