All posts by Jeff Yastine

Interview With a Bitcoin Expert

I remember when I first heard about cryptocurrencies. It was in 2013; a Libertarian friend of mine mentioned how he was dabbling in something called “bitcoin.”

“This is the new, new thing,” he said. It would sweep away the need for central banks. The underlying blockchain technology would kill off big paper-shuffling bureaucracies. “People need advice on how to make money from this new digital asset.”

Alas, it was a tough business proposition back then. Ask most people about bitcoin or Ethereum and you got a shrug of the shoulders. But that wouldn’t be the case forever.

So when we created Banyan Hill, we knew we wanted a cryptocurrency expert on the staff. The tough part was finding one with the right experience and credentials for the job.

By that I mean we wanted a pro — someone who “ran money” professionally on Wall Street, someone who didn’t just write about bitcoin but bought and sold it too. And we wanted someone who could explain how to do it to mainstream Americans in simple, clear language.

Quite frankly, that’s a whole other level of expertise. So I’m pleased to announce that, after a long search, we found the right person for the job…

His name is Ian King, Banyan Hill’s new cryptocurrency editor.

Ian believes in the future of cryptocurrencies so much, he broke off from a successful hedge fund career to create his own website teaching people how to buy and sell the likes of bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin, Monero and other cryptos.

So when we came upon Ian’s work, the team and I here at Banyan Hill all looked at each other and said: “We have to hire this guy.” 

Real-Life Crypto Trader

Ian has quite a resume.

He started out as a desk clerk at Salomon Brothers’ famed mortgage bond trading department, then moved on to credit derivatives at Citigroup. From there, he spent a decade as head trader at Peahi Capital, a New York-based hedge fund.

After spotting the opportunity in cryptocurrencies, Ian started his own firm to educate and advise crypto speculators. And that’s where we nabbed him, so he could do the same for Banyan Hill’s subscribers.

That seems like a good point to introduce Ian himself…

Q. First, Ian — welcome to Banyan Hill! We’re all very excited to have you join us as our cryptocurrency trading expert. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I grew up on the Jersey Shore, where I spent summers as an ocean lifeguard. At 19, I was appointed captain of the busiest beach in Belmar, New Jersey.

It was common to have upward of 50 rescues on days when the ocean was rough.

And, although it may sound odd, this is where I started learning the tools that would lead to my success in trading.

See, lifesaving teaches you how to analyze a situation and react quickly. When charging into the surf to help someone, you need to trust your instincts and think on your feet — skills that have become invaluable in my trading career.

Later, in college, I studied psychology and premed in hopes of becoming a psychiatrist. But in my spare time, I started trading dot-com stocks from my dorm room — and I found that I loved analyzing trends too. So while I received a B.S. in psychology, I decided to grab an internship at Merrill Lynch in the middle of the ‘90s bull market.

Trading fascinates me. It requires a better understanding of oneself — of human psychology —  as much as an understanding of the market. After all, markets are comprised of individuals acting in groups. So it all comes down to the same question: Why do we do what we do?

Now I use that question to drive my investigation of the cryptocurrency market from my home in New York City, where I’ve spent the last 20 years.

Q. When did you first get an inkling that cryptocurrencies were going to be the next big thing?

I’ve been thinking about digital money since the end of the financial crisis, when the Fed lowered interest rates to zero.

In 2012, I met with a startup in Silicon Valley that was piloting an e-currency to allow central banks to print and distribute a digital form of money.

To be clear, this was not a cryptocurrency because the value was backed by whatever central bank was issuing it. But the experience sparked my thinking about how digital money can be used to incentivize better citizenry. And how the transfer of value outside the banking system could solve the space and time problem of physical money without the need for a middleman.

There was a need for digital currency here. And the timing was perfect…

Every 10 years, a new technology arrives that changes civilization for the better and creates tremendous wealth for investors.

In the ‘70s, mainframe computing allowed for bulk data processing.

In the ‘80s, personal computers allowed corporations and consumers to run these applications.

In the ‘90s, the rise of the internet democratized information.

In the 2000s, we started sharing that information with “friends” on social media.

And now, in the 2010s, crypto assets permit anyone, anywhere in the world, to transfer something of digital value without the need for an intermediary.

Bitcoin is one such form. However, the bigger picture here is the rise of a whole new crypto asset class that investors are just beginning to discover.

