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Secret millions for cryptocurrency trader

An unknown cryptocurrency trader turned $55 million of paper wealth into $283 million in just over a month.

The only clue about this person or persons, beyond a virtual wallet with an ID code, surfaced on a June 11 Instagram posting, in Indonesian, in which someone boasted about the 413 percent profit accumulated this year from ether, the digital money of the Ethereum blockchain.

I get many private messages asking how much ether I have, the post read, alongside photos that purported to be the hardware powering a mining operation, but looked lifted from another website. One of the cool things about Ethereum is that all wallets around the world are transparent and open for everyone to see. And this is my wallets savings.

Hidden identities are a popular feature of the twilight world of virtual money. Now that the total value of cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin and ether, soared June 6 to more than $100 billion, approaching the market value of McDonalds Corp., concerned regulators say it might be time to link wallet IDs with actual humans.

Secrecy persists from the days when Ross Ulbricht, going by the name Dread Pirate Roberts, used bitcoin to launder money and traffic in narcotics, activities for which he started serving a life term at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York.

Thats not to say that the person in Indonesia or any other entities are doing anything illegal. But opacity may be worsening jagged price movements. The value of ether, for example, rose from about $8 a unit at the start of the year to crest at $400 in June before settling around $250 now. A lack of transparency could also be stifling the mainstreaming of online money, according to draft legislation issued by the European Parliament in March.

The credibility of virtual currencies will not rise if they are used for criminal purposes, the draft said. In this context, anonymity will become more a hindrance than an asset for virtual currencies and their potential future popularity.

Pseudonymity has always been a big part of the markets allure. Upending traditional ways of doing business was the lodestar for Ethereums inventor, 23-year-old Vitalik Buterin. He released his software in 2015, not long after dropping out of Canadas University of Waterloo.

One of its more important features is that you dont have identities tied to this, said Spencer Bogart, head of research at venture firm Blockchain Capital. This financial privacy is an important characteristic.

Ether, the second-most-popular cryptocurrency after bitcoin, is used to pay for applications or programs that run on the Ethereum blockchain, a secured list of transactions that can be shared. That allows for the use of smart contracts, or pieces of computer code that make the terms of such agreements operate automatically. The blockchain has the potential to reshape business and finance by enabling immediate settlements of activities such as bank transfers and securities trades.

Tom Metcalf is a Bloomberg writer. Email: tmetcalf7@bloomberg.net

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Secret millions for cryptocurrency trader - SFGate