Bitcoin, Ripple, And CryptoKitties

All aboard the blockchain train, destination unknown

BITCOIN DID RATHER WELL last year, to put it mildly. Talk and speculation is now everywhere. Bubbling under, however, we have a new hot property: Ripple. This rose 120 percent in a week, to become the second largest cryptocurrency by market value. One to watch, and there’s good reason: It can do what Bitcoin struggles to achieve.

Bitcoin remains the trailblazer for now. It started last year trading at $976 a pop, high enough to start attracting attention from pundits, investors, and less savory characters. Stories of Mafia money laundering and North Korean sanction dodging painted a somewhat unwholesome image, and major financial figures, such as Warren Buffett, were scathing. However, the new generation of tech money was hot.