Lately across the web, mainstream media has been highlighting an individual named James Altucher an American author, hedge fund manager, podcaster, and financial jack-of-all-trades. These days Altucher has been riding the trend of the bitcoin phenomenon, and some people call him a “cryptocurrency guru.” This week, public records show Altucher and his colleagues plan to raise $10Mn USD to launch a digital assets trading platform.
It’s hard not to notice James Altucher as his picture with his eccentric hair, and his commentary on finance, is all over the web. These days Altucher’s words are tethered to the subject of cryptocurrencies. Altucher has been around the financial circuit for quite some time as a well-known author, entrepreneur, and he’s sometimes called a “guru.” This week it was revealed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that Altucher is backing a company called Bitzumi, Inc., which plans to launch a bitcoin exchange.
“Bitzumi is a vertically-integrated Bitcoin exchange and marketplace. Our mission is to drive growth to the cryptocurrency industry — We plan to launch our business divisions with a phased approach,” explains the firm’s SEC filing on January 4.
The co-founder, Altucher, and his company hope to raise $10 million USD, with a minimum of $1Mn for Bitzumi’s initial phases. The first phase will be a newsletter procured by Altucher, and the firm started that period already on October 9, 2017, when Bitzumi Publishing partnered with Altucher’s Agora Financial, LLC. Phase two will be the exchange and wallet system, two services that Bitzumi says will compete with the likes of large exchanges like Bitstamp. Initially, Bitzumi will offer bitcoin, litecoin, ripple, and ethereum trades.
Bitzumi’s application details that the business will also offer cryptocurrency payment processing and escrow features. Additionally, the exchange will be fully regulated working with U.S. officials from Fincen, SEC, CFTC, and the IRS. The business venture looks like it will be relying heavily on Altucher’s backing and his newsletter, but Bitzumi will be led by the chief executive officer, Scot Cohen, an executive involved with oil and gas entities. Becoming a business involved with popular digital currencies, Bitzumi aims to be positioned as an “emerging growth company” the filing emphasizes.
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