This dispersion of capital among new crypto asset ventures is just beginning, as newly minted bitcoin millionaires reinvest their crypto fortunes, and a fresh wave of entrepreneurs look to capitalize on the current rush of capital.

Q. You worked on Wall Street for years, both at Salomon Brothers, then in credit derivatives at Citigroup, and then became head trader at an equities hedge fund. What did you learn on Wall Street that most prepared you for your second career as one of the world’s best cryptocurrency traders?

For one, in trading, you are only as good as your last trade. That always keeps me searching for the best opportunities.

Another thing my experience has taught me: The asset class may have changed, but the investment behavior here is the same as it always is in new markets.

For example, these markets remind me of the dot-com days in the late ‘90s when 22-year-old day traders were making tens of thousands of dollars a day just by being in the right place at the right time.

The crypto markets are in full mania mode right now — and that means anyone who bought within the last six months has witnessed a 500% return.

But there’s much more upside ahead. See, the good news is that with the institutional money still flowing into crypto, we are years away from the end.

That’s what my career on Wall Street has taught me, and that’s why now is the time to get in if you haven’t already.

Despite the fact that everyone has heard about crypto, only a few people actually own it, and even fewer understand it. So you can still get ahead of the pack.

Q. For people who are unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies … what exactly are they?

Cryptocurrencies are a fundamental change in the way people can exchange something of value.

Every transaction is built on trust. Economies thrive in societies where people trust one another.

In a typical economic transaction, I give you something of value (for instance, $10), and you deliver me a good or service in return. (Let’s say it’s a ride somewhere in an Uber.)

Historically, in order for this transaction to happen, there has to be a middleman to oversee the transaction and punish bad actors.

But “smart” digital money that can be programmed is going to change all of that…

For the first time, an internet user can transfer a unique piece of digital property to another internet user in a way that is safe and secure. Everyone knows this transfer occurred, and nobody can oppose it.

This digital property can be exchanged through a decentralized network of trust that gets rid of the need for a bank or middleman to oversee its validity.

No middleman, no fees to pay the middleman! It’s all verifiable without it. This is a huge breakthrough.

When you see just how big it is (something I’ll continue to write about here in Sovereign Investor Daily), you can understand why smart investors are quickly snapping up new crypto assets.

Keep in mind that I’m saying “crypto assets.” Cryptocurrencies were only the first iteration of this new technology, a subclass of crypto assets.

Crypto assets include new projects such as Filecoin, which raised over $200 million this summer and allows consumers to share computer storage over the blockchain.

Or IOTA, which is the platform that will permit the Internet of Things to exchange something of value. Think about your refrigerator ordering groceries for you or your car paying the parking meter.

So you can see why investors are going crazy for this new type of investment…

Q. We’ve read plenty about the price advances in bitcoin and other forms. Is there still money to be made in cryptocurrencies after the big gains we’ve heard about already?

Absolutely. If the dot-com bubble is a roadmap, we are still in the very early innings of the bubble.

As I said before, the good news is that with the institutional money still flowing into crypto, we are years away from the end.

In fact, in my most recent piece for Banyan Hill, which everyone can read Friday in Sovereign Investor Daily, I explain that bitcoin has finally reached a tipping point … but that it just means there are great opportunities in the offing for those who know where to look.

Just keep in mind that this bubble is particularly odd because it’s the first time in history where Wall Street arrived late to the party. That’s why we’re hearing such skepticism about this market.

In fact, I believe most of Wall Street’s cynicism is simply because it hasn’t yet figured out how to skim its profits off this new financial marketplace. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has labeled bitcoin as a “fraud,” but he was awfully quiet when his bank was raking in tens of billions by securitizing fraudulent mortgages.

Q. Coming soon, you’ll be launching a cryptocurrency trading service at Banyan Hill. Can you give us some insights into your trading strategy(s) for cryptocurrencies? Are they actually “tradeable”? If so, how?

I’m in the midst of putting this service together, and I’m extremely excited about sharing these opportunities with everyone — because yes, they are tradeable.

