BitFund launches SA’s first diversified cryptocurrency platform
Weighted portfolios created for SA
SOUTH African cryptocurrency investment platform BitFund announced yesterday that it had developed the country’s first diversified and flexible investment platform meant to expose investors to index portfolios of more than 20 of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies.
The company said in a statement that BitFund had created three pre-specified portfolios structured to remove the complication of selecting individual cryptocurrencies.
There is the Balanced 10 Portfolio, which holds each of the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies weighted by their market capitalisations; the Equal 10 Portfolio, which holds each of the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies with equal weighting of 10% each; and the Capped 20 Portfolio, which holds each of the top 20 largest cryptocurrencies, weighted by their market capitalisations, with a maximum of 15% per cryptocurrency.
Founded by Joshua Miltz, Jonathon Ferrer, Bradley Goldman and Dean Joffe, BitFund’s single point of entry portfolio includes cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Iota, EOS, Cardano, Stellar and NEO, among others.
“In South Africa, the only safe and easy way to get investment exposure into cryptocurrencies is through buying Bitcoin and Ethereum, and these are currently only available through a single exchange,” said Miltz. “Most potential investors lack the technical knowledge and confidence to manually purchase lesser known cryptocurrencies on international exchanges, but BitFund makes it possible for them.”
Experts predict that the total cryptocurrency market value could reach $1 trillion (R13.35 trillion) by the end of this year (2018), “which is why cryptocurrencies are believed to be an attractive alternative investment option by many”.
Asked how this was possible, considering the current cumulative market cap of all the cryptocurrencies is about $417billion, from about $800bn before the recent downturn, Miltz said: “A year ago to the day, Bitcoin traded at $2 500. A year later, after a multi-month bear trend, it is still trading at more than double that price. Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies’) adoption rates around the world continue to grow.”
He said on more than 10 occasions in the past, the Bitcoin price had recovered after dropping more than 30%. For many who believed in the prospects of the technology and its adoption, a price recovery was inevitable. At its all-time high, the total crypto market cap reached almost $850bn.
Miltz said: “If we are to examine only the number of users that have adopted the technology, we can conclude we are around the same period as the internet’s adoption.
“Is it a certainty that the cryptocurrency market value will reach $1 trillion by the end of 2018? Far from it – the market is clearly still in its infancy and has proved time and time again to be unpredictable. Is it possible? Most definitely.”
Kraken Bitcoin exchange’s chief executive, Jesse Powell, said the main problem remained regulatory concerns.
The SA Reserve Bank recently concluded practical tests involving the country’s leading banks to determine how the rand can be tokenised to improve national payments using blockchain technology.
The exercise, known as Project Khokha, was driven by the Reserve Bank’s technical partner ConsenSys, and involved Absa, Standard Bank, Nedbank, FirstRand, Investec, Capitec and Discovery Bank.