Category Archives: Bitcoin

How to add Bitcoin to your Isa and profit tax-free – Telegraph.co.uk

Bitcoin investors have bid up the price to anall-time highbut its dramatic rise has meant early investors face large capital gains tax bill.

The price of of Bitcoin, the leadingcryptocurrency, has hitof $37,000, double what they cost one month ago. However, the currency cannot be owned directly in traditional tax-efficient accounts such as Isa and pensions.

Gains made outside of such accounts are liable for capital gains tax which could eat up10-20pc of the profits after a 12,300 allowance.

There are, however, a number of ways investors can track the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies via Isas and pensions.Telegraph Money takes you through the best options.

Bitcoin is mined by computers solving complex calculations which get gradually harder over time. There are currently 18.5m Bitcoins in circulation and the final ones are expected to be mined in 2140, meaning that there is still plenty of time for companies involved in the process to make a lot of money.

Argo Blockchain, listed on the London Stock Exchange, owns 16,000 computers working on these calculations.In 2020, it mined 2,465 Bitcoins. The share price has risen 1,600pc or 17times in the past year.

Read the original here:
How to add Bitcoin to your Isa and profit tax-free - Telegraph.co.uk

Explained: How bitcoin investments can be taxed in India? – CNBCTV18

Bitcoins, as of now, have not been given the status of legal tender in India by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Hence, there are no clear rules defining taxability when it comes to bitcoins, which calls for specific clarification from the Income Tax (I-T) department.

However, experts believe that its not a good idea to skip paying taxes on gains made from the sale of bitcoins.

In the words of Archit Gupta, founder and CEO, ClearTax, "All incomes are liable to income tax except explicitly exempt income."

Also read: Investing in bitcoins? Keep these things in mind

This means one may be liable to pay taxes on bitcoin investments too.

According to regular income tax parlance, the tax implications on cryptocurrencies should depend on the investment's nature, whether held as a currency or held as property.

Gain from the sale of bitcoin may be taxed as business income if traded frequently or taxed as capital gains if held for the purpose of investment. If regarded as business income, then the gains would be taxed as per the applicable slab rate. However, for investors in bitcoin; taxation may be similar to that of gains taxed as capital gains," Gupta explains.

This means if taxpayers redeem their investments before 3 years, they may have to pay short-term capital gains as per the current tax slab. If redemption is after 3 years, any redemption may be treated as long term capital gain and could be taxed at 20 percent with indexation.

However, the confusion still persists.

According to Sandeep Sehgal, director, taxes and regulatory, AKM Global, a consulting firm, bitcoins created by mining are self-generated capital assets and may be taxed as capital gains but section 55 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 does not recognize the same.

Also read: How to show earnings from cryptocurrencies in your ITR

Section 55 of the I-T Act talks about the cost of acquisition and improvement.

Thus, Sehgal points out that any profit on the sale of cryptocurrencies could be subject to taxation as income from other sources.

More clarity is awaited on this from the tax authorities.

Read more here:
Explained: How bitcoin investments can be taxed in India? - CNBCTV18

Bitcoin Tops $35,000 for Fresh Record as Wild Swings Resume – Bloomberg

  1. Bitcoin Tops $35,000 for Fresh Record as Wild Swings Resume  Bloomberg
  2. Bitcoin soars above $35,000, hitting new high  CNBC
  3. Bitcoin Trades Near All-Time High After Latest Gains  Forbes
  4. There is no reason to sell. What will happen to Bitcoin and Ethereum?  Finextra
  5. Bitcoin can hit $146000 as gold plays factor: JPMorgan  Fox Business
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

The rest is here:
Bitcoin Tops $35,000 for Fresh Record as Wild Swings Resume - Bloomberg

Bitcoin Sets New All-Time High Above $35K – CoinDesk – CoinDesk

  1. Bitcoin Sets New All-Time High Above $35K - CoinDesk  CoinDesk
  2. What is behind the recent surge in the price of bitcoin? | TheHill  The Hill
  3. Why is Bitcoin's price at an all-time high? And how is its value determined?  The Conversation AU
  4. Bitcoin (BTC USD) Latest News, Quote: Prices Sink With XRP, Ether  Bloomberg
  5. Veteran investor Bill Miller flips Warren Buffett's Bitcoin snub to argue crypto beats cash  Business Insider
  6. View Full Coverage on Google News

Link:
Bitcoin Sets New All-Time High Above $35K - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

Bitcoin is breaking records because bigger investors are buying it now, says PwC – CNBC

SINGAPORE Bitcoin's record-smashing rally seen in recent weeks was partly driven by the entry of more big, institutional investors into the market, according to PwC's global crypto leader Henri Arslanian.

