Bitcoin is gaining momentum in the mainstream market with the listing of an exchange-traded fund on the Nasdaq. The Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust ETF will list 1 million shares under the COIN symbol at an initial public offering price of $20.09 per share.

Entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have had prior experience with Bitcoin startups, having invested in the now-defunct BitInstant, which provided a means of paying for purchases through the cryptocurrency. The Winklevoss twins — more popularly known for their involvement in the founding of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), and the resulting lawsuits over ownership — have likewise once claimed to own 1% of all Bitcoins as of 2013. The listing of the ETF has been in the works since 2013, with the first filing having been made in July that year.

According to the prospectus (PDF), the final version of which was submitted to the SEC on December 30, 2014, the ETF’s aim is to reflect the performance of Bitcoin. “The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of Bitcoins, as measured by the Winklevoss Index (“Winkdex”), less the Trust’s expenses,” it says. The Index is based on an algorithm developed by the brothers, which monitors the price of Bitcoin in real time.

The ETF will essentially enable individuals and entities with a brokerage account to invest in Bitcoin without having to hold on to the cryptocurrency itself, which may include challenges in buying, storing and safekeeping the coins. Another advantage is that the value of the ETF shares will be based on a consolidated Bitcoin price based on different exchanges around the world, which often differs in exchange rate and accessibility. And while individuals can already use and exchange Bitcoins through wallets and online exchanges, investors might not necessarily have the time nor technical know-how in doing these.

To date, investing in Bitcoin can come in the form of mining for coins (which requires significant investment in hardware infrastructure), or earning from the spread that ensues with price fluctuations. For investors, the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust will provide various strategies, such as short selling or trading the shares on margin. The ETF will also enables brokerages to buy or sell options. One longer-term benefit for the cryptocurrency and the community surrounding it is that Bitcoin gets exposure to mainstream investors and could bolster stability in its value and usage.

The SEC was earlier reported to have had positive reception of the Bitcoin ETF, noting that the fund could potentially bring stability to Bitcoin as an investment instrument and virtual currency.

The post Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust ETF To List 1M Shares on NASDAQ appeared first on VR World.

Chinese shopping mall developer Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co (HKG: 3699) became listed on Dec. 23 and was Asia’s biggest IPO this year but its price ended up a 3% plunge when the market was closed.

During a press conference of the IPO, Wang said that the firm is also planning the IPO in Shanghai and it will be happening very soon, while the group is also planning to have IPOs for all its subsidiary companies in the future.

“Fortune is nothing but numbers. It is definitely not my priority to be the richest man in China, but it is my dream to build my company a super international giant of its kind,” Wang said.

A latest research and statistics by the Hurun Report said that Wang Jianlin (王健林), chairman for Wanda, will replace Alibaba Group’s (NYSE: BABA) founder Jack Ma (馬雲) and become the most wealthy man in China if Wanda’s stock price appreciates for more than 30% but it did not happen.

Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin

Hurun Report ranked Wang as the 26^th richest person in the world in 2014, with a total asset of US$25 billion. In 2013, Forbes ranked him as the 128^th richest person in the world, with the asset of US$8.6 billion. In August 2013, Bloomberg listed him as the richest man in China with a total amount of US$14.2 billion. Hurun Report said that his net worth rose to US$22 billion in September 2013. Wang, who owns 98% of the Wanda Group, is currently ranked as the 4^th richest man in China by Forbes.

Alibaba’s stock price, meanwhile, ended up with a 38% appreciation on the first day to be listed on New York Stock Exchange back in September.

The IPO values the company at 8.6 times 2015 earnings forecasts. The Beijing-based firm has China’s largest commercial property portfolio, with 159 Wanda Plaza shopping centers and six Wanda City projects across China.

Fitch Ratings said that the proceeds from the IPO will help reduce Wanda’s leverage from 10.8 times earnings at the end of June to just under seven times by year-end, while net debt is expected to be trimmed to below US$10 billion, from US$13 billion five months ago.

