The Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) cryptocurrency carries a total market value of $348 billion today. That's more than 18% of the total cryptocurrency market, which clocked in at $1.89 trillion at 2 p.m. ET on Monday afternoon. Will the second-largest cryptocurrency's market cap reach the $1 trillion benchmark in the next three years? Let's take a look.

You could consider a theoretical move from Ether's all-time high on Nov. 8, 2021, where it was worth $4,627 per token or $569 billion in total. From there, Ether could have reached $1 trillion by rising 76% higher.

But the last three months have been rough, as investors of all stripes have backed away from high-risk options such as cryptocurrencies and growth stocks. After a 40% drop, the Ethereum blockchain network's token needs to gain roughly 187% to reach a full trillion dollars from today's prices.

So we're looking at Ethereum prices nearly tripling over roughly three years. Historically speaking, that's a pretty low bar to clear. The token has gained 2,260% over the last three years, for example -- including that 40% plunge from November's peak. Viewed in a different light, Ether has gained roughly 187% in the last 13 months. Of course, the ride has not been smooth, but the kind of move required for Ether to reach $1 trillion from here has been fairly commonplace so far. And it was more than just a sectorwide rising tide that lifted all cryptocurrency boats. Ethereum achieved this near-tripling gain while larger peer Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) only rose 24%, roughly in line with the stock market.

Ethereum Price data by YCharts

The Ether token has several important price-boosting tailwinds at its back.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the legislative and regulatory processes to grind their wheels, but the other three price drives could catch fire at any moment. In particular, Ethereum's technology upgrades should take full effect no later than 2023. Some of the upside from that event has probably been priced into Ethereum's tokens already, but we have not seen the full effect yet.

So yes, I expect Ether's market cap to exceed $1 trillion by 2025, and quite possibly by a large margin. The Ethereum network has some growing up to do, and investors should be able to take advantage of that constructive process.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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Will Ethereum Be a Trillion-Dollar Cryptocurrency by 2025? - Motley Fool

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Police said it's a massive increase compared to 21 occurrences in 2021 with a loss of $270,000 and 2019 where just four incidents were reported with a loss of $84,000

Some Edmontonians looking for love last year are collectively down more than $5 million after being victimized by cryptocurrency investment scams, police said.

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Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is warning residents of cryptocurrency investment scams due to the crimes rapid rise in the city.

In 2021, the EPS cybercrime investigations unit identified 87 cryptocurrency investment complaints with a monetary loss of over $5.29 million. Police said its a massive increase compared to 21 occurrences in 2020 with a loss of $270,000 and 2019 where just four incidents were reported with a loss of $84,000.

EPS cybercrime units Det. Dana Gehring said a number of the investment scams started on an online dating platform.

We know online dating is extremely common, so we want to ensure Edmontonians know the signs of a potential romance investment scam and understand that dating sites and social media should not be where you find cryptocurrency investment tips, said Gehring.

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EPS said a fraudster would approach the victim on a dating or social media platform and claim to live in Canada, with many saying they lived near Edmonton but were currently out of town. Geographical separation is a common romance scam tactic, said police.

Police added a fraudster would move the conversation off the dating platform onto a messaging app as soon as possible and then delete their dating profile. These fraudsters also keep communication to the messaging apps, no video calls or in-person meetings.

Victims were initially told to send their cryptocurrency to a legitimate trading platform, but after trust had been built with the fraudster, they would be directed to a new investment website, which was fraudulent and controlled by scammers, EPS said.

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We quickly trust strangers online, especially if we feel an emotional connection to them, so if that potential partner appears to be an expert and guarantees quick, high returns, it sounds perfect, said Gehring. That should be the first red flag investments arent perfect.

EPS encourages Edmontonians to conduct online searches for the phone number or address given by the person they are speaking with online, to call them and have video chats, research the websites and apps associated with the investment and meet them in person. Police said do not send personal documents or money without meeting someone first.

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Edmonton police issue warning about cryptocurrency investment scams on dating platforms - Edmonton Journal

Crypto.com Coins (CRYPTO: CRO) price has decreased 6.43% over the past 24 hours to $0.47, continuing its downward trend over the past week of -3.0%, moving from $0.49 to its current price.

The chart below compares the price movement and volatility for Crypto.com Coin over the past 24 hours (left) to its price movement over the past week (right). The gray bands are bollinger bands, measuring the volatility for both the daily and weekly price movements. The wider the bands are, or the larger the gray area is at any given moment, the larger the volatility.

Crypto.com Coins trading volume has climbed 30.0% over the past week along with the circulating supply of the coin, which has increased 0.02%. This brings the circulating supply to 25.26 billion. According to our data, the current market cap ranking for CRO is #15 at 12.05 billion.

If you are interested in purchasing Crypto.com Coin and want to know the best cryptocurrency exchanges, follow this link to Benzinga Money.

Do you want to learn more about trading and be able to analyze your own portfolio of stocks or cryptocurrencies? Consider signing up for Benzinga Pro. Benzinga Pro gives you up-to-date news and analytics to empower your investing and trading strategy. You can follow the link here to visit.

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Cryptocurrency Crypto.com Coin Decreases More Than 6% Within 24 hours - Benzinga - Benzinga

Tax season is here and advisors with clients who sold crypto in 2020 will probably get plenty of questions. The tax laws can be complex and fuzzy.

