Cryptocurrency Related Stocks

Disclaimer

This article does not constitute investment advice. Cryptocurrencies and many cryptocurrency-related companies are very speculative investments that are volatile and could go to zero. Before investing in any company or coin, do your own research and talk to your financial advisor. The key statistics and descriptions on this page come from Yahoo Finance. The option chains are snapshots taken on 26 November 2017 from Etrade.com. The “Overview” sections are bitconsult’s comments. Many of these companies have no business mentioning the word “blockchain”. When in doubt, assume that the companies are trying to make a quick buck by latching on to crypto.

Introduction

More and more publicly traded companies are integrating Bitcoin or blockchain technology into their business models. Most companies can be roughly categorized as follows:

Retailers that accept Cryptocurrencies as payments for good/services. Exposure to Bitcoin is compounded if the companies hold their BTC on the balance sheet, as opposed to converting to fiat currency at the time of sale. If the holdings are big enough, this effectively makes the entity an investment company. Companies that facilitate Cryptocurrency Investments. This includes everything from Bitcoin Closed-end funds to hedge funds that invest in Bitcoin or blockchain-related companies. This can also include ICO-hosting services. Cryptocurrency exchanges. This includes fiat gateways (USD/BTC) as well as platforms for Bitcoin futures. Cryptocurrency mining companies. Hardware wallet manufacturers. Companies that build decentralized applications, bitcoin wallets, blockchain explorers, or applications that are built on top of the Bitcoin Protocol.

“Blockchain, not Bitcoin”

“Blockchain, not Bitcoin” has become a popular catchphrase recently. Many companies are claiming that Bitcoin is a fraud, but Blockchain can help facilitate everything from financial services to worldwide logistics. Expect a full blog post on this subject in the future, but let’s address a couple of points.

Much of the power of the Bitcoin blockchain comes from decentralization. No single entity controls Bitcoin. A network of thousands of nodes from around the world contribute to Bitcoin’s emergent consensus. All transactions and addresses are treated equally. Most “blockchain” solutions being proposed by companies would be centralized. An enterprise logistics blockchain that consists entirely of nodes run by a single company is nothing more than a centralized server. If a company uses blockchain to improve its own internal data management, great. Some efforts have been made to create more decentralized blockchains that focus on a specific industry. There have been proposals to share healthcare information on a blockchain that is validated by nodes run by health insurance companies, hospitals, doctors, and more. While this would be a step towards decentralization, it is still a semi-centralized solution.

Bitcoin is also powerful due to its immutability, which exists due to the massive amount of hashpower dedicated to the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin miners battle to create the next Bitcoin block, dedicating more computing power than any known system on Earth, and using more energy than some small countries. The immense amount of computing power effectively cements transactions, and the data they contain, into history. After a couple hours have passed, it is virtually impossible to change Bitcoin’s blockchain. No other digital currency, let alone enterprise blockchain solution, comes anywhere near Bitcoin’s immense computing power. Therefore, the immutability of any enterprise blockchain solution is suspect.

Publicly Traded Cryptocurrency Companies

Many decentralized applications have been funded by Initial Coin Offerings (ICO’s) in 2017. Dozens of serious Blockchain projects are private companies, still in the venture capital stages. There are, however, a growing number of companies using Bitcoin, or building blockchain solutions.

Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC)

Key Statistics

Price: 1,074.01, Market Cap: 1.863B, P/E: N/A, EPS: N/A, Earnings: N/A, 52 Week: 92.50-1,075, 1 month: 695.60-1073.99, Market: OTC

Description

GBTC is a closed end fund owned by Grayscale, a Digital Currency Group Company, that holds approximately 172,000 Bitcoin. There are currently 1,868,700 shares outstanding, equating to .09211 BTC per share. The Annual fee is 2%.