Moody also estimated in a recent report and said that Wanda’s net debt ratio will decline to 38% to 42% at the end of 2014, from 44.5% at the end of June.

“The IPO will reduce Wanda’s reliance on debt funding, thereby enhancing its interest coverage,” Moody’s report said.

The post Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co’s IPO in Hong Kong appeared first on VR World.

Taiwan’s 4G subscribers will exceed 10 million in 2015: IDC

Market researcher International Data Corp (IDC) said on Dec. 11 that the total amount of the 4G subscribers in Taiwan will top 10 million next year, as telecoms’ flat rates and strong sales of new smartphones, such as the iPhone 6.

IDC originally projected that there could be one million 4G users by the end of 2014 but the actual figures could hit 3.3 million.

“Over the past seven months, the uptake of 4G in Taiwan has been stunning. The growth has greatly surpassed our expectations,” said Andy Ye (葉振南), IDC analyst.

During the first year for 4G operations, Ye said, Taiwan’s 4G penetration rate surged to 11.2%, which was a faster adoption rate than Hong Kong’s 6.7% and Korea’s 2.3% in the early stages of 4G deployment.

The analyst also attributed Taiwan’s rapid uptake to telecoms offering flat rates for unlimited Internet access to grab market share. Also, sufficient and various mobile devices for the 4G system also gave a boost to the business, he said.

Taiwan is the first country in the world to deliver 4G services on the 700MHz bandwidth, he said.

More and more people use their handheld devices to shop online

Ruten.com, an auction website that was established by PC Home Online and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), said on Dec. 11 that its transaction volume increased by 15% year-on-year because of the increasing use of handheld devices.

“More than 75% of buyers browse our page by handheld devices and 45% of them make purchases through smartphones or tablets,” said Vicky Tseng (曾薰儀), chief operating officer for Ruten.

Quoting a recent survey, Tseng said that Ruten’s pageviews via mobile devices surged 87% from last quarter, while the number of unique visitors rose 77% quarterly.

Echoing Ruten’s remarks, International Data Corp (IDC) said that the growth in smartphone and tablet use in the Asia-Pacific region showed that an era of mobile commerce is emerging. The report said that China’s Singles’ Day sales on Nov. 11 saw more than 40% of all transactions completed on mobile devices. For 2015, more than 50% of consumer transactions will be carried out via handheld devices, the report said.

TRI raises Taiwan’s GDP growth forecast

The Taiwan Research Institute (TRI) raised its forecast for the nation’s 2014 GDP growth and expected the pace to gain modestly next year as the global economy enters an era of great moderation.

TRI, a Taipei-based think tank, elevated its projection for GDP growth to 3.36% this year, from 3.1% estimated in June.

Wu Tsai-yi (吳再益), president for TRI, said that U.S. economy’s recovering is favorable for Taiwan’s exports, which was also one of the reasons for the nation’s GDP growth.

Wu said that the GDP growth might rise to 3.43% next year. He said that Taiwan used to outperform the world economy in terms of GDP growth, but the gap has tapered off in recent years, as Taiwanese firms increasingly lose their competitive edge and the government fails to provide substantial assistance.

People’s Bank of China pushes banks to lend more

People’s Bank of China, the nation’s central bank, has increased the nation’s annual new loan target to US$1.62 trillion, from previous local media estimates for the figure.

An anonymous source said that Chinese banks have disbursed US$109.7 billion of loans between January and October so they will have to quicken their pace before the end of this year, if the central bank has indeed raised the target.

The amount of new loans issued by Chinese banks fell by more than a third in October.

Uncertainty for the future Hong Kong electoral reforms

The prospects for compromise over the future of Hong Kong’s electoral system remained unclear after the clearing of Occupy Central’s base camp from Admiralty district, with protesters and government officials’ demands still essentially at odds.