The digital currency surged over $30,000 for the first time on Saturday and had advanced more than 300% in 2020, Reuters reported. On Monday afternoon in Asia, Bitcoin traded at around $32,668.93, according to CoinDesk.

The cryptocurrency has been around for a little over a decade, but it only began to rise in popularity among mainstream institutional investors last year. Crypto bulls have said that bitcoin is seen as a hedge against inflation, similar to gold.

"When you look at this bitcoin rally that we have been seeing in the last couple of weeks and months, really, there's two big elements driving it. One is the continuous entry of institutional players," Arslanian said Monday on CNBC's "Street Signs Asia."

Bitcoin's price resurgence last year was in part fueled by well-known Wall Street billionaires publicly backing the cryptocurrency. Analysts said their endorsement gave confidence to otherwise skeptical, mainstream investors. Investors such as Paul Tudor JonesandStanley Druckenmillerhave both put money in bitcoin and pointed out its potential as an inflation hedge.

studioEAST | Getty Images

Large financial companies likePayPaland Fidelity have also made moves in the cryptocurrency while the likes ofSquareandMicroStrategyhave used their own balance sheets to buy bitcoin.

Arslanian said he expects that trend to continue over the coming months, pointing out that there are various instruments now that allow institutional players to get exposed to bitcoin. "But also there's a lot of regulated players as well. This was not the case a couple of years ago," he said.

A second development driving the current bitcoin rally is retail investors and their fear of missing out, according to Arslanian. He said a lot more people today have accounts on crypto exchanges than before as buying cryptocurrencies is easier now than before.

"With these two big elements driving it, there's a lot of momentum going on in the space. There's a lot of optimism in the crypto markets as well," he said.

Bitcoin's recent performance is reminiscent of its frenzied rally to nearly $20,000 in 2017, which was followed by a sharp pullback in 2018, wiping out billions of dollars in the market capitalization of major cryptocurrencies. But crypto fans say the current rally is different as it is driven by institutional buying rather than retail speculation.

For his part, Arslanian said one big difference between this rally and the one seen in 2017 is clarity in regulations, which was scarce back then. Today, he said, most regulators around the world have people working on crypto internally. Many of the large financial centers have "pretty good regulatory clarity on crypto markets and that is giving comfort, not only to institutional investors but also retail investors as well coming in the market," he said.

While Arslanian declined to put a price target on bitcoin for this year, he said the current momentum remains optimistic. "More than the price of bitcoin, I'm watching the number of new institutional players coming in, which I think have an outsized impact on the markets," he added.

CNBC's Ryan Browne contributed to this report.

Here is the original post:
Bitcoin is breaking records because bigger investors are buying it now, says PwC - CNBC

