Ask HN: Are crypto-stocks the next big thing for startup funding?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5778199

by PelCasandra • 13 years ago

2 1 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I found crypto-stocks amazingly interesting but I have seen only a few companies like ASIC Miner who successfully implemented so far:

https://btct.co/security

Would this become best innovation landscape for startup funding raising?

meowface• 13 years ago

I am by no means an expert on Bitcoins or the economy, but here is what I think.

Bitcoin, as a technology consisting of self-sustaining peer-to-peer electronic currency, is solid.

Bitcoin, as a commodity or a security, is not solid at this time.

In the latter case, it is new, immature, and above all more volatile than traditional currencies. In the coming decades those three things may change, but I would not look into Bitcoins as a reliable investment or as a method of funding a company.

Just a simple example: your company has 50 common stocks worth 1 BTC each, and the value of BTC then suddenly goes from $120 to $160 by the end of the week, and then $110 by the middle of the next week. How do investors value you in such a case? Things get really complicated.

If the US dollar's value changed so drastically and so suddenly, the stock market would become pretty ridiculous. Plus there is the potential risk of major Bitcoin exchanges going out of business or being restricted by law enforcement in the future.

Ask HN: Are crypto-stocks the next big thing for startup funding?

Related Stories