Bloomberg article on ethereum trader

[John Newman]

Apparently, "0x00A651D43B6e209F5Ada45A35F92EFC0De3A5184 couldn't
be reached for further comment." Heh :P


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-10/secret-millions-for-0x00a651d43b6e209f5ada45a35f92efc0de3a5184

Secret New Billionaires Cash in With Cryptocurrencies

   An unknown cryptocurrency trader turned $55 million of paper
   wealth into $283 million in just over a month.

   The only clue about this person or persons, beyond a virtual
   wallet with the identification code
   0x00A651D43B6e209F5Ada45A35F92EFC0De3A5184, surfaced on a June
   11 Instagram posting, in Bahasa, in which he or she (or they)
   (or somebody posing as them) boasted about the 413 percent profit
   accumulated earlier this year from ether, the digital money of
   the Ethereum blockchain.

   [IMG]

   Read more: Inside the Bold Attempt to Reverse a $55 Million
   Digital Heist

   "I get many private messages asking how much ether I have," the
   post read, alongside photos that purported to be the hardware
   powering a mining operation but looked lifted from another
   website. "One of the cool things about Ethereum is that all
   wallets around the world are transparent and open for everyone
   to see. And this is my wallet's savings."

   Hidden identities are a popular feature of the twilight world
   of virtual money. Now that the total value of cryptocurrency,
   such as bitcoin and ether, soared June 6 to more than $100
   billion, approaching the market value of McDonald's Corp.,
   concerned regulators say it might be time to link wallet IDs
   with actual humans.

  Nom de Guerre

   Secrecy persists from the days, earlier this decade, when Ross
   Ulbricht, going by the nom de guerre Dread Pirate Roberts, used
   bitcoin to launder money and traffic in narcotics, activities
   for which he started serving a life term at the Metropolitan
   Correctional Center in New York.

   That's not to say that 0x00A651D43B6e209F5Ada45A35F92EFC0De3A5184
   or any other entities are doing anything illegal. But opacity
   may be worsening jagged price movements. The value of ether, for
   example, rose from about $8 a unit at the start of the year to
   crest at $400 in June before settling around $250 today. A lack
   of transparency could also be stifling the mainstreaming of
   online money, according to draft legislation issued by the
   European Parliament in March.

   "The credibility of virtual currencies will not rise if they are
   used for criminal purposes," the draft said. "In this context,
   anonymity will become more a hindrance than an asset for virtual
   currencies" and their potential future popularity.

   Pseudonymity has always been a big part of the market's allure.
   Upending traditional ways of doing business was the lodestar for
   Ethereum's inventor, 23-year-old Vitalik Buterin. He released
   his software in 2015, not long after dropping out of Canada's
   University of Waterloo.

  Financial Privacy

   "One of its more important features is that you don't have
   identities tied to this," said Spencer Bogart, head of research
   at venture firm Blockchain Capital. "This financial privacy is
   an important characteristic."

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   Ether, the second-most-popular cryptocurrency after bitcoin, is
   used to pay for applications or programs that run on the Ethereum
   blockchain, a secured list of transactions that can be shared.
   That allows for the use of "smart contracts," or pieces of
   computer code that make the terms of such agreements operate
   automatically. The blockchain has the potential to reshape
   business and finance by enabling immediate settlements of
   activities such as bank transfers and securities trades.

   JPMorgan Chase & Co., BP Plc, Microsoft Corp. and ING Groep NV
   are among those experimenting with it.

   The current value of all the ether held, $23 billion, means
   dozens of electronic wallets have accrued nine-figure positions.
   Many of them could be held by individuals, according to a Bloomberg
   analysis. Individuals can hold multiple wallets.

  Crypto-Billionaire

   Likely candidates to be crypto-billionaires include hedge fund
   manager Michael Novogratz, Joseph Lubin, founder of ConsenSys,
   a blockchain production studio that works on Ethereum, and
   Ethereum creator Buterin.

   Novogratz, a former executive at Fortress Investment Group and
   Goldman Sachs Group Inc., has a long way to go, but he's been a
   consistent booster. He said last month that he has 10 percent
   of his net worth invested in virtual money. That's a stake worth
   at least $90 million, given a net worth calculated at $925
   million, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Novogratz
   declined to comment.

   Cryptocurrencies could become a $5 trillion industry, but they
   need to develop sound business principles to satisfy regulators
   and lend legitimacy, Novogratz said June 27 at a fintech conference
   in New York.

   Lubin, the former chief operating officer for Ethereum Switzerland
   GmbH, which developed the software, could hold hundreds of
   millions of dollars worth of ether, several investors said. The
   Canadian entrepreneur didn't respond to requests for comment on
   his holdings.

   "The long-range vision is moving the fundamental transactional
   elements of our society from analog, friction-filled systems to
   natively digital frictionless systems," Lubin told Bloomberg
   Radio June 21.

   Buterin said in a Reddit post last month his ether holdings equal
   what would amount to about $117 million today, according to
   calculations by Bloomberg.

   Like bitcoin, ether is struggling to overcome a reputation sullied
   by cyberattacks and technology bottlenecks. A flash crash last
   month saw the price of the cryptocurrency tumble to just 10 cents
   before rebounding to about $300.

   "A lot of lessons will be learned," said Peter Denious, head of
   global venture capital at Aberdeen Asset Management in Stamford,
   Connecticut. "A lot of money will be lost before a lot of money
   can be made."

   0x00A651D43B6e209F5Ada45A35F92EFC0De3A5184 couldn't be reached
   for further comment.
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