Asia’s Richest Man Gives Bitcoin a Vote of Confidence
Li Ka-shing is Asia’s richest man, and he’s also a big supporter of Bitcoin. With Bitcoin coming under fire from mainland China’s government, Mr. Li has given the currency a big boost of confidence. Mr. Li was one of the principal investors behind Bitpay, which recently raised $30 million dollars in Series A funding. Mr. Li has an estimated net-worth of about $32 billion dollars and has made most of his money off of property development and other traditional industries. He has been branching into more cutting edge fields, however, through his Horizon Ventures firm and other efforts
US Government Report Claims China a Threat to Bitcoin
The looming threat of the Chinese government’s crackdown on Bitcoin is hanging heavy over the Bitcoin community. Apparently, the American government agrees with the most pessimistic members of the Bitcoin community. A government report found that the Chinese government could derail the growth of the Bitcoin community and the value of the coins themselves. The report did note that there might be ways around Chinese government control, and that Hong Kong in particular could emerge as an important Bitcoin hub.
Richard Branson Invests in Bitcoin
Richard Branson, the eccentric and super-famous founder of Virgin Airlines and numerous other companies, is now investing in Bitcoin. Along with Li Ka-shing, Mr. Branson is believed to have been a major funder for Bitpay. Mr. Branson has long been known for being involved in cutting edge industries and disrupting the status quo, so this move should come as no surprise. He is also known to harbor a rather serious grudge against the traditional banking industry.
Winklevoss Betting Big on Bitcoin
The Winklevoss Twins, most well-known for their legal battle with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, launched a Bitcoin based trading fund. Last week, the twins announced their plans to list the fund on the Nasdaq, which would bring Bitcoin into the mainstream investing community. Each Bitcoin will have five shares listed against it. The twins, meanwhile, will make most of their money off of commissions charged for managing the fund. In theory, this fund should offer much higher security than traditional exchanges, such as the now-collapsed Mt. Gox. So if that issue has been holding back your investment dollars, this fund might be the answer.
Paypal Actively Considering Adding Bitcoin
Online payment giant Paypal, owned by Ebay, is considering integrating Bitcoin with its payment system. If so, this would dramatically increase the legitimacy and usability of Bitcoin. Paypal is one of the world’s most popular payment systems. Jeff Donahhoe, the CEO of Ebay, recently stated that Bitcoin will have a very important role in the future and that Bitcoin is on the company’s “radar.”