See, I look for three big things in a crypto trade before I believe it’s viable:

  1. Does the crypto asset solve a real-world problem? Is there an immediate use for this new asset? For instance, the insurance company AXA is already using the Ethereum blockchain to run a decentralized flight insurance program. Now when you purchase flight insurance, you will be automatically compensated if the flight doesn’t leave on time. This process is fully autonomous on the blockchain.
  1. What is the crypto asset’s supply schedule? Is there a limited amount of supply that will give this asset value in the future? Bitcoin has a limited supply of coins, with approximately 80% of the total supply issued. That’s not the case for all cryptocurrencies, where investors risk the chance of future dilution.
  1. Are the technicals favorable? Is there a strong uptrend in increasing volume? This factor is arguably the most important because strong technicals can be a buy signal to other traders, and higher prices become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

These three factors led me to purchase Litecoin just a few months ago and ride it for 1,000% gains. Many consider this cryptocurrency as “silver” to bitcoin’s “gold,” as it has similar properties …  but it’s able to transact four times faster.

Now I’m compiling that type of experience into a service that will help traders — either new to the market or not — experience the gains that Wall Street has said it has missed.

I just want to stress this point — there are plenty of gains still yet to be made in this market. And I want to make sure the everyday investor has clear and easy access to that.

Q: Ian, that seems like a good place to wrap things up. Any last thoughts?

Right now, cryptocurrencies are this new thing. Mainstream Americans are starting to get used to them. The whole thing is sort of a novel experience right now.

So take us into the future. How will we be thinking about cryptocurrencies in five or 10 years from now?

What will our experience or interaction be with these new forms of exchange down the road?

Coming into this year, bitcoin was the only game in town, capturing 87% of the total cryptocoin market cap. That dominant market share has been halved to about 45% (even though bitcoin’s price has quadrupled at the same time).

So it’s clear to me that this thriving market is just getting started, and I’m excited to pinpoint these new trends here.

We are still early in the investment and discovery cycle, and that’s why crypto will end up being much bigger than even the first wave of dot-coms.

If history is any guide, when the first dot-com investment cycle peaked in March 2000, the 280 stocks in the Bloomberg U.S. Internet Index reached a combined market value of $2.94 trillion.

At $600 billion, crypto’s total market cap is still one-fifth of the dot-com peak. However, this is the first bubble in human history where everyone on the planet (at least if you own a mobile phone) can participate.

Kind regards,

Jeff L. Yastine
Editor, Total Wealth Insider

Can a $10 Bill Really Fund Your Retirement? The digital currency markets are delivering profits unlike anything we’ve ever seen. ​23 recently doubled in a single week. And some like DubaiCoin have jumped as much as 8,200X in value in 18 months. It’ unprecedented... but you won’t receive any of the rewards unless you put a little money in the game. Find out how $10 could make you rich HERE. ​



Source: Banyan Hill

3 Threats to Amazon You Must Own Today

I love it when a plan comes together.

In early November, I wrote about Brazil’s airplane maker, Embraer (NYSE: ERJ), and its promising lineup of defense and civilian aircraft manufacturing contracts.

Separately, in December, I said: “If you’re looking for the best place to invest in 2018, one of your best bets is to put on your investment banker’s hat and bet on ‘M&As’ — mergers and acquisitions.”

Both predictions converged just before Christmas. Embraer’s shareholders reaped an instant 30% windfall when Boeing announced it was in talks for a “potential combination” with the company.

It’s not a done deal, of course.

As Embraer’s largest shareholder, Brazil’s government may only want to sell a big piece, not the entire company. Or perhaps it demands onerous financial terms.

But the point is, in a wide swath of industries — not just aerospace, but pharmaceuticals, chip manufacturing, packaging, chemicals, consumer goods, media, telecommunications and more — the game of M&A “musical chairs” is already underway.

And no one wants to be left without a seat when the music stops.

Amazon Competitors to Invest In

Another sector where I expect to see a lot of M&A activity this year? The U.S. retail sector.

A major theme I expect to emerge this year are Amazon competitors pairing off with the goal of better competing against Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN).

For instance, eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) is a likely buyout candidate.

A major theme I expect to emerge this year are Amazon competitors pairing off with the goal of competing better against Amazon.com.

Potential buyers? Google, among many possible suitors. It desperately needs an internet retail arm of its own if it wants to go head to head as one of the Amazon competitors.

EBay, as one of the most venerable internet retail brand names, and with an existing network of fulfillment warehouses, would be a good place to start.

The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is another buyout possibility for Amazon competitors. Its stock is down 35% from last year’s highs owing to worries about whether it can compete with Amazon — an overblown fear as far as I’m concerned.