Officials signaled some willingness to negotiate on the makeup of the nominating committee that would vet candidates for chief executive in Hong Kong’s first election in 2017.  But both student protestors and pro-democracy lawmakers said that they will reject any proposal that requires candidates to be approved by a Beijing-controlled nominating committee.

Twelve Chinese IPOs unexpectedly approved

A total of 12 initial public offerings (IPOs) were unexpectedly approved by China’s securities regulator on Dec. 11.

The IPO approvals include budget carrier Spring Airline’s US$234 million listing, and medium-sized Chinese brokerage Guosen.

The regulator’s decision could dampen the surge in China’s stock markets, as the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has spiked over 30% in the last two weeks amid speculation the central bank will further ease monetary policy.

Billions of dollars have flowed into the market, giving the regulator space to accelerate the pace of IPO approval without over-diluting valuations of existing shares.

The post Cross-strait News Daily Round-up for Dec. 12 appeared first on VR World.

Remember when we were telling you that GoPro would be going public sometime this summer? Well, today was that day and their IPO did pretty damn well for its first day. GoPro is listed on the NASDAQ as GPRO and originally opened at the IPO price of $24 and currently sits at $31.34 which is an increase of over $7 per share and over 30%. This is also one of the most recent hardware IPOs in recent history and clearly shows the market’s fatigue with software company IPOs and the desire to invest in tangible hardware companies.

At the opening of trading today and once the stock officially went public, the stock was up as high as $32.86 which was as high as it went today. After that, it was mostly a battle to see how high it would end by the end of the trading day. However, the stock is still trading up in AH trading which is only a few cents, but will likely mean an even bigger payout for those that got in on the IPO. In terms of volume, 45.82 million shares changed hands today which is based on the initial shares offered of 17.8 million shares, meaning those 17.8 million shares changed hands almost 3 times. Likely meaning they were bought, sold and then bought once again in most cases.

GoPro raised about $427 million on the share sale and valued the company at approximately $3 billion, however the share price rise of 30% would mean that GoPro is already valued at $4 billion, which seems fair considering the company’s domination of their market and the overall success of their product. A lot of this value is also put on by the fact that they are expanding into content production and their much anticipated GoPro Hero 4 (or GoPro Hero 4K ) will likely do wonders for the company’s bottom line. This is because it will finally offer a major reason for people with GoPro cameras from virtually any generation to upgrade to it, without needing much else to improve. Even though, GoPro has proven that even their incremental upgrades can bring a lot of much needed improvements.

Also, now the company will be much more susceptible to investor jitters and pressure and any and all news can affect the company negatively or positively, so they’re likely going to treat the GoPro Hero 4’s launch very carefully and make sure that it gets the company the returns that their investors are likely going to expect.

The post GoPro's IPO Opens Up 30% on First Day of Trading appeared first on VR World.

As we had earlier reported on rumors of a GoPro Hero 4(K), GoPro was expected to be filing for an IPO prior to the release of their GoPro Hero 4(K). This followed a rumor that they had secretly filed for an IPO only days after hiring themselves a new CFO. So, it comes as little surprise that they officially filed for an IPO with the SEC today to the tune of $100 million. Thanks to this filing we now know how well GoPro has been doing as a company over the course of the past few years.

In 2011, GoPro had reported a profit of $24.6 million on $234.2 million, followed by $32.3 million on $526 million in 2012 and $60.6 million on $985.7 million in 2013. In addition to that, we already know that GoPro reported earnings of $11 million on $235.7 million in the first quarter of this year. While we don’t know GoPro’s seasonality from quarter to quarter due to the fact that they’re not a public company yet, we cannot assume that GoPro is on pace for a slower year in 2014 compared to 2013.

However, we do know that GoPro is due to release a 4K camera this year, probably called the GoPro Hero 4K. Thanks to the filing, we do know that their profitability in the first quarter of 2014 likely went down because they doubled their spend on R&D compared to the previous year, likely thanks to their development of the GoPro Hero 4(K)’s inevitable arrival. What’s even more interesting is that GoPro is currently sitting on over $111 million in cash, which makes a $100 million IPO almost seem silly. But the reality is that a lot of people probably want to cash out on their stock, including some of GoPro’s investors.