Bitcoin prices could really go haywire if this happens in 2021 – Yahoo Finance

TipRanks

Theres a strong feeling growing among investors of relief that the new year will feature lower volatility than 2020. That along would be enough to boost spirits, but better yet, there is also a perception that the markets are going to drive higher in the new year.Marko Kolanovic, JPMorgans well-known quant expert, sees the initial stages of a positive feedback loop, with lower volatility and systematic investment strategies coming together to drive gains, attracting more investors and, in Kolanovics view, pushing the S&P 500 to 4,600 by years end. That will be a 25% increase for the index.A general market environment like that is bound to produce plenty of stock winners, and Wall Streets analysts are busy pointing them out. Among other things, they are tapping penny stocks, equities priced at less than $5 per share. Their rock-bottom starting price makes pennies the logical place to look for huge returns on investment. Although their risk factor is high, even a small gain in absolute numbers will turn into a massive percentage gain in share price.Using TipRanks database, we identified two penny stocks the pros believe could see explosive gains in the coming months. Not to mention each one gets a Strong Buy consensus rating from the analyst community.9 Meters Biopharma (NMTR)Some biopharma companies take a broad-based approach, while others focus on a niche. 9 Meters is one of the latter, taking aim at unmet needs for gastrointestinal patients. The companys development pipeline features drug candidates under investigation as treatments for short bowel syndrome (SBS) and celiac disease (CeD), two conditions that are both dangerous and difficult to treat.Drilling down to pipeline details, 9 Meters flagship product, Larazotide, is in Phase 3 development for the treatment of CeD. CeD affects about 1% of the population, yet there are no approved therapies. Top-line data from the study is expected in the second half of 2021.Furthermore, this past December, the company announced that it had entered an agreement with EBRIS, the European Biomedical Research Institute of Salerno, to investigate Larazotide as a potential treatment for respiratory complications due to COVID-19.The other major drug in the companys pipeline is NM-002, for SBS. The company has recently announced positive Phase 1b/2a results, with a measurable impact on disease symptoms from a compound that was well-tolerated by patients.NMTRs strong pipeline and $0.89 share price have scored it substantial praise from the pros on Wall Street.One of these NMTR bulls is Truists Srikripa Devarakonda. Citing Larazotide as a key component of his bullish thesis, the analyst noted, We acknowledge investors are likely to see a pivotal trial in a tough-to-crack Celiac disease program as high risk despite encouraging Ph2b data. We model $705M/$353M in peak unadjusted/adjusted sales and see potential upside of 400% - 1650% from positive Ph3 readout.Devarakonda also sees significant unmet need in SBS and continues to believe that NM-002 has a differentiated profile vs. SOC. His key takeaways from the recent Phase 1b/2a results include: 1) we believe that the drug showed early activity in SBS patients; all 9 patients showed meaningful reduction in total stool output volume; average TSO reduction was 42% from baseline; 2) responses occur rapidly, with effects on TSO seen within 48 hours of dosing; 3) safety profile looks favorable, we would like to see greater durability.To this end, Devarakonda rates NMTR shares a Buy along with a $5 price target. This figure conveys his confidence in NMTRs ability to soar 462% in the coming year. (To watch Devarakondas track record, click here)Turning now to the rest of the Street, other analysts are on the same page. With 4 Buys and no Holds or Sells, the word on the Street is that NMTR is a Strong Buy. Given its $4.33 average price target, upside of 386% could be in store for investors. (See NMTR stock analysis on TipRanks)Orchard Therapeutics (ORTX)Orchard Therapeutics takes the broad-based approach to the biopharma industry. The company is engaged in the development of gene therapies for rare, frequently terminal, diseases, including neurometabolic disorders, primary immune deficiencies, and blood disorders. The gene therapy approach uses blood stem cells to deliver corrected genetic information directly into the patients body.Orchards pipeline demonstrates the diversity of disorders amenable to gene therapy the company has no less than 12 drug candidates in development. Among these candidates, Libmeldy (OTL-200) stands out.Libmeldy is in commercialization stages as a treatment for MLD (metachromatic leukodystrophy), a rare, mutation-based genetic disorder of the nervous system. Libmeldy, which is designed to treat children suffering from the infantile for juvenile forms of MLD by replacing the defective ARSA gene, received its approval for medical use in the EU in December 2020.Wedbush analyst David Nierengarten notes the European approval of Libmeldy, and its implication for Orchards progress. He writes, We look forward to the companys commercial execution in the EU and an eventual 2022 approval in the US. Last month ORTX received IND clearance from the FDA for the program paving the way for discussions with the US regulators to decide a suitable path forward toward a BLA filing."Net-net, with possibly two gene therapies approved in the next 12-18 months and a pivotal study beginning in a third (MPS-I), we think ORTX shares are undervalued at these levels," the analyst concluded. In line with his bullish comments, Nierengarten rates ORTX as Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his $15 price target indicates a potential for 241% growth in the year ahead. (To watch Nierengartens track record, click here)Do other analysts agree with Nierengarten? They do. Only Buy ratings, 3, in fact, have been issued in the last three months. Therefore, ORTX gets a Strong Buy consensus rating. At $15, the average price target indicates shares could appreciate by 241% in the year ahead. (See ORTX stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for penny stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