The grocer has nearly 3,000 stores around the U.S. Its success in selling organic foods is a major reason Whole Foods leaped into the arms of Amazon to begin with.

Kroger is no laggard in “retail tech” either — a few days ago, the chain said it will roll out “cashierless” checkout technology in its stores this year.

W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE: GWW) is yet another candidate for a merger deal, in my opinion.

Grainger isn’t usually thought of as a retailer. It’s considered an “industrial supply” business, selling everything under the sun — cleaning products, paper clips, shelving systems, you name it — to other businesses.

Like Kroger, the stock was knocked down last year as investors fled in fear of Amazon. But Grainger’s network of warehouses and distribution centers are ready-made assets for any company hoping to “bulk up” and compete effectively against Amazon.

Best of all, these three companies aren’t fixer-uppers. They’re already successful, profitable companies.

Together, they’ll report $15 a share in profits in 2018. Two of the three pay dividends of around 2% as well.

Kind regards,

Jeff L. Yastine

Editor, Total Wealth Insider

In this exciting NEW VIDEO, Wall Street legend and former multibillion hedge fund manager Paul Mampilly pulls back the curtain on the biggest investment opportunity in the market today. What insiders are calling “The Greatest Innovation in History,” this revolution will mint more millionaires and billions than any technology that came before it. Right now, the current market for this technology is just $235 billion, but given how fast this technology is moving experts predict it will soar to $19 trillion by 2020. But 8,000% growth is just the beginning—and now’s your chance to get in on the action. [CONTINUE TO VIDEO]

Source: Banyan Hill

Here’s Where to Look for 2018 Profits

If you’re looking for the best place to invest in 2018, one of your best bets is to put on your investment banker’s hat and bet on “M&As” — mergers and acquisitions.

The biggest of 2017 — the proposed Disney-Twenty-First Century Fox tie-up for $52 billion — is just the beginning.

Tax reform is one piece of the puzzle. It promises to free up billions in corporate cash held in overseas accounts, and lower the corporate tax rate to 21%.

The attitude of American consumers is another component. Consumer spending hit a one-month record not seen since 2009, when the U.S. economy was just emerging from the recession and financial crisis.

 But the key element is what I’ll call corporate sentiment. In other words, CEOs and their boards go through their own cycles of optimism and pessimism, which affects how a company decides to put its excess cash to work.

2018: The Year of Mergers and Acquisitions

The change is evident in a recent Deloitte “M&A 2018” survey of 1,000 executives at large corporations and private equity firms.

  • For one, a rising number of companies — two-thirds of those surveyed — say their cash reserves increased and “the primary intended use of that cash is for M&A deals.”

In recent years, companies indicated they were most likely to pursue organic investments — growing a business in-house — as the most likely use of their cash reserves.

  • But as the report notes, “that’s no longer the case. Predominately, companies now say they are seeking M&A opportunities, with 40% citing that as their No. 1 intention.”
  • In addition, nearly two-thirds of the companies “anticipate the average size of transactions in the next 12 months will exceed those in the past year.”

We’ve already seen a step-up in mergers and acquisitions as the year draws to a close. The analytics firm Dealogic pegged November as the second-largest month ever for M&A activity since it started keeping records in 1995.

A Low-Risk Play

What’s the best way to play this kind of trend?

You can bet on individual stocks. For instance, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) and Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) are sometimes mentioned as potential buyout candidates in the pharma sector.

Among the hard-hit retail sector, Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) — with its stock down 40% since 2015 — has been mentioned as a potential buyout target.

In the tech sector, Akamai Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AKAM) shares leapt 14% on Monday on rising prospects for a buyout.

But such investments are all-or-nothing bets. A better way is to invest through an exchange-traded fund (ETF), such as the IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF (NYSE: MNA). It’s up 5% this year, and up 24% in the last five years.

If you’re looking for the best place to invest in 2018, one of your best bets is to bet on “M&As” — mergers and acquisitions.

(Source: TradingView.com)

The ETF, developed by New York Life Investment Management LLC and managed by IndexIQ Advisors LLC, invests across a range of publicly announced mergers and acquisitions candidates. It’s a good, low-risk way to play the coming explosion of deals in 2018.