Overview

GBTC allows investors to indirectly own Bitcoin by purchasing shares in their trust. GBTC allows investors to purchase through their brokerage accounts, which makes owning Bitcoin easier and more familiar to some. Being a publicly traded trust, GBTC is also eligible to be held in certain IRA’s, 401k’s, and other tax-advantaged accounts.

The convenience comes at a cost, however. In addition to a 2% management fee, GBTC often trades at a premium to its Net Asset Value (NAV). As of 24 November 2017 1300 EST, GBTC trades at $1,074.01 per share. With each share representing .09211 BTC, the fund trades at the equivalent of $11,660 per BTC. On 24 November, BTC traded for $8,237.19 on GDAX, one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges. This equates to a 41.5% premium. Over the course of 2017, investors have shown a willingness to pay premiums higher than 100% for the convenience of owning GBTC. However, Bitcoin futures will begin trading in December 2017, which will pave the way for Bitcoin ETF’s. As Bitcoin ETF’s become a reality, expect the GBTC price to become more in line with its underlying assets. Coinbase, a leading Bitcoin exchange, is also rapidly gaining users. As more investors realize the ease at which they can purchase Bitcoin with no management fees, GBTC’s premium should fall.

Options

None

Overstock (OSTK)

Key Statistics

Price: 63.95, Market Cap: 1.6B, P/E: N/A, EPS: -0.52, Earnings: 29 January, 52 Week: 13.75-65.25, 1 Month: 43.35-63.95, 1Y target: 85, Market: Nasdaq GM

Description

Overstock.com, Inc. operates as an online retailer in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Direct and Partner. It offers brand name, non-brand name, and closeout products, including furniture, home decor, bedding and bath, housewares, jewelry and watches, apparel and designer accessories, health and beauty products, electronics and computers, and sporting goods, among other products; and sells various books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, and video games. The company also provides handcraft, fresh produce and other food, and insurance products. Overstock.com, Inc. sells its products and services through its Internet Websites located at overstock.com, o.co, and o.biz, as well as through the United States based third party logistics providers to international customer. The company was formerly known as D2-Discounts Direct and changed its name to Overstock.com, Inc. in October 1999. Overstock.com, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Midvale, Utah.

Overview

Overstock’s CEO has long been a proponent of Cryptocurrencies. OSTK started to surge after an announcement that the company would be retaining a percentage of Bitcoin received as payments. This effectively makes Overstock an investment company. Overstock recently announced that it would launch a “compliant” ICO platform and subsequently launch its own token through its subsidiary, tZERO. The ICO could raise as much as $500 million, though the largest ICO to date was Filecoin, which raised $257 Million. The ICO is scheduled for 18 December, 2017.

Options

Square (SQ)

Key Statistics

Price: 48.86, Market Cap: 18.9B, P/E: N/A, EPS: -0.22, Earnings: 20 Feb 2018, 52 Week: 12.38-49.56, 1 Month: 34.62-48.86, 1Y Target: 38.62, Market: NYSE

Description

Square, Inc. develops and provides payment processing, point-of-sale (POS), financial, and marketing services worldwide. It provides Square Point of Sale, a POS application software that offers managed payments solutions and advanced software products, including Square Dashboard, a cloud-based reporting and analytics tool that provides sellers with real-time data and insights about sales, items, customers, and employees; Square Payroll, which empowers sellers to hire, onboard, and pay employees and the associated taxes; and customer engagement tools that help sellers to enhance their business through digital customer feedback, marketing, and loyalty programs. The company also offers in-person/card present payments solutions, such as magstripe readers, contactless and chip readers, and chip card readers; and Square Stand that transforms an iPad into a POS terminal. In addition, it provides online/card not present payments services through the Square Point of Sale mobile apps or Square Virtual Terminals; Square Invoices and Square Online Store for processing payments; Square Cash, a peer-to-peer payments service; Square Capital that facilitates loans to pre-qualified sellers based on real-time payment and POS data; and Caviar, a courier order management app that provides food delivery services for restaurants. Further, the company offers gift cards, square appointments, instant deposit, customer engagement, employee management, and other subscription and services-based products. Its customers include retail, services, and food-related industries of various sizes ranging from a single vendor at a farmers market to multi-location businesses. Square, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Overview

Square recently announced that it would allow some users to purchase Bitcoin through its Square Cash app. Integrating this feature into Square Cash could make Bitcoin more accessible to millions of people, particularly younger users. Coinbase, the leading Bitcoin exchange in the United States, has been adding users very quickly. Square has some work to do in order to get fully approved to serve as a Bitcoin exchange, so the company may encounter some regulatory roadblocks.