Visit link:
Bitcoin prices could really go haywire if this happens in 2021 - Yahoo Finance

Why Ive Changed My Mind on Bitcoin – Yahoo Finance

There comes a point in every investors journey when he must admit he is wrong about something.In my case, I was wrong about bitcoin and whether it would ever be considered a legitimate asset class.This realization dawned on me in the last month when the price of bitcoin passed its December 2017 highs of $20,000. My prior belief was that bitcoin wouldnt surpass these highs for many years, if at all.I didnt think that bitcoin was going to zero, but I also didnt think it would eclipse its December 2017 peak anytime soon.

Nick Maggiulli is chief operating officer at Ritholtz Wealth Management and author of the Of Dollars and Data financial blog, where a version of this article first appeared.

Now that it has surpassed that peak by over 50%, I have come to realize that bitcoin isnt theone-trick ponyI thought it was. As Paulo Coelho wrote inThe Alchemist:

Well, here we are again. Bitcoin is on another spectacular bull run and investors are taking notice.Now that bitcoin has survived (and thrived) beyond its 2017 peak, many investors who used to see it as a joke are now realizing it isnt one.I am one of them.

I have changed my tune on bitcoin, but not because of many of the arguments put forth by bitcoin bulls.For example, bitcoin bulls have claimed that bitcoin would be used as a currency, that the U.S. dollar would plummet in value and thatthe halvingin May 2020 would increase bitcoins price.They were wrong on all counts, yet bitcoins price has still gone up.

What the bitcoin bullswereright about was increased adoption and the ability of many bitcoin owners to hold (HODL) even as prices rose dramatically.These two effects (more demand from buyers and reduced supply from sellers) have helped to boost bitcoins price and cement it as a legitimate asset class within the investment community.As a result, bitcoin has become a form of digital gold.You may not agree with this assessment, but if you still think bitcoin is going to zero you should reconsider your assumptions.

Story continues

Related: First Mover: As Bitcoin Rally Pauses, DeFi Keeps Astounding

The problem with arguing that bitcoin is going to zero is there are too many investors who are willing to buy it at a price far above $0.I remember speaking to many non-crypto investorsbeforethe recent run-up in price who said they wouldnt buy bitcoin at $10,000, but if it dropped to $1,000-$2,000 they would surely jump in.

Well, guess what?Now that the current price is above $30,000, some of those investors have likelyincreasedthe limit at which they would consider buying bitcoin.Instead of buying at $1,000 these same investors may be happy to jump in closer to $10,000.And every time the price goes up in the future, these mental buy limits go up as well, increasing the likelihood of bitcoins future survival.

But Nick, bitcoin doesnt have any intrinsic value!Well, guess what?Neither does gold,which has a $10 trillion market capitalization!So if you want to argue against bitcoin on intrinsic value terms, then you have to argue against gold, too. Because both the price of gold and the price of bitcoin are based around one thing and one thing alone belief, the belief that these assets will have value in the future.

See also: Pondering Durian Why >15% of My Net Worth Is in Bitcoin

And right now the collective belief in bitcoin is increasing.The cult is becoming areligion.Dont just take my word for it though.There are plenty of articles (seehere,here andhere) that discuss this increased adoption within the investment community. And if this trend continues (as it probably will), then we are evenlesslikely to see a future without bitcoin.

Now that bitcoin is here to stay, you might be wondering how it will behave in the future.Will increased adoption lead to higher prices?I have no idea!What I do know is bitcoin is a speculative asset class. Therefore, we should look at other speculative asset classes as a guide for how bitcoin might behave.And I believe there is no better speculative asset to use for this comparison than the early years of gold as an investment.