Kind regards,

Jeff L. Yastine

Editor, Total Wealth Insider

Right now, an untapped ocean of energy—found underneath all 50 states—is about to transform the world’s energy industry. In fact, there’s enough of this energy in the first six miles of the earth’s crust to power the United States for the next 30,000 years. Wanna know this untapped energy source? Learn NOW! And as companies rush to extract this energy from the ground, they’ll need the help of one Midwestern company’s technology to make use of it. This is your chance to take advantage of John D. Rockefeller-type fortunes. Early Bird Gets The Worm...

Source: Banyan Hill

This Is Tesla’s Real Business (It Isn’t Sports Cars)

I have a proposal for Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Sell, or spin off, Tesla’s money-losing automotive operations (as sleek, shiny and eye-popping as those vehicles are)…

Instead, focus the future of Tesla where the real profit and growth bonanza is for the next decade:

Energy storage.

I know, I know. Sounds boring. Basically, we’re talking about hundreds of phone booth-sized boxes of lithium-ion batteries all lined up in neat rows, and wired up to the power grid.

But it’s revolutionary.

And proving just how revolutionary it is, Musk’s company basically solved Australia’s budding energy crisis in about 100 days.

 Australia’s Power Problem

As I noted months ago (“The Next Big Thing: Lightning in a Bottle”), summertime power blackouts pop up with regularity in the Land Down Under…

  • South Australia: The state’s entire population of 1.7 million residents lost all power for hours on September 28, last year.

 

  • Sydney: Its 5 million residents faced three days’ worth of rolling blackouts in February.

 

  • Victoria and New South Wales: These states, with a combined population of more than 12 million — including Melbourne, the nation’s second-largest city — nearly went dark as well.

The problem?

Literally too much dependence on a good thing — wind and solar power (which now provide around 40% of the nation’s power).

And — thanks to utility regulators’ overly aggressive mothballing of coal-fired power plants — it also left power companies with no way to fill the gap on days of peak demand when everyone has their air-conditioners cranked to the max.

Enter Musk and Tesla. In roughly 100 days’ time, the company deployed 129 megawatts’ worth of its utility-scale Powerpack battery storage units.

Last week, it brought the installation online and tied it into South Australia’s power grid.

Problem solved.

Tesla & Big Batteries

According to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), the global energy storage market is set to rise by an exponential amount, basically “doubling six times over” between now and 2030.

By the way, experts measure electricity storage in terms of gigawatt-hours — a measurement of the output of large power stations.

To give you a sense of what “doubling six times over” means … according to BNEF, the amount of storage in the world in 2016 equaled something less than 5 gigawatt-hours, rising 60-fold to 300 gigawatt-hours by 2030.

We’ll also see a similar trajectory in prices to what’s already come before in wind and solar (and computer chips for that matter). BNEF estimates the cost of these “big battery systems” will drop by more than half (after dropping by 60% already since 2010).

The reason?

Tesla isn’t the only company ramping up battery production with a so-called “gigafactory.” As I’ve noted in recent months, Daimler is building a new $500 million battery plant in Germany. There’s a $3 billion factory being built in Thailand. Others are in the works for upstate New York, Australia, China and elsewhere.

The Future of Tesla

I already have a promising, under-the-radar energy storage stock in the Total Wealth Insider portfolio (and — unlike Tesla — this company is profitable and paying down its long-term debt). You can see why the growth trend for energy storage will be phenomenal for early entrants in this fledgling industry.

That might especially be the case for the future of Tesla. Carmaking is a boom-and-bust business.

Automotive styles change over time. Factories have to be retooled. Hundreds of components need to be built and brought together at the right place and at the right time to build a vehicle.

It all takes lots and lots of constant reinvestment.

Compare that to the energy storage business, where the same basic product can be sold over and over and over again to a legion of power companies all over the world — a $1.4 trillion marketplace.

If Tesla ever figured out that its real business is in storage instead of sports cars … look out.

Regards,

Jeff L. Yastine

Editor, Total Wealth Insider

Right now, an untapped ocean of energy—found underneath all 50 states—is about to transform the world’s energy industry. In fact, there’s enough of this energy in the first six miles of the earth’s crust to power the United States for the next 30,000 years. Wanna know this untapped energy source? Learn NOW! And as companies rush to extract this energy from the ground, they’ll need the help of one Midwestern company’s technology to make use of it. This is your chance to take advantage of John D. Rockefeller-type fortunes. Early Bird Gets The Worm...

