What was once considered a rogue, incredibly risky investment is now taking on the mainstream. From Wall Street magnates and gold mining gurus, through to everyday investors and opportunist high schoolers, everyone is getting in on the cryptocurrency market.What does a Bitcoin investor look like?A Bitcoin investor takes many forms, from a high schooler to the former CEO of Morgan Stanley. They all have different reasons and paths for getting involved in Bitcoin, but they are all making waves.. In from the beginning – the Bitcoin entrepreneurEarly Bitcoin entrepreneurs range from those who were first involved in the creation of Bitcoin and blockchain technology - true technology entrepreneurs and innovators - through to those who joined the cryptocurrency market quickly, seeing and believing in the opportunity.
The first investor in Bitcoin start-ups, nicknamed “Bitcoin Jesus” in the crypto community, was Roger Ver. He almost singlehandedly funded the first generation of Bitcoin businesses. His company MemoryDealers became the first mainstream company to accept bitcoin in 2011, and he launched the first website to accept Bitcoin as a payment. He’s currently raising millions, with plans to create a libertarian utopia, a country without government, with his Free Society project.The traditional investor turned bitcoin magnateThere is an undoubted shuffling of stances within Wall Street. The attitudes of influential traders and investors have ranged from objection and denial, to indifference, curiosity and outright support. Today, more traditional investors and major financial institutions are turning their cryptocurrency cold shoulders towards Bitcoin, and other coins, “altcoins.” Wall Street’s big players are investing in, and adopting, cryptocurrency.
One-time CEO of Morgan Stanley, 72-year old banker John Mack is a stereotypical Wall Street investor. He brought Morgan Stanley through the financial crises of 2008 by creating links with China Investment Corporation and a joint venture with Smith Barney, which formed the world’s largest wealth management firm.Now, he’s leading investment fund Venture One to back a Bitcoin start-up, Omega One. The startup is an agency broker that aims to “bridge between the traditional capital markets and the crypto markets.”
Canadian mining maverick Frank Giustra made his fortune building one of the world’s largest gold companies, Goldcorp Inc. A serial entrepreneur, he also founded Lions Gate Entertainment Corp, and now he’s making a bet on Bitcoin, backing Vancouver based cryptomining startup Hive Blockchain Technologies Inc. In three days Hive raised $30 million in share shales and since September have amassed a market value of $553-million.The young technology entrepreneurThe first to really get to grips with bitcoin, and blockchain technology, were the generation who grew up with Apple, Microsoft and Google. With no fear of a technology based asset and little to lose, there are many young technology entrepreneurs who are making it big with Bitcoin.
If you have been reading around cryptocurrency for a while, Erik Finman may be a familiar name. The 18 year old school drop out quickly reached mainstream press. Erik began buying Bitcoin for just $12 each with a gift from his grandmother. Once his Bitcoins reached a value of $1,200 in 2013, he started selling and used the money to launch an online education company, Botangle, in 2014. Botangle allows frustrated students like Erik was, to find tutors online, which suit their learning style. He currently owns 403 bitcoins plus other cryptocurrencies and is a millionaire. After his success in Bitcoin investing, he moved to Silicon Valley and is working on space projects with NASA.The Bitcoin minerBitcoins aren’t issued by a government or bank. They are “mined” by groups of individuals using software and increasingly more powerful PC’s. Miners can be anyone who joins a group and participates, using their computer to solve math problems, in return for Bitcoins. While earning bitcoins the miners validate transactions on the open distributed ledger of transactions that is a blockchain.
At just 23 now, Yifu Guo mined bitcoin while studying at New York University and went on to found bitcoin, or data, mining equipment firm Avalon in 2012. He’s now a millionaire with a corporate goal to further Bitcoins and improve the longevity of the blockchain network.The average, everyday Canadian investorThe average Canadian investor is getting closer to having bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies be a typical, expected asset class in their investment portfolio. Rivemont Investments, out of Gatineau, QC, launched the first cryptocurrency fund for accredited Canadian investors and clients of Canadian portfolio managers in early October 2017. The fund operates with the support of expert analysts, but offers a simplified vehicle for investing.In Ontario, Toronto-based Global Blockchain Technologies Corp just launched Canada’s first blockchain based investment company to allow investors in Canada and the US to take advantage of the cryptocurrency opportunity. Major pension funds across Canada are looking carefully at investing in the space, so you may shortly be a bitcoin investor without actually knowing. The venture capital arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System is reportedly one.Canadian venture capitalists, traders, technology entrepreneurs, and everyday savers and investors are all taking advantage of the Bitcoin boom. Stock Analyst Ronnie Moas predicted Bitcoin would hit $5,000 USD this year. He was right, and he now expects Bitcoin to rise a further 12x in value and the cryptocurrency market to reach a massive $2 trillion.Image credit: publicdomainpictures.net
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