While gold has been around for millennia as a form of money, it wasnt untilAugust 1974 in the U.S.that it was an investable asset class.And in the six years following its reintroduction to the investment community (1974-1980), gold tripled in value in real terms (i.e., the yellow line below):

But since that tripling, it hasnt performed all that well.Though bitcoin is unlikely to follow a similar path to gold, it is likely to exhibit similarbehavior. This means bitcoin will continue to have huge run-ups in price followed by violent crashes that may last years (and possibly decades) in the future.We have already seen this kind of behavior from bitcoin before and I am quite confident we will see it again.

The difference between bitcoin and gold is that bitcoin is still gaining adoption among investors.

The difference between bitcoin and gold is that bitcoin is still gaining adoption among investors. Will that continue at its current pace into the future?Who knows?However, if bitcoins market capitalization were to match that of gold, it would be worth over $500,000 a coin. This is why some investors are so bullish on bitcoin.

However, there are still some reasons to be bearish.The main one is that bitcoin is associated with some of the most speculative investment activity out there.This is most apparent when comparing its price movement to the price movement of another speculative cryptocurrency dogecoin.Though you may not have heard of dogecoin, it is an alternative crypto currency (altcoin) that is kind ofan inside joke on the internet.

And since dogecoins price is aclearindicator of speculative behavior, if we look at the correlation between dogecoin and bitcoin we can get a better feel for how much speculation might be occurring in bitcoin at any point in time:

As you can see, over the last three years the correlation between dogecoin and bitcoin has been quite high, with the most recent correlation reading around 0.8.

But if we compare dogecoin to gold, we see that the correlation between their prices tends to center around 0:

This is just more evidence that bitcoin is associated with speculative activity and will continue to behave like a speculative asset in the future.

Though I have changed my mind on bitcoin, I havent necessarily changed my view on how one should invest in it. I believe the only prudent way to invest in this asset class without any long-term negative repercussions is to holdno more than2% of your portfolio in it. I wouldnt recommend this approach for everyone, but it may work for some people.By limiting your exposure to 2% of your portfolio youre unlikely to get rich, but youre unlikely to go bankrupt either.

Why 2%?This was the allocation I gotwhen I worked out the optimal portfolioback in October 2017.Anything more than 2% adds too much risk (per unit return) to your portfolio and anything less than 2% reduces your returns (per unit risk) too much.Of course, the optimal portfolio is the best solution for the past, not the future.Either way, I dont see the harm in a 2% allocation, but please do your own research first.

See also: Ajit Tripathi Why Im Long Crypto, Short DLT

The biggest risk I see to owning bitcoin going forward isnt a price crash (which is inevitable), but the possibility of a government ban on ownership.This might seem outlandish but in April 1933 the U.S. governmentbanned the ownership of gold bullion/coinagefor all U.S. citizens.The reasons for that ban are very different from a bitcoin ban that could happen today, but withthe recent Securities and Exchange Commission complaint against Ripple I wouldnt rule it out completely.

Lastly, I might be wrong on many of the things I have stated today or in the past.But I dont blog so that I can be right. I do it so I can learn more about investing and get closer to the truth.As economist John Maynard Keynes (or Paul Samuelson)supposedly said:

When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?

Here is the original post:
Why Ive Changed My Mind on Bitcoin - Yahoo Finance

Bitcoin Surges Into 2021, Rose Nearly 20% Over Weekend – The Wall Street Journal

Bitcoin got the new year off to a scorching start as investors continued to pile on bets that the digital currencys price will keep rising.

The price of bitcoin rose as much as 19% over the weekend, trading as high as $34,452 on Sunday, according to CoinDesk. It finished 2020 at $28,966, more than quadrupling on the year.

Bitcoin has been on an extended rally since early September, part of the everything rally that has fueled gains in stocks, emerging markets and other assets.

In many respects, what has happened in the first few days of 2021 resembled a stock market short squeeze, said AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam. He was referring to the cascade of buying that can happen when investors respond to a price jump by buying back stock they have sold in an effort to keep their losses from mounting.

It wasnt just bitcoin that took a wild ride. The price of ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, rose as much as 35% over the three-day weekend, trading above $1,000 for the first time since early 2018. Ether eased by 1% on Monday, closing at $998.