Source: Banyan Hill

Rising Debt Spells ‘Warning!’ for This Bull Market

Part of me feels great having had predicted this summer that oil prices, then in the mid-$40 a barrel range, were due to rise in a big way.

But there’s something to look out for while we watch oil break out toward $60 and perhaps higher. We may reap the windfall now, but the rise in oil prices could be planting the seeds of the next bear market in stocks.

It’s all about consumer spending and the almost $13 trillion “elephant in the room” — better known by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as Americans’ total amount of housing and nonhousing debt.

Every quarter, the Fed tabs up what it calls the nation’s “total debt balance” — mortgage debt plus nonhousing debt (loans for automobiles, credit cards, home equity and student loans).

At the last peak in the economy, in 2008, the nation’s total debt balance tapped out at $12.68 billion. We surpassed that milestone back in the first quarter of the year, when Americans’ accumulated an aggregate $12.72 billion that needs to be paid back.

It grew to yet another new record of $12.84 billion in the second quarter.

But what’s so interesting (and dangerous) is that it’s not mortgage debt, but all the nonhousing debt  that’s leading the charge higher in the statistics this time.

The Cost of Gasoline

Back in 2008, all those other kinds of loans made up about 21% of Americans’ total debt balance.

Today, the aggregate of financing our cars, college and credit cards makes up nearly 30% ($3.7 trillion as of the second quarter, according to the Fed).

What’s so interesting (and dangerous) is that it’s not mortgage debt, but all the nonhousing debt that’s leading the charge this time.

That’s why the newly rising price of oil is a big deal for the stock market.

If you believe the surveys that say 62% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts … what does that tell you about their ability to absorb the additional cost of gasoline for their vehicles — without missing a payment on a credit/student/equity/personal loan of some kind?

When oil was above $100, the price of a gasoline futures contract was about $3 per gallon. As recently as this summer, it was half that price. But it has now climbed to $1.80 a gallon. What happens when it climbs to $2 or $2.25 a gallon in step with rising oil prices and the economy?

It’s that much less money that Americans have to spend on all the other stuff that makes the economy move — and underpins the rise in stock prices.

So let’s say you’re concerned about that possibility. What can you do about it? Fortunately, there are exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that give you options. One possibility is the ProShares Short S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SH).

Like just about anything with a bearish tint in recent quarters, it’s been a one-way ticket to lose money. That’s always the case — until it’s not.

Kind regards,

Jeff L. Yastine
Editor, Total Wealth Insider

In this exciting NEW VIDEO, Wall Street legend and former multibillion hedge fund manager Paul Mampilly pulls back the curtain on the biggest investment opportunity in the market today. What insiders are calling “The Greatest Innovation in History,” this revolution will mint more millionaires and billions than any technology that came before it. Right now, the current market for this technology is just $235 billion, but given how fast this technology is moving experts predict it will soar to $19 trillion by 2020. But 8,000% growth is just the beginning—and now’s your chance to get in on the action. [CONTINUE TO VIDEO]

Source: Banyan Hill 

The Coming Bitcoin Bust

The bitcoin mining company’s owner looked back one last time…

Behind him were row upon row of modified PCs, thousands of them, still neatly mounted in their racks. How many times had he walked in, greeted by a wave of heat and the blast of noise from thousands of fan motors inside those machines, straining to keep their microprocessors cool?

It was the sound of digital money being created as each machine’s chip strained to solve another piece of an elaborate cryptographic puzzle — the very basis for the cryptocurrency — and unlock just a little more bitcoin.

It was all gone now. The room had a funereal silence.

The great cryptocurrency boom had gone bust.

No one could explain why, at first. Bitcoin mysteriously plummeted in value for weeks, then months. But news leaks had finally identified the root of the problem…

“Damned quantum computers,” muttered the man as he shut off the lights and walked out for the last time.

Quantum Computing: The Next Step in Cyber-Insecurity

All of that’s made up, of course. But could quantum computing really launch us into a new era of cybersecurity — and spell the end of the cryptocurrency boom to boot?

First, a little explanation: Quantum computing technology is based on the mind-bending aspects of quantum theory.

In “classical” digital computing, information is processed in a binary fashion as a series of ones and zeroes.

With quantum computers, we get bits of information that can coexist in multiple states at any one moment in time. So everything is processed much, much faster.

Big Data problems that take a half-hour to solve with today’s supercomputers can be finished in a mere second — yes, one second — by a quantum computer.

