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Even if you've been trading cryptocurrencies and studying blockchain technology for years, you may not have heard of David Marcus until just recently.
However, when the history of this still brand-new industry is written, he's going to go down as one of the more important behind-the-scenes power brokers.
Last month, you see, Marcus was promoted at Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) to head the social networking giant's "experimental" blockchain unit. (I'll tell you more about Marcus' background in a moment.)
There's more going on here than just a nice promotion in a hot new field. Facebook's move comes several months after Marcus joined the board of directors at Coinbase, an online exchange I've used for many years.
I'm sure many of you use Coinbase as well. (If you're not crypto trading yet, I'll start to show you how right here.)
The number of Coinbase users jumped exponentially throughout 2017 - from 400,000 in January to 4.3 million in December. Just check out this chart.
Marcus joined the board in that busy December - when Bitcoin and other e-currencies were reaching their all-time highs. Not so coincidentally, shortly after that, Coinbase started an acquisition spree, pulling off four so far, and began reaching out to big-money institutional investors.
To me, while from the outside Coinbase may look like a new form of company, it's really a classic Silicon Valley startup.
It's even based in San Francisco - for why that's important, take a look at this recent report.
And this post-Marcus series of moves tells me Coinbase is looking to go public.
Today, I'm going to show why these moves are so important for the future of crypto trading.
And I'll how you can get involved - before Coinbase makes its IPO move...
Today's Startups Are Key to Tomorrow's Profits
Let me explain why I pay so much attention to the world of startups. Fact is, the next generation of market leaders comes from that universe, especially when it comes to high tech.
Silicon Valley is famous as the place where companies can go from the drawing board to the public markets in just a few years' time, minting plenty of new millionaires along the way.
Not only that, but I can use my experience with startups in finding market-crushing tech winners.
Alert: This method may be the only way in history to turn a small sum of money into $100,000 without batting an eye. Read more...
See, during my nearly 35 years in and around Silicon Valley, I've served as a strategic consultant to a dozen high-tech startups. And I sat on the advisory board of a respected venture-capital firm. Having lived in this world for many years, I continue to track VC funding to stay on the lookout for the Next Big Thing.
When I saw that Marcus had joined the Coinbase board, my VC "alarm" rang - and hard.
I knew right away the company was in good hands.
Before joining Facebook, Marcus held a series of senior management positions at fintech leader PayPal Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: PYPL). He joined the firm after PayPal bought a mobile-payments startup that Marcus had founded.
He even served as PayPal's president from 2012 to 2014. But then he joined Facebook as vice president for Messaging Products. He took over Facebook's blockchain efforts last month.
And as it turns out, Marcus was one of two seasoned tech veterans to join Coinbase in December...
About the Author
Michael A. Robinson is a 36-year Silicon Valley veteran and one of the top tech and biotech financial analysts working today. That's because, as a consultant, senior adviser, and board member for Silicon Valley venture capital firms, Michael enjoys privileged access to pioneering CEOs, scientists, and high-profile players. And he brings this entire world of Silicon Valley "insiders" right to you...
- He was one of five people involved in early meetings for the $160 billion "cloud" computing phenomenon.
- He was there as Lee Iacocca and Roger Smith, the CEOs of Chrysler and GM, led the robotics revolution that saved the U.S. automotive industry.
- As cyber-security was becoming a focus of national security, Michael was with Dave DeWalt, the CEO of McAfee, right before Intel acquired his company for $7.8 billion.
This all means the entire world is constantly seeking Michael's insight.
In addition to being a regular guest and panelist on CNBC and Fox Business, he is also a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer and reporter. His first book Overdrawn: The Bailout of American Savings warned people about the coming financial collapse - years before the word "bailout" became a household word.
Silicon Valley defense publications vie for his analysis. He's worked for Defense Media Network and Signal Magazine, as well as The New York Times, American Enterprise, and The Wall Street Journal.
And even with decades of experience, Michael believes there has never been a moment in time quite like this.
Right now, medical breakthroughs that once took years to develop are moving at a record speed. And that means we are going to see highly lucrative biotech investment opportunities come in fast and furious.
To help you navigate the historic opportunity in biotech, Michael launched the Bio-Tech Profit Alliance.
His other publications include: Strategic Tech Investor, The Nova-X Report, Bio-Technology Profit Alliance and Nexus-9 Network.
I was left a little confused about the IPO.
Are you saying we will be receiving alerts to buy Coinbase stocks?
Kindly acknowledge.
Thank you,
Raquel
I love your insight and commentary.
I myself have joined the ranks of the Crypto currencies.
would love for you to review our newest release Acute Coin.
your opinion would be appreciated and maybe some pointers!