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A Million-Dollar Bet That Bitcoin Will Hit $50,000
Dec. 20, 2017 5:39 p.m. ET
Someone out there just made a bet that bitcoin will surge above $50,000 next year, trading data show — about triple its current price.
Daily trading records released Wednesday by LedgerX, a startup electronic market for bitcoin derivatives, show that an unidentified trader or traders entered the bullish bets using bitcoin call options that expire next December. The trade wagering on a move to $50,000 was the first of its kind on LedgerX.
Just under $1 million was paid for the options in one or more trades that took place during the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, the records show. It is unclear from LedgerX’s data who the buyer or buyers were or whether the purchasing was done in multiple transactions or just one.
If bitcoin is below $50,000 on Dec. 28, 2018, the options will expire worthless, and the $1 million will be lost. If bitcoin rises above that level, the options will give their owners the right to buy 275 bitcoins for $50,000 apiece — a transaction that would cost about $13.8 million.
Such a trade could be lucrative if the digital currency skyrockets to $500,000 or even $1 million or more — something some of bitcoin’s most enthusiastic supporters say will happen.
The digital currency was trading at $16,280.24 late Wednesday afternoon, according to CoinDesk. It is up more than 1,500% from the beginning of this year, an extraordinary run-up that has unleashed a flood of investor interest. But skeptics such as Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz call bitcoin a bubble and say its price will inevitably crash.
LedgerX Chief Executive Paul Chou declined to identify who was behind the big call-options play, citing regulatory restrictions. But the scale of the purchasing reflects the mounting interest of hedge funds and other big financial firms in cryptocurrencies, he said.
“Without a doubt, there are institutions out there that are looking at these types of trades or have done these types of trades,” Mr. Chou said. “It’s not an individual, let’s put it that way.”
The Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTC: GBTC) jumped more than 12 percent Friday after the company announced the trust will be undergoing a 91-to-1 stock split impacting shareholders of record as of Jan. 22.
Still never dumping money into it. It will probably come back up but it's still too risky. I'll mine it for fun since it's worth the electricity, but I'm not buying it.
I'm still forking out $50 here and there for GTX 750's for mining Monero (which is dropping at the same rate as BTC). People are still trying to sell GTX 1080's and RX 580's locally for $500 - $1200. That's around 200% of the price 60 days ago.
Square shares climb after the payments company launches bitcoin trading for most users
Jan 31, 2018
Nearly all users of Square's Cash payments app can now buy and sell bitcoin on the platform, CEO Jack Dorsey announced Wednesday.
The service will not be available for customers in New York state, Georgia, Wyoming and Hawaii, according to Square's website.
"We believe bitcoin and other crypto sales represent a potential mid/long term growth opportunity for Square and we are positive on the strategy," Credit Suisse analyst Paul Condra said in an email. "This strategy could also drive greater adoption of Square Cash and we note SQ is well positioned to potentially facilitate crypto-payment purchases at Square merchants at some point in the future."
Square began testing bitcoin trading on its Cash app in mid-November and rolled out access to more customers in December.
Customers are limited to $10,000 in bitcoin purchases a week through the app, but there is no limit to the amount that can be sold, Square said on its website. Users cannot send bitcoin directly to other Cash users.
Square said it will hold the bitcoins on behalf of its customers.
The company also said it would not add other fees to bitcoin transactions and would calculate prices by looking across major exchanges.
Commission-free stock trading app Robinhood announced last week it was rolling out free bitcoin and ethereum trading in five states beginning in February. More than 1 million people have joined the wait list since the announcement.
Robinhood Crypto will also not initially be available in New York, which is one of the toughest states for cryptocurrency trading since it requires a BitLicense.
Coinbase, the leading U.S. marketplace for trading in bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, has a BitLicense. The San Francisco-based company has more than doubled its number of users in the last year to more than 13 million around the world. The start-up also charges U.S. transaction fees of 1.5 percent to 4 percent.
12-22-2017, 05:47 PM
At least until I get my rig set up 
