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Trading in Code
Florida's bid for bitcoin
Top 5 Cryptocurrencies
- BITCOIN: While there are thousands of virtual coins in circulation today, 11-year-old bitcoin remains the leader. Market cap: $644 billion.
- ETHEREUM: Also based on blockchain, ethereum is known for its smart contract functionality, which allows for futures trading, puts, options and calls. ETH trades for about $2,000. Market cap: $251 billion
- TETHER: The world’s thirdbiggest cryptocurrency is tied to the U.S. dollar. While its value hovers at around $1, it’s not without risk. Critics contend that the digital token has inadequate cash reserves, and some worry a drop in confidence could trigger the crypto equivalent of a bank run. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others in Washington have signaled interest in regulating what they believe is simply a shadow banking system. Market cap: $61.8 billion
- BIANCE COIN: BNB is a so-called “utility token” that consumers can use to pay transaction fees on the cryptocurrency exchange platform binance. Developers can also use the token to power applications on the Binance Smart Chain, a blockchain network built to run self-executing contracts (smart contracts) created with computer code. Some traders soured on binance exchange last May when the cryptocurrency exchange froze in midst of a bitcoin price dip and they lost money. The crypto platform has attracted regulatory scrutiny from around the world. Market cap: $50.1 billion
- CARDANO: This thirdgeneration cryptocurrency, created by ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, is another smart contract platform. Its differentiator is a blockchain protocol called Ouroboros that Cardano contends is up to 4 million times more energy efficient than bitcoin and faster, too, validating thousands of transactions per second, compared to bitcoin’s average of seven per second. Market cap: $38.5 billion
Crypto-Mansion
In May, an anonymous buyer paid $22.5 million in cryptocurrency for a 5,067-sq.-ft. penthouse in Arte by Antonio Citterio, a condominium in Miami’s Surfside neighborhood between Bal Harbour and Miami Beach. Alex Sapir, chairman of the development group that built Arte, said in a news release that there’s a “strong pent-up demand” for cryptocurrency real estate transactions and that his company has been “overwhelmed” with calls from qualified buyers after announcing they’d be willing to conduct sales with virtual currency. “Real-world crypto transactions haven’t made their way fully into the mainstream yet, so it’s clear that top holders around the world pay attention when new opportunities to transact open up.”
Read more in Florida Trend's September issue.
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