Re:Show HN: Bitfuture – Lock in the Bitcoin exchange rate
by jboggan on Wednesday July 16, 2014 @08:02PM
(#8045301)
The SEC agrees that they are not stock or securities! [1]
Bitcoin payment processing (or ATMs, or foreign remittances) is going to be a big business but many of the current operators are charging only 1-3% as a transaction fee. It's not uncommon for there to be drops of that magnitude during the time it takes the payment to process and the transaction to verify in the blockchain, let alone be sold off as fiat to balance the payment processor's books. This is one way of hedging against that.
It's also effectively a way to short Bitcoin in the short term (not to 0) since it gives you a way to profit from a downswing.
Bitcoin payment processing (or ATMs, or foreign remittances) is going to be a big business but many of the current operators are charging only 1-3% as a transaction fee. It's not uncommon for there to be drops of that magnitude during the time it takes the payment to process and the transaction to verify in the blockchain, let alone be sold off as fiat to balance the payment processor's books. This is one way of hedging against that.
It's also effectively a way to short Bitcoin in the short term (not to 0) since it gives you a way to profit from a downswing.
[1] - http://www.sec.gov/oiea/investor-alerts-bulletins/investoral...