The jury might still be out on Bitcoin but that hasn’t stopped Perth-based technology entrepreneur and BRW rich-lister Zhenya Tsvetnenko from having a go at turning virtual currency into real dollars. Mr Tsvetnenko’s latest venture, digitalBTC, is hoping to raise $9.1 million through the reverse takeover of ASX-listed Macro Energy.

Under the terms of the arrangement, Macro will acquire Digital CC Holdings Pty Ltd and its wholly owned operating entity digitalBTC.

The $9.1m capital raising will be used to enhance the capability of digitalBTC, which is currently developing retail consumer products for Bitcoin and other digital currencies. digitalBTC will be the first digital currency-focussed company listed on the ASX. The raising is being arranged by DJ Carmichael and has closed oversubscribed. Shares in Macro Energy have been suspended since March 6, pending a significant transaction and capital raising.

Russian-born Tsvetnenko, who debuted on the BRW Young Rich List in 2009 with an estimated fortune of $107m, will head digitalBTC as its executive chairman. While a punt on crypto-currency isn’t without risks, Mr Tsvetnenko said the risks associated with Bitcoin were mitigated by the fact that the virtual currency market was picking up steam.

“If you look at the growth and the adoption rate, crypto-currencies are the future,” Mr Tsvetnenko said. The recent spotlight on Bitcoin has certainly helped with awareness, however mainstream consumer adoption is still has some way to go.

Forrester Research analyst Denée Carrington said Bitcoin’s value proposition was still questionable. “It is risky, it is complex, and the Bitcoin market is illiquid — all leading to little consumer upside,” Ms Carrington said in a recent post.However, she adds that crypto-currencies could well be the catalyst for more efficient global payments. According to Ms Carrington, current payments systems don’t fully meet the needs of consumers “engaging in cross-border commerce and remittances, or the needs of the unbanked and underbanked”.

It’s this opportunity that Mr Tsvetnenko is hoping to exploit, telling Business Spectator that the crypto-currency movement is still in a largely nascent stage. “We are at absolute ground level, at the infancy of this movement,” Mr Tsvetnenko said. “Now is the time to capitalise on the technology and build consumer products.”

With regulatory scrutiny turning to Bitcoin, Mr Tsvetnenko said that digitalBTC had received a very favourable welcome from the ASX and greater regulatory oversight was very important to legitimising the use of crypto-currencies.

via Perth millionaire takes Bitcoin company public | Business Spectator.