More:
Bitcoin Surges Into 2021, Rose Nearly 20% Over Weekend - The Wall Street Journal

Bitcoin Surges to Record High on its 12th Anniversary – GlobeNewswire

Dublin, Jan. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ResearchAndMarkets.com published a new article on the Bitcoin industry "Bitcoin Surges to Record High on its 12th Anniversary"

Bitcoin has soared to a record high following rising interest from investors and financial institutions. Bitcoin began 2021 by breaking through the $30,000 mark for the first time less than three weeks after first trading above $20,000. On Sunday, the 12th anniversary of the creation of the bitcoin network, it hit a new high of more than $34,000. Bitcoin's recent performance is reminiscent of a similar rally in 2017 which was followed by a sharp decline in 2018.

The latest rally comes as institutional investors and financial institutions show a growing interest in bitcoin, with some arguing that bitcoin can be seen as a hedge against inflation similar to gold. Large financial companies like PayPal and Fidelity have also begun to move into the cryptocurrency space which has lent confidence to claims that bitcoin is on its way to becoming a mainstream payment method. Other cryptocurrencies such as Ether have also rallied. However, some analysts remain concerned about the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies.

The article on ResearchAndMarkets.com contains a selection of reports on bitcoin such as:

To see the full article and a list of related reports on the market, visit "Bitcoin Surges to Record High on its 12th Anniversary"

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Read more here:
Bitcoin Surges to Record High on its 12th Anniversary - GlobeNewswire

Bitcoin will make you poor! Heres how Id invest in 2021 to create passive income for life – Yahoo Finance UK

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Colombias government is reviewing plans to sell a stake in Interconexion Electrica SA that is attracting interest from publicly owned companies, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.Grupo Energia Bogota is among companies considering a bid for the stake in the transmission company, while Ecopetrol SA and Empresas Publicas de Medellin could also look at the asset, one of the people said, asking not to be named discussing private matters. The government owns a majority 51.4% stake in ISA, which at current market prices could fetch $4.2 billion.President Ivan Duques administration has identified divestments as a potential source of income to narrow the fiscal deficit to 7.6% of gross domestic product this year and try to stave off the risk of having its credit rating cut to junk. The deficit widened to an estimated 8.9% in 2020 after the government was forced to boost spending to cope with the pandemic.ISA shares hit a record high in Bogota trading Wednesday, gaining as much as 3.6%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.From time to time, news mentioning that the government wants to divest ISA reminds investors that in case that possibility materializes it would involve a chunky premium, said Daniel Guardiola, an analyst at BTG Pactual in Bogota.The sale would likely fetch a premium since it involves potential control of the company and based on previous sales of energy transmission companies in the Andean region, he said.While Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla has said the government wont privatize what he has called strategic assets, a sale between public companies may help meet both those criteria. The sale would send a message to ratings companies that the government is committed to meeting its fiscal targets, the person said.ISA, Empresas Publicas de Medellin and Grupo Energia Bogota declined to comment. The Finance Ministry and Ecopetrol didnt reply to requests for comment.While Ecopetrol is owned by the national government, Grupo Energia and Empresas Publicas de Medellin are controlled by regional authorities.A bidding process could be launched in the coming months, the person said, though previous attempts to sell the asset in 2019 were called off. This time however, the government needs the revenue to finance its 2021 budget.Empresas Publicas de Medellin currently owns 8.8% of ISA and Grupo Energia Bogota sold a 1.7% stake in the firm in 2017. Ecopetrol, the state-run energy producer, is advancing in renewable plans with solar energy projects.ISA, which operates energy transmission lines and highways in Latin America, has a market value of 29.4 trillion pesos ($8.6 billion), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. ISA shares have rallied 31% in the past year on Colombias Colcap index, while the local stock market overall fell 14%.(Updates with share price and analyst comment starting in 4th paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.2021 Bloomberg L.P.

Read the original here:
Bitcoin will make you poor! Heres how Id invest in 2021 to create passive income for life - Yahoo Finance UK