"There's a huge scramble to be able to apply this so that you'll be able to trade stocks 24/7" Holmes said in a recent interview.
But if you want to successfully mine cryptocurrency, you need cheap energy, ideally around 2 cents a kilowatt hour.
Mathematics Rules the Day
Speaking at the Money20/20 event in Las Vegas on 22 October, Apple Computers co-founder Steve Wozniak definitively sided with the Bitcoin camp, calling the U.S. dollar "phony" because more can always be printed. Bitcoin, he told CNBC, is "stable" because it can't be diluted, and its future supply is fixed at 21 million bitcoins. "Maybe there's a finite amount of gold in the world, but Bitcoin is even more mathematical and regulated and nobody can change mathematics," Wozniak said.
With Bitcoin hitting $6,000 per coin on 21 October, and breaking new records as its adoption surges, this is no longer just a game for individual miners with fast computers. It's now about industrial-scale mining and billionaire backing.
Even though cryptocurrency inhabits an unearthly geography in virtual time and space, where it is mined is just as important as it is for oil, gas, gold, or any other resource we mine.
The crypto sphere is everywhere, but mining its bounty means tapping into the cheapest sources of energy to keep costs down. The race now is to find the best venue with cheap energy and few reputational risks. Right now, that's Iceland, the Genesis of the new wave of Bitcoin.
Other companies to watch in the space:
Celestica Inc. (NYSE:
CLS) is a manufacturer of electrical devices used in IT, telecommunications, healthcare, defense and aerospace industries. The company has seen strong growth YoY which we expect to continue as the sales expectations are almost 3% better than last year's.
While many investors thought the stock was overvalued after a stellar run in 2016, the recent correction and volatility in the stock has attracted new buyers and the stock has recovered since.
While telecommunications stocks have been volatile recently, defense, IT and aerospace industries have outperformed and while many see limited upside, these industries continue to surprise both investors and analysts.
Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP) is a Canadian e-commerce company with more than 500,000 companies rely on Shopify's real-time e-commerce, including Tesla, Budweiser and Red Bull, among many others. Shopify manages their e-commerce machines, and its stock is now up to over $106 right now, with a market cap of over $10 billion. CNET called the application "clean, simple, and easy-to-use" in a review of the Shopify platform.
The company's online presence and sheer reach make it an ideal buy for investors. Shopify makes purchasing goods and services easy for anyone - and in a time where convenience is king, Shopify surely has staying power.
Pure Storage Inc (NYSE: PSTG) knows that data platforms are also a key asset in protecting companies against cyber-attacks. Pure Storage, Inc is a data platform focused on delivering fast, optimized and cloud-capable solutions for its customers while keeping data security as a top priority.
As the cybersecurity world becomes increasingly competitive, Pure Storage stands out because of its innovative and forward thinking business model.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: AMD) is Nvidia's biggest competitor. The company has developed a cult following among gamers, leading to many a Reddit debate. AMD's groundbreaking technology not only rivals that of Nvidia, some even argue that it outperforms it. As the two square off, one of the key areas to keep an eye on is in the GPU race. Widely purchased across the world as Bitcoin frenzy heats up, AMD is making a particularly hard push toward conquering that emerging demand.
While Nvidia has a significantly higher market cap (and stock price), AMD provides investors a much cheaper entrance into the gaming market. Those looking to get into tech industry stocks, mine Bitcoin, or play their favorite game on the highest quality are definitely not ignoring AMD.
By James Stafford of Oilprice.com
**IMPORTANT! BY READING OUR CONTENT YOU EXPLICITLY AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY**
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking information which is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements in this release include that HIVE Blockchain Technologies Inc. ("HIVE") will be able to take advantage of lower natural temperatures in Iceland in its Bitcoin mining operations, that natural cooling in Iceland will be a boon for Bitcoin, that other players in the cryptocurrency mining space, including Bitfury, Cloud Hashing, Russia and the Russian Miner Coin and Masatoshi Kumagai, will continue to invest in such space and derive positive returns from their investments in such space, that HIVE is planning on acquiring a second data center from Genesis in Iceland and that HIVE and certain of its large investors will not be left out of the Bitcoin wave. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Risks that could change or prevent these statements from coming to fruition include that HIVE will not be able to take advantage of lower natural temperatures in Iceland in its Bitcoin mining operations, that natural cooling in Iceland will not be a boon for Bitcoin, that other players in the cryptocurrency mining space may not continue to invest in such space or derive positive returns from their investments in such space, that HIVE will not be able to complete the acquisition of a second data center from Genesis in Iceland and that HIVE, Frank Giustra and Frank Holmes and certain of its large investors will be left out of the Bitcoin wave. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release reflect the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the writer based on information currently available to the writer. In connection with the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, the writer has made assumptions about HIVE's ability to take advantage of lower natural temperatures in Iceland in its Bitcoin mining operations and the expected success of HIVE's acquisition of a second data center from Genesis in Iceland. The writer has also assumed that no significant events will occur outside of the HIVE's normal course of business. Although the writer believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. The forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof and the writer assumes no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.
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