Cryptocurrencies in Banking, Investment and Blockchain Boom

Bitcoin's nearly five-fold rise in 2017 is popularising crypto currencies as Millennials scramble to better understand and invest in them.

While analysts point out it looks a lot like the tech bubble, it's also looking awfully like cryptocurrencies will be viable assets for years to come. Read on.

Bitcoin has skyrocketed from less than $1,000 in March to an all-time high of $4,440 on August 14.

Cryptocurrencies Officially a Millennial Obsession

Whether you are tracking these things, and educating yourself about them, there's a ocean of buzz about them and how to profit in their entrance into the mainstream. Where there's money to be made, scrappy Millennials are looking to buy-in.

How do we know they've gone mainstream? This just happend: #BanksCryptocurrency. As banks have had some time to assess the potential of blockchain, they are starting to take collective action. Banks such as Barclays, Credit Suisse, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, HSBC, MUFG and State Street are working with UBS (the project's creator) on the "utility settlement coin," which is set to go live next year.

This would enable a digital currency over blockchain to deal with cryptocurrency transactions.

Whether you are reading about cryptocurrencies, or follow the latest in banking and finance news, I'll be writing more on this.

Mainstream Banks Enter Blockchain

Could the advent of 6 global banks to create a USC (utility settlement coin) be the start of something major?

With the advent of IoT, Blockchain and the rise of new kinds of cryptocurrencies and crypto platforms, central banks need to tighten up cyber security protection and data privacy as they relate to new kinds of transactions.

Can you say start of a global currency? This utility settlement coin will basically be a digital cash equivalent of each of the major currencies backed by central banks, UBS said on Thursday August 31st, 2017.

The limited beta (a limited go live) is expected to occur in the later portion of 2018, according to UBS’s head of strategic investment and fintech innovation, first reported by the Financial Times. 

We know that many industries will transition to the blockchain both for security and greater transparency as the impact of FinTech has trickled down through Banks and their innovation projects.

The Swiss bank partnered with London-based blockchain company Clearmatics later to be joined by other banks.

The USC would be convertible at parity with a bank deposit in the corresponding currency, making it fully backed by cash assets at a central bank. - Reuters

What could a USC become a few years down the line? It could herald a new digital currency.

If even the world's biggest banks aren’t immune from cryptocurrency euphoria ( #ICOunicorns ), it means blockchain has entered a new stage of development and implementation in the global economy. It's just a matter of time before the biggest central banks do the same.

For cryptocurrency market capitalizations, has there ever been a more interesting time?

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