Bitcoin: A surge of interested investors

According to Peter Delevett (Mercury News), Silicone Valley investors are taking great interest in Bitcoin and many young entrepreneurs, particularly those from California’s .com delivery ward, Silicone Valley, are excited about investing in Bitcoin.

Nick Holland, Boston based Javelin Strategy analyst, says that currencies like Bitcoin (created in 2008 by a programmer who goes by Satoshi Nakamoto, aiming to develop and regulate the trade of a digital currency unbound by central authority) could really effect money as we know it, given that the fees are low and nobody is controlling it.

And it is clear that concern around this is resulting in frantic opposition. For example, California finance officials sent the Bitcoin Foundation a cease-and-desist letter asking about money transfers without a license. The response was that they are merely in the business of developing certification guidelines for Bitcoin companies, which means that guidelines are yet to be formed and the transfer of bitcoins is pretty much, a free-flying practice at present.

Bitcoin really became well known when, last spring, the Cyprus government was unable to guarantee bank deposits and several investors liquidated their savings into Bitcoin by linking their bank accounts to Bitcoin transfer services.

Since then, the value of bitcoin has become increasingly stronger in spite of the dangers that are possible like money laundering, fraud and the sale of elicit products. And with all this, backers are still keen to get involved, but they are supportive of greater regulation to make transactions safer. Like Alex Farrara, investor with Bessemer sad: “Bitcoin, going legit will be a good thing.”

Even Mark Zuckerberg’s rivals in the Facebook battle, the Winklevoss twins, announced that they had bought around 1% of Bitcoins in circulation and are working on getting federal approval to let investors buy into the collection with shares in a public investment fund.

Garry Tan, partner at startup foundry Y Combinator and adviser to Coinbase (San Francisco startup that holds the record for the most venture capital invested in a Bitcoin company said: “Bitcoin will make a dent in society when more normal transactions occur that would have occurred with dollars or credit cards.”

Michael Terpin, co-founder of the new BitAngels investment network, attended the San Jose conference in May and commented saying: “I got the same kind of evangelism and hopes for incredible growth as I got in 1994, when I found little 10-by-10 booths for Yahoo (YHOO) and Lycos,” he said.

In his article Peter Delevett presents the frenzy that is Bitcoin right now – an incredible space to be watching with the evolution of currency as we know it, taking place before our very eyes. 

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