Spotted this on Paul's Twitter and just had to share it for those that missed it.
It's seriously incredible.
Respect to Andrew Scott, a straight face through-out.
Sorry about the choice of topic "story", couldn't think of anything else.
If it was April 1st I would get it - Now I've spend over an hour watching other videos of his, just wondering if it was a one off. Save time, it is not - I will not lower myself by documenting my opinion of him.
Hmmm as a former developer, I find blockchain as an emerging technology intriguing.
I'm not so interested in it's application for cryptocurrencies but rather the distributed db paradigm which has the potential to be a huge disrupter to traditional businesses, e.g. cutting out middlemen.
For a simple intro have a watch of ...
What are the technical barriers to this technology rolling out?
I know energy consumption is one concern, although I note that Ethereum is working on a proof-of-stake model which requires less computation.
I'm interested from an investment perspective. I'm not trying to pick a specific business winner, e.g. a bank integrator adopting blockchain. A bit like the investing analogy based on the gold rush in America, it's better to invest in the person selling shovels than the prospectors. So I'm looking at Ethereum or a competitor as the potential investment opportunity.
Any thoughts appreciated?
For a simple intro have a watch of ...
Part 1 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BGCKkgW8CU
part 2 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfNxZ10hgmw
PhilH,
I am no techy but it would appear that one big winner from blockchain may be the largest dinosaur in the room, old "Big Blue", yes IBM appear to be ahead of the game in developing this technology?
I would appreciate your thoughts, Dave
Hi Phil
I have been researching this area on & off from the perspective of investing.
Here are my initial findings.
- Blockchain is a genuine technology but IMO not a disruptive one. (Proprietary distributed transaction processing systems have been around since the 1980s). It allows for disintermediation which means transactions can happen cheaper, faster and more securely. It is not owned by anyone in the same way that the internet is not owned by anyone.
- Cryptocurrency is only one of many possible applications of the blockchain technology. Banking, insurance, stock markets, shipping, charities and many others are developing pilot developments or implementations
- I concentrated in looking for either pure play blockchain companies or hybrid ones. A large number of companies are either cryptocurrency issuers, dealers, cryptowallets or just cowboys latching on to the latest craze. I ignore these.
- There are a few large players such as IBM, Accenture, Deloitte, Hitachi who are doing serious stuff but their blockchain revenues are a very small proportion of their global revenues. So not of interest.
- the centre of activity is in Nasdaq and Canadian stock exchanges
- in Nasdaq the companies I have found so far (not looked into in depth) are : Riot, Mara, OSTK
- Canadian companies include : BTL, Bloc, Hive, 360 Blockchain, eXe Block
In the UK, potential players are Vela (through an investment in BTL), and TechFinancials.
The unfortunate situation today is that cryptocurrency and blockchain are intertwined in people's minds, so that any fall-off in or bad news about cryptocurrency impacts directly companies that are predominantly blockchain developers/ providers.
For this reason, I am staying away so far from investing even if & when I find one that is worthy of a punt. At least until the bitcoin/ cryptocurrency fever subsides and clearer thinking prevails.
Hope this helps.
Hi PhilH
As I know you invest in European investments quite happily, you might want to take a look at this ETF tracking Ethereum if you were interested (I hold small holding started a short while ago and topped up a couple of times).
http://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/x/xbt-provider-ab-ethereum-tracker-eur
This is the Euro version, there is a Kromer version as well
http://www.hl.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/x/xbt-provider-ethereum-tracker-one
Regards
Howard
PS just noted this from City AM today, might also be of interest.
Viz
Yes not cheap and will incur FX translation costs.
It's not one of my serious holdings.
Rather, it's pushing me into looking more deeply into this area. (I find if I hold something I get more deeply into it).
Like the others above (PhilH & Rambridge et al), I think the underlying Blockchain technology is worthy of further investigation. I am not going near Bitcoin for example, but the underlying technology of blockchain could become something I need to understand more deeply.
Regards
Howard
I see the journo who wrote the City AM article is-
"Courtney Goldsmith
I am a journalist for City A.M. reporting on the Industrials sector, including oil and gas, mining, defence, energy and utilities."
Presumably because they 'mine' Bitcoin and it wastes so much electricity in the process she believes it falls under her (coin of the..) realm?
Yes - for what it’s worth I have taken a recent punt on Ethereum. Less than 1% of my portfolio although may need to top slice soon to keep it that way!
Hi VIz,
What vehicle have you used to take a punt on Ethereum?
Thanks in advance
Phil
Hi daveinthelakes
Interesting point. I saw a ;point recently that implied that the collective power used by the miners surpassed the energy used by Denmark. Not sure how true that is but it is clearly a technological issue to be resolved. Which I'm sure it will be.
Regards
Howard
If you're feeling brave you can us IG to trade Ethereum ...
https://www.ig.com/uk/ethereum-trading
Phil - I used Coinbase. Simple and easy to use and recommended by a friend who has been into bitcoin and Ethereum for over a year now. I understand there are security risks - but no more so than using other websites which store personal information.
Listening to Clem, the phrase "for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is" (which you may recognise) springs to mind.