Back in 2014, one of the least-noticed, most earth-shaking aspects of the Edward Snowden affair was the disclosure of documents proving that the National Security Agency was racing to build “a cryptologically useful quantum computer.”

Today, the advances come at a monthly pace…

Could quantum computing really launch us into a new era of cybersecurity — and spell the end of the bitcoin boom to boot?

Perhaps most stunning of all, the world’s first commercially sold quantum computer — the 2000Q, manufactured by Canada’s privately held D-Wave Systems — went on the market in January. (The price tag is $15 million.)

What’s the point? Cybersecurity investors need to pay attention because quantum computing holds great investment potential. It’s no longer the realm of theory and primitive computer-lab mockups. It’s in the real world, today, right now.

Can you imagine what a quantum computer might do to a cryptocurrency — unlocking its blockchain-based cryptographic puzzle a lot faster than its creators thought possible and dumping thousands of units of it on the market?

And then there’s the challenge — and promise — of using quantum computing for cybersecurity.

How do you keep secrets in a world where even the longest, most random password can be figured out in a few seconds?

Fortunately, if quantum computing were a ballgame, we’re still at the part where some muckety-muck gets up and throws the ceremonial first pitch (that promptly bounces into the dirt just before home plate). But the technology is both a threat and a safeguarding tool at the same time.

Kind regards,

Jeff L. Yastine
Editor, Total Wealth Insider

In this exciting NEW VIDEO, Wall Street legend and former multibillion hedge fund manager Paul Mampilly pulls back the curtain on the biggest investment opportunity in the market today. What insiders are calling “The Greatest Innovation in History,” this revolution will mint more millionaires and billions than any technology that came before it. Right now, the current market for this technology is just $235 billion, but given how fast this technology is moving experts predict it will soar to $19 trillion by 2020. But 8,000% growth is just the beginning—and now’s your chance to get in on the action. [CONTINUE TO VIDEO]

Source: Banyan Hill

The New Way to Stop Hackers — and Make Profits

At a recent investment conference, someone asked me my opinion on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies…

I said they were worth paying attention to — not for speculating, but for solving one of the biggest problems of our time: keeping computer networks and data safe from hackers.

I mean, if you want to speculate in bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin — you name it — go right ahead. But the bigger profits will be in the underlying technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It’s called a blockchain.

Not Just About Bitcoin

Like anything that’s new, it all sounds a bit scary with a lot of “what ifs” attached. But blockchain is going mainstream faster than most people realize.

  • Lockheed Martin wants to use blockchain technology to keep its defense secrets safe.
  • The Walt Disney Co. built a platform called Dragonchain that’s now open-source.
  • Credit Suisse and other banks are running experiments with logging and tracking their financial deals using blockchain.

We happen to have two companies in the Total Wealth Insider portfolio that are pioneering the use of blockchain technology by major banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions. One is already up more than 25% in six months, and the other I see rising 60% over the next 18 months.

Shared Secrets

So what is blockchain, exactly? Basically, it’s a bit of data — it could be a transfer of money, a contract to buy or sell something or just some information that needs to be kept track of.

But instead of keeping it a secret and hidden away in one place (where it could be stolen or altered without your knowledge), the material is recorded as a “hash” — a random series of numbers and letters — and broadcast to a series of other computers on a network.

The information is attached with other transactions on the network and embedded into a cryptographically sealed “block.” With each series of transactions, the system creates more and more blocks.

Suddenly, it becomes next to impossible to steal or tamper with your data. It would be like hanging a basket (it could be full of cash, or something else) over the crowds in Times Square — everyone can see who makes a grab for it.

Incidentally, what is buried deep inside the new $700 billion spending request from the Defense Department, recently approved by the U.S. Senate?

A request for a new government report that would outline the possibilities of “offensive and defensive cyber applications of blockchain technology.”

Kind regards,

Jeff L. Yastine
Editor, Total Wealth Insider

Can a $10 Bill Really Fund Your Retirement? The digital currency markets are delivering profits unlike anything we’ve ever seen. ​23 recently doubled in a single week. And some like DubaiCoin have jumped as much as 8,200X in value in 18 months. It’ unprecedented... but you won’t receive any of the rewards unless you put a little money in the game. Find out how $10 could make you rich HERE. ​



Source: Banyan Hill