TradeStation President John Bartleman: Cryptocurrency "Here to Stay"
Cryptocurrency has investors in a frenzy, with some swearing by it, and others warning of instability and bubbles. In the pro-crypto camp is John Bartleman, president at digital brokerage firm TradeStation, who believes that digital currency is the future.
“I think this is here to stay, I think we are in the early days, somewhat like the internet in the early 80s, early 90s” he said.
Bitcoin is the top cryptocurrency now, shooting up the charts and, in a matter of weeks, jumping from $8,000 to over $11,000. Some analysts say there’s no reason for the hike, and swear the bubble is about to burst.
JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, one of the most notable naysayers, says the Bitcoin currency is a fraudulent system, too often used for illicit purposes. Similarly, the CBOE recently announced it will launch Bitcoin futures trading as of December 10th, offering free trading through the month of December. The exchange says the move will provide “transparency, efficient price discovery, deep liquidity, and centralized clearing,” to investors.
Bartleman does agree that there is a lot of fraud as of now, and that the digital currency can see a correction, but he contends that “there’s real value in [crypto].”
“In the next five years, I think we will find ourselves in a place where retail customers will be interactive, trading in different type of crypto companies,” Bartleman said.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. in the current fiscal quarter will be sourced from India, while iPads and other devices will come from Vietnam as the company works to avoid the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on its business. Apple’s earnings for the first three months of the year topped Wall Street’s expectations thanks to high demand for its iPhones, and the company said tariffs had a limited effect on the fiscal second quarter’s results. Cook added that for the current quarter, assuming things don’t change, Apple expects to see $900 million added to its costs as a result of the tariffs.
Visa is hoping to hand your credit card to an artificial intelligence “agent” that can find and buy clothes, groceries, airplane tickets and other items on your behalf.
Skift Editor-In-Chief Sarah Kopit discusses how summer travel plans remain uncertain for most as many international travelers are leery to travel abroad. Watch!