Options

CME Group, Inc. (CME)

Key Statistics

Price: 141.86, Market Cap: 48.274B, P/E: 28.96, EPS: 4.9, Earnings: 31 January 2018, 52 Week: 111.19-143.99, 1 month: 134.95 – 141.86, 1Y target: 147.27, Market: NasdaqGS

Description

CME Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. The company offers a range of products across various asset classes, based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities, and metals. Its products include exchange-traded; and privately negotiated futures and options contracts and swaps. The company executes trade through its electronic trading platforms, open outcry, and privately negotiated transactions, as well as provides hosting, connectivity, and customer support for electronic trading through its co-location services. It also provides clearing and settlement services for exchange-traded contracts, as well as for cleared swaps; and regulatory reporting solutions for market participants through its repository services in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. In addition, the company offers a range of market data services, including live quotes, delayed quotes, market reports, and historical data services, as well as index services. CME Group Inc. serves professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, corporations, manufacturers, producers, governments, and central banks. The company was formerly known as Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and changed its name to CME Group Inc. in July 2007. CME Group Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Overview

CME recently announced that it would be listing Bitcoin futures. Bitcoin futures would be a stepping stone towards Bitcoin ETF’s. Futures can be used both for price speculation but also for hedging. Bitcoin miners and companies that transact in Bitcoin could gain more stability and legitimacy when futures are launched. CME has announced that Bitcoin futures will trade sometime in December 2017. CME will be competing with CBOE to be the first publicly-traded service to launch Bitcoin futures.

Options

CBOE Global Markets (CBOE)

Key Statistics

Price: 120.13, Market Cap: 13.63B, P/E: 65.68, EPS: 1.83, 52 week: 72.06-120.13, 1 month: 111.12 – 120.13, 1Y target: 113, Market: NasdaqGS

Description

CBOE Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an options exchange in the United States. It offers marketplaces for trading options on various market indexes; futures on the VIX Index; options on the stocks of individual corporations comprising equity options; and options on other exchange-traded products that include ETP options, such as exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes, as well as other index options. The company owns and operates CBOE primary options market, which offers trading in listed options through a single system that integrates electronic trading and traditional open outcry trading on its trading floor in Chicago; CFE, an all-electronic futures exchange, which provides futures on the VIX Index, as well as on other products; and C2, an all-electronic exchange that offers trading for listed options. Its exchanges operate on its proprietary technology platform, known as CBOE Command. The company has a strategic relationship with S&P OPCO LLC; FTSE Russell; MSCI Inc.; and S&P Dow Jones Indices, LLC. CBOE Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Overview

CBOE will be battling with CME for Bitcoin Futures supremacy when it launched BTC futures in December 2017. It is unclear which company will open futures trading first.

Options

MGT Capital Investments, Inc. (MGTI)

Key Statistics

Price: 2.235, Market Cap: 108M, P/E: N/a, EPS, -.94, Earnings: 13 Apr 2017?, 52 Week: 0.460-4.260, 1 month: 1.835-2.235, 1Y target: 4.00

Description

MGT Capital Investments, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, focuses on acquiring and developing a portfolio of cybersecurity technologies. It intends to address various cyber threats through protection technologies for mobile and personal tech devices, as well as corporate networks. The company also engages in bitcoin mining operation. MGT Capital Investments, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.

