I'm working on a couple things at Metacoin HQ - keen study of the markets, writing about Bitcoin, and creating products that help people profit. (I do hope you'll check the site out - I have fun writing for it, and I hope that shows in the content.)

Now, let's talk about the other thing that I spend my time doing: explaining why Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies are nowhere near a bubble.

Just today, knee-deep in research, I heard a couple things that caught my attention:

Money on Two Sides of the Spectrum That Isn't In the Game Yet

Mark Hart shares his views in this interview clip:

One side, he says, is the hedge fund managers (few invested in crypto) and the hedge funds themselves (fewer still). The other side: not the unbanked, but those with mobile phones but no digital wallet. Stats are all over the map, but if you use the theory that 14 million Bitcoin wallets exist...there's room to grow. For the whole industry.

"Millionaire Conversations" have turned into "Billionaire Conversations"

Greg Wilson, writing in today's The Palm Beach Letter, recounts his story from the recent Consensus conference, where he heard the following from Michael Moro at Genesis Global Trading:

"In the last six weeks, I’ve gone from having millionaire conversations to billionaire conversations. There’s plenty of money still left to be deployed.

Japan, Money Wall, OMG

That's a little less technical than Wilson puts it; Wilson detailed regulation in Japan that allows Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to move much more rapidly through the economy. It's accepted as legal tender, and Japanese investors have already taken notice.

Wilson shared this quote from Brian Kelly, one of the pioneering Bitcoin investors:

*"Japan’s regulation is big news. Japan does $10 trillion in foreign exchange trading quarterly. That liquidity is coming to cryptocurrencies."

Contagion used to be a negative when Japan was mentioned; now, it's potentially one of the most positive developments: consumer adoption, enabled by a forward-thinking government.

Baseball Games are Nine Innings Long...

Can you see why we might still be in the first inning?