A New Gold Rush

A new “Gold Rush” is upon us. As we leave 2017 and step into the brightest future that most have ever seen, 2018 is definitely promising to raise more millionaires and billionaires worldwide.

The original Gold Rush started here in the United States, in 1799, when a 12-year-old boy playing on his family’s farm found a 17-pound gold nugget in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. Would it surprise you to know that the gold nugget was used for three years as a doorstop until a jeweler pointed out its value? A series of mining exploits took place in the Carolinas, which led to the migration of over 300,000 miners and people from the United States and overseas; in 1848, when gold was found in California, many moved there.

Today, we don’t have to travel anywhere or perform hard labor to mine for what many are calling the “new gold”—crypto currency. Bitcoin is the first and considered “the father” of many virtual crypto currencies to follow. Bitcoin is powered by a digital ledger software code called Blockchain, making it a decentralized payment network. It allows payments between parties without the use of a bank. Anyone with an internet connection and the specific hardware can become a miner of this electronic cash.

I purchased a mining kit upon its inception, in 2009, because I, like many other entrepreneurs who sell online, wanted to exchange currency without having to use traditional financial institutions. Bitcoin transactions are irreversible because there are no intermediaries to block a transaction. This was the appeal and the dangling carrot that had me hooked.

Imagine my surprise two years ago when I realized that this internet-based currency had turned into an actual security that is now being traded internationally. The coins that I bought, in 2009, for $5 to $7 are now worth well over $12,500. We’ve seen the price of a Bitcoin go as high as $18,000 in the last quarter of 2017. Even individuals who do not consider themselves investors have bought into Bitcoin, along with a plethora of other crypto currencies because money is being made so quickly.

Amazon introduced a virtual coin in 2013 and registered three crypto currency-related web domains last October. We will see how this giant shows up in the crypto marketplace in 2018. Tesla has also joined the crypto world with TeslaCoin and is doing very well in the market.

The gold rush doesn’t end with crypto currency. We also have the legalization of marijuana, which is the fastest growing industry in the United States right now! One day before California legalized recreational cannabis on January 1, 2018, cannabis stocks rose 30 percent in the preceding five trading days. Sales in California are expected to reach $20 billion creating a multimillion-dollar windfall for investors, growers, dispensary owners, etc.

Canadians are earning huge profits from legalized cannabis, as well. A Vancouver-based grower and dispenser, Aurora Cannabis Inc., was up 22.1 percent in five days; an 804 percent increase since 2016. Canada will definitely see its fair share of new millionaires once it goes fully legal with its cannabis this summer.

And, would it surprise you to learn that there is even a crypto currency for marijuana? Yes, the major currency is called Potcoin. It’s the first virtual currency for the legalized cannabis industry. We also have Cannabiscoin, Dopecoin and Hempcoin to name a few.

As an entrepreneur and an investor, I love the new financial opportunities that have been presented to the world. This new “gold” is for everyone not just a chosen few.