The great thing about GoPro is that they are well known across the consumer, active sport and professional cinema community. And the expectation is that since they will probably release the GoPro Hero 4(k) around the same price range as their current top-end camera which is $399. Some people believe that GoPro will release it for $499 since there are no 4K capable cameras (at 30 fps) currently for sale anywhere near that price. Even 4K capable smartphones are selling for more money than a $399 or $499 GoPro and they wouldn’t product anywhere near the quality image or video that a 4K GoPro would.

Realistically, there are a lot of scenarios where they could have their profitability impacted. But the truth is that they don’t really have any real competitors and their product is very good. Once they go 4K it will be a lot harder for them to convince consumers to upgrade, but that is why GoPro is trying to also become a media company and grow the distribution of that content as well. 4K is going to be a great catalyst for that growth and they may actually end up being one of the premier places to get 4K content, period.

The post GoPro Files a $100 Million IPO, Solidly Profitable appeared first on VR World.

Up pops someone’s face on your smart phone. Will you accept or reject that person in your hunt for a soul mate or a hookup? Zoosk and Tinder apps offer similar means of seeking a relationship. Tinder,  available for free on iPhone and Android was voted the Best New Startup of 2013 by TechCrunch. It grabs images from Facebook from a user designated geographic area and matches those people with your idea of the perfect mate. Zoosk hopes to win awards soon in the IPO arena.

It is said “A picture is worth a thousand words” which is lucky for Tinder advocates because they only have 500 characters to wow people with who they are. If you aren’t one of the most attractive people whose face is being flashed to potential suitors, it will take more than an average of 100 words to ensnare a potential date. Be careful of the direction you swipe that image or whether you tap the X or the Heart. Even a beauty can end up with a beast.

On line dating has been around for some time. Lots of Lonely Hearts Club members keep the cash registers of those apps ringing even if wedding bells rarely result from their search.

Investors keep the hopes of romantic startup companies high. In March, an analyst upgraded the parent company IAC who owns Tinder to a ‘buy’ rating. That may or may not reflect on the quality or promise of the dating service itself. IAC’s portfolio also includes non-love-affair-focused websites Ask.com, About.com, HomeAdvisor.com that seeks to hook you up with a home improvement professional, not with a one-night stand, and Vimeo.com.

Zoosk uses a Behavioral Matchmaking engine where you just click and it builds a preference profile for you. Zoosk is hoping potential investors throw not only kisses, but cash its way. With revenues last year over $178 million accompanied by declining expenses it has a more solid financial basis than other tech companies with notorious IPO’s. Comparing revenue to number of employees, Zoosk chalks up about $1 million per employee. In contrast, IAC revenue per employee is slightly less, at $755,747.

Zoosk garnered more than $60 million in VC backing before filing an initial S-1 this week. The company is hoping to raise another $100 million. Currently, co-founders Shayan Zadeh and Alex Mehr and three VC companies hold a combined 90 percent interest. The shares will be traded under the symbol ZSK on the New York Stock Exchange.

Competition in computer dating is solidly in place with the likes of Match.com and. eHarmony which for example holds 23.5 percent market share. Zoosk lags far behind with only 7.7 percent penetration, even though its 650,000 subscribers are distributed worldwide. It doesn’t help that Tinder which was started by four entrepreneurs is backed by IAC, the parent company which also owns Match.com. This upstart claims to be generating 10 million matches per day. The question is: How long does a subscriber remain a paying customer? Weddings result in membership loss as people remove themselves from the dating scene or people simply tire of the superficial approach most on-line dating services offer.

If you think there’s competition in the bar scene for finding a date, try competing with all those flashy photos thrust on your smartphone one after another after another.

The post Betting on Dating and Love, the Tech Way appeared first on VR World.