Overview

MGTI focuses on Mining, cybersecurity, and privacy phones. John McAfee serves as “Chief Cybersecurity Visionary”. McAfee has been very outspoken on cryptocurrencies, even saying he would chop off his penis and eat it on national television if Bitcoin did not hit $50K within 5 years. McAfee often appears on financial TV shows, doing interviews on Bitcoin. McAfee often says misleading or slightly incorrect things about Bitcoin, and does not often represent the currency well. McAfee appears to be throwing more support behind Bitcoin Cash at the moment, and is close with Jihan Wu and Roger Ver. MGTI recently pumped 35% in a single day (11/24/2017).

Options

None.

U.S. Global Investors (GROW)

Key Statistics

Price: 4.91, Market CapL 74.574M, P/E: N/A, EPS: -.03, Earnings: Feb 7 2018, 52 Week: 1.25-4.97, 1 month: 2.99-4.80, Market: NasdaqCM

Description

U.S. Global Investors, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to investment companies. It also provides its services to pooled investment vehicles. The firm manages equity and fixed income mutual funds for its clients. It also manages hedge funds. The firm also manages exchange traded funds. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. It invests in G.A.R.P. and value stocks to make its equity investments. The firm employs a fundamental and quantitative analysis with top-down and bottom-up stock picking approach to make its investments. U.S. Global Investors, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is based in San Antonio, Texas.

Overview

GROW offers mutual funds, ETF’s and services to hedge funds. GROW recently surged 59% on 24 November. GROW and the Galileo fund invested in HIVE Blockchain technologies, the first publicly-traded firm involved in mining cryptocurrencies.

Options

Riot Blockchain, Inc. (RIOT)

Key Statistics

Price: 23.60, Market Cap: 130.07M, P/E: N/A, EPS: -2.12, Earnings: N/A, 52 Week: 3.4-24, 1 month: 7.3-22.15, Market: NasdaqCM

Description

Bioptix, Inc., through its subsidiary, BiOptix Diagnostics, Inc., develops enhanced surface plasmon resonance technology platform for the detection of molecular interactions. The company also focuses on animal healthcare and owns important intellectual property rights related to veterinary products. In addition, it has granted a license relating to single chain reproductive hormone technology for use in no-human mammals, which is under active development by the licensee bovine rFSH. The company was formerly known as Venaxis, Inc. and changed its name to Bioptix, Inc. in November 2016. Bioptix, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is based in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Overview

RIOT surged 47% on 11/24/2017. RIOT is cashing in on the Blockchain craze by investing in blockchain companies. It appears they’ve recently made a major shift in their business strategy. It is unclear what unique talents the RIOT team has, or how they will create a business out of blockchain services.

Options

None

Xunlei Limited (XNET)

Key Statistics

Price: 24.91, Market Cap: 1.654B, P/E: N/A, EPS: -0.47, Earnings: N/A, 52 Weel: 3.11-27, 1 month: 8.38-24.463, Market: NasdaqGS

Description

Xunlei Limited, a cloud-based acceleration technology company, operates an Internet platform for digital media content in the People’s Republic of China. The companys platform is based on cloud computing that enables users to access, manage, and consume digital media content. It offers Xunlei Accelerator, which enables users to accelerate digital transmission over the Internet; and cloud acceleration subscription services that offer users premium services through various products, such as Green Channel and Offline Accelerator. The company also provides Mobile Xunlei, a mobile application that allows users to search, download, and consume digital media content on their mobile devices; Xunlei Media Player, which supports online and offline play of digital media content, as well as simultaneous play of digital media content while it is being transmitted by Xunlei Accelerator; online games, including Web games and MMOGs through its gaming platform; online advertising services; and other Internet value-added services. As of December 2016, its platform had approximately 152 million monthly unique visitors. The company was formerly known as Giganology Limited and changed its name to Xunlei Limited in January 2011. Xunlei Limited was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, the People’s Republic of China.

