Coinbase announced a new customer support like to help users and expand customer service operations; according to Business Insider the call agents can only handle verification issues and unlocking accounts; the company has seen their user base skyrocket but at the same time the amount of issues and complaints have also gone up dramatically; adding more support is something they hope will help to provide an overall better experience. Source.
While the crackdown on bitcoin in China has hurt the value of the digital currency, prices have stabilized and traders are confident this is a blip on the radar; what traders are more focused on is the technology behind the currency and the blockchain protocol has not been affected; there are also reports that say the crackdown is temporary and China has become less central as overall volume has dropped. Source.
The recent regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrency markets, specifically in China, has dropped the worldwide market cap to $98.95bn; as recently as two weeks ago the market cap was up around $180bn; while the size of the market continues to fluctuate, it remains to be seen where prices will head when regulatory crackdowns pass. Source.
Sequoia Capital and IDG Capital are investing in Bitmain, the world's largest bitcoin mining company; Bitmain is seeking $50 million in funding to expand its artificial intelligence capabilities, after previously focusing on developing chips for mining; Bitmain claimed in August that the company is at a $1 billion valuation, and is planning an IPO. Source
Bitcoin's price has gained over 300% this year and analysts are competing for the highest price forecast; Bloomberg reports on some of the market's top analyst projections which include estimates of $6,000 by year-end, a $7,500 price target for 2018 and a target value of $25,000 by 2022; the cryptocurrency reached a record of $4,477 last week; it has a number of catalysts helping to fuel the market projections including increased transaction speeds and regulatory approval from the CFTC for bitcoin derivatives trading. Source
On CNBC's Squawk Box Ray Dalio, the founder of the world's largest hedge fund spoke negatively about bitcoin stating "It's not an effective storehold of wealth because it has volatility to it, unlike gold. Bitcoin is a highly speculative market. Bitcoin is a bubble."; he went on to say that it could be a currency and work conceptually but the speculation going on hurts it. Source
A lot of the significant investment in ICOs has come from people who have made millions in bitcoin and need to diversify; Business Insider sat down with Lightspeed Venture Partners investor Jeremy Liew and Blockchain founder/CEO Peter Smith to discuss the ICO market and why so much money has flooded into these startups; the discussion also touched on the recent Chinese crackdown on ICOs which has driven the price of Bitcoin down and the need to diversify looks to be more important than ever. Source
Speaking at an industry conference JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said bitcoin was a fraud and that it will eventually blow up; American Banker reports, “If we had a trader who traded bitcoin, I’d fire them in a second,” Dimon said. Not only would doing so be against company rules, but it would also simply be “stupid.”; he also talked about the bank's future plans in new locations and mobile banking. Source
Bitkan, a China-based bitcoin-focused data and trading services provider, has released the trailer of the first Chinese bitcoin documentary, "Shape the Future"; the documentary will provide a panoramic view of the development of the bitcoin and blockchain ecosystem in China, the country with the number one hashrate in the bitcoin realm. Source
Tom Lee, founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, is projecting bitcoin's value to reach $25,000 in the next five years; the strategist also projects a bitcoin value of $6,000 by mid-2018; the cryptocurrency is currently trading at $4,284.14, gaining approximately 330% in 2017; Lee cites bitcoin derivatives as a key catalyst since they have now been approved and are increasingly being used in wealth management strategies and also expects bitcoin derivatives trading will lead to increased institutional investment. Source