Heres what you need to know:

Is cryptocurrency taxable? Since 2014, the IRS has considered cryptocurrency to be property, not a virtual currency. This means that a transaction can result in a taxable gain or loss.

What is a cryptocurrency capital gain or loss? It is similar to a stock transaction. The gain or loss is the price you sold the cryptocurrency for, minus the cost basis.

For example, suppose you buy one Ethereum coin for $2,500. After a few months, the value soars to $3,500. You exchange your Ethereum coin for $3,500 of another cryptocurrency. In this case, you will have a capital gain of $1,000.

This is a short-term gain because you held onto the Ethereum coin for less than a year, and your taxes will be at your ordinary income tax rates. If you held for over a year, the transaction would have been taxed as a long-term capital gain, which has a maximum rate of 23.8%.

You can subtract your total losses from the total gains each year, thereby reducing gainsand taxes on gains. And you can deduct up to $3,000 in net losses against your ordinary income. If you have losses above this amount, you can carry them forward to future years.

How do you report a transaction on your tax return? Some cryptocurrency exchanges send you a 1099-B that lists the cost basis and net gains and losses from your transactions. With this information, you will fill out Schedule D and Form 8949 for your 1040 return. If an exchange does not issue a 1099-B, then you will need to track the information using your own records.

This can easily get complicated. For example, suppose you spend $100,000 on cryptocurrency. Then during the yearas the price appreciatesyou sell some to buy a Tesla, some other cryptocurrencies, fast food, clothes, and so on. All these are likely taxable transactions.

Any new rules? President Bidens $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill includes provisions to require exchangesby 2023to report cryptocurrency transactions and include them on 1099-B forms. The goal is to generate $28 billion in tax revenues during the next decade.

The bill also will require exchanges to report identifying information about crypto sellers for amounts over $10,000. The provision will go into effect in 2024.

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Should clients be worried about the IRS? Definitely. The 2021 Form 1040 has the following question: At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency? In other words, the IRS is getting more aggressive with enforcement. The agency has already had success in obtaining client information from exchanges.

If you do not properly report your crypto gains, you could be subject to back taxes, interest, penalties and even jail time.

What about wash sales? The wash-sale rule prevents investors from engaging in short-term stock trading to harvest tax losses. For example, if you sell a stock at a loss and then quickly buy it back, the IRS will deny the deduction. You have to wait at least 30 days to buy back the same stock or a security that is substantially similar.

A loophole exempted cryptocurrency transactions from the wash rule. This could change in 2022, according to pending legislation.

Tom Taulli is a freelance writer, author, and former broker. He is also an enrolled agent, which allows him to represent clients before the IRS.

Originally posted here:
Cryptocurrency Taxes: What Advisors Need to Know - Barron's

BOSTON (CBS) Cindy Tsai says it started with a seemingly innocent message. A man who called himself Jimmy texted her on WhatsApp. Are you Linda from the pet store? Cindy said. And I messaged back and said wrong number.

That text quickly escalated into the two sharing personal information and Cindy telling Jimmy she was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. Cindy says, Jimmy was attentive, good looking and was a comfort for her during a difficult time. Cindy says she was also going through a divorce and in her mind the friendship became a relationship.

It didnt take long before Jimmy began showing Cindy how much money he was making trading in cryptocurrency and offered to help her invest on the platform he was using. At first Cindy was skeptical. I basically said, look I dont need a financial advisor, I am not giving you a dime, she said.

But Jimmy told her that she would control her own account and he wouldnt get any of the money. Thats when Cindy says her interest was piqued. Using the link Jimmy gave her, Cindy set up the account.

Matthew Giacobbi, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBIs Boston Division, says these are growing schemes. Once the victim clicks on the link, it takes them to a spoofed site or close to a legitimate site that traders in cryptocurrency use and that looks very real but it is not. Theyve become very sophisticated at making these websites look real when theyre not, Giacobbi said.

Cindys investment started out small but over a few months grew to $2.5 million. All of that money is now gone. The FBI estimates in 2021, 24,000 people fell victim to these types of scams losing about a billion dollars.

Giacobbi says with cryptocurrency, once you give someone your digital wallet and key, that money is gone instantly, and it is very difficult for law enforcement to track.

Cindy says she became suspicious after having a hard time withdrawing money. The site wanted hundreds of thousands of dollars for taxes and also wanted to charge her to expedite her withdrawal. By then it was too late.

A global victims support group says with predators on every social media site anyone can unwittingly become a victim. Grace Yuen with the Global Anti-Scam Organization says everyone has insecurities and when the predators find it, thats when they get you. Thats what makes it so insidious, Yuen said.

Cindy whos a lawyer, admits she saw the red flags. Its interesting the disconnect between your logical self and your emotional self once you have that relationship, she said. I was the most vulnerable in my entire life and I desperately wanted to believe him. My mission is to let everyone know, whether people judge me or dont judge me I want to raise awareness.

Cindy did file a report with the FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center. The FBI tells us the best way to protect yourself from becoming a victim, dont invest with people you only met online, do your homework, dont click on hyperlinks and never give your banking information or digital wallet to anyone. And if you believe you have been scammed report it to the FBI.

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I-Team: Woman Warns Others After Losing $2.5M In Cryptocurrency Romance Scam - CBS Boston