Overview

Xunlei is the best performing stock in the Nasdaq Composite since 12 Oct. The company recently started a “Wanke coin mining” cryptocurrency project. The stock has risen 350% since the announcement.

Options

Social Reality, Inc. (SRAX)

Key Statistics

Price: 7.69, Market Cap: 66.714M, P/E: N/A, EPS: -0.9, Earnings: 13 Nov 2017, 52 Week: 1.11-7.95, 1 month: 4.062-7.69, Market: NasdaqCM

Description

Social Reality, Inc., an Internet advertising and platform technology company, provides tools to automate the digital advertising market in the United States. Its technology tools enable publishers and advertisers to maximize their digital advertising initiatives. The company offers Social Reality Ad Exchange (SRAX), a real time bidding (RTB) sell side and buy side representation technology, which assists publishers in delivering their media inventory to the RTB exchanges; and SRAX MD, an ad targeting and data platform for healthcare brands, agencies, and medical content publishers. It also provides SRAX Social, a social media and loyalty platform that allow brands to launch and manage their social media initiatives; and SRAX APP, a platform, which allows publishers and content owners to launch native mobile applications through its SRAX platform. The company sells targeted and measurable online advertising campaigns and programs to brand advertisers and advertising agencies across Facebook apps and Websites, as well as offers its services through in house sales team. It offers tools for brands in the healthcare, CPG, automotive, wellness, and lifestyle verticals. Social Reality, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Overview

SRAX jumped 32% on 24 November. SRAX recently announced an ICO for a cryptocurrency called “BIGtoken”. The BIGToken appears to serve a similar purpose as Brave browser’s Basic Attention Token (BAT). BAT currently has a market cap of $172 Million following an enormous ICO. Presale of BIGToken will begin in January.

Options

None.

MARA

Key Statistics

Price: 5.95, Market Cap: 52.961, P/E: N/A, EPS: -2.13, 52 week: 0.52-9.16, 1 month: 1.582-5.95, 1Y Estimate: 4.0, Market: NasdaqCM

Description

Marathon Patent Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, acquires and monetizes patents primarily in the United States. The company is involved in the acquisition of patents and patent rights from their owners ranging from individual inventors to Fortune 500 companies; and monetization of its patents and patent rights by entering into license discussions. As of December 31, 2016, it owned 515 patents. The company was formerly known as American Strategic Minerals Corporation and changed its name to Marathon Patent Group, Inc. in February 2013. Marathon Patent Group, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Overview

Marathon surged an astounding 171% on 24 November. On 2 November, the company announced it would purchase a mining company called Global Bit Ventures Inc. It is speculated that Marathon may shift it’s focus to be more blockchain-related.

Options

HIVE Blockchain Technologies (PRELF)

Key Statistics

Price: 2.23, Market Cap: 570M, P/E: 123.89, EPS: 0.02, 52 week: 0.06-5.25, 1 month: 2.28-2.23, Market: OTC

Description

HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. operates as a cryptocurrency mining firm. The company focuses on building a bridge from the blockchain sector to traditional capital markets. It mines multiple cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Monero, and ZCash. The company was formerly known as Leeta Gold Corp. and changed its name to HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. in September 2017. HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Overview

HIVE is a cryptocurrency mining company. Size/equipment/profits are unclear. There is a lot of competition in the crypto mining space.

Options

None.

Other Stocks

These stocks have not been research by bitconsult, but have been flagged as “cryptocurrency-related”.

Exeblock Technology (XBLK.CN), DigitalX Limited (DCC.AX), Coinsilium Group Limited (CINGF), BTL Group Limited (BTLLF), BTCS Inc. (BTCS), 360 Blockchain Inc. (CODE.CN), Seven Stars Cloud Group (SSC), First Bitcoin Capital Corp. (BITCF), Global Arena Holding Inc. (GAHC), UBI Blockchain Internet, Ltd. (UBIA), Micronet Enertec Technologies, Inc (MICT)

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