Category Archives: Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin Will Hit $100,000, According to Experts. Heres When They Predict It Will Happen – NextAdvisor
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Bitcoin notched its latest all-time high of the year on Nov. 10 when it went over $68,000 for the first time. Before the end of the month, it had dropped back below $54,000.
This latest high point is a huge increase for Bitcoins price after starting the year below $30,000 in January. Its price fluctuates wildly by the day and even by the minute.
Still, many experts say Bitcoin is on its way to passing the $100,000 mark, though with varying opinions on exactly when that will happen. The volatility is nothing new, and is a big reason experts say new crypto investors should be extremely cautious when allocating part of their portfolio to cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin has shown as steady a rise in value over the years as any other cryptocurrency on the market. Its only reasonable for Bitcoin investors to be curious about how high it can ultimately go.
Unfortunately, Bitcoins price is extremely difficult to predict and even more susceptible to market factors than more established asset classes. But we decided to ask some experts for their best guesses anyway. Heres what they said:
Conservative predictions of Bitcoin say the cryptocurrency will reach $100,000 by 2023.
Some experts are more bullish. The most knowledgeable educators in the space are predicting $100,000 Bitcoin in Q1 2022 or sooner, says Kate Waltman, a New York-based certified public accountant who specializes in crypto.
Others are hesitant to predict a number and a date, but rather point to the trend of increasing value over time. Investors should expect a pretty sustainable rise in Bitcoins long-term value driven by organic market movement, with the $100,000 threshold in near-sight, predicted Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at Fidelity Investments, last month.
What I expect from Bitcoin is volatility [in the] short-term and growth [in the] long-term, says Kiana Danial, founder of Invest Diva and author of Cryptocurrency Investing For Dummies.
Unsurprisingly, youll find widely varying opinions and predictions on how high Bitcoin can go (and when) from well-known crypto investors, evangelists, and public commentators. Here are some more predictions we found, ranked from low to high over the next year:
And it isnt just crypto insiders who are making Bitcoin predictions. Big financial institutions have made their own predictions, as well, with JPMorgan predicting a long-term high of $146,000 and Bloomberg predicting it could hit $400,000 by 2022.
Even if Bitcoin breaks $100,000, stay focused building on your overall portfolio including passive index funds, emergency savings, and your retirement account(s).
Normal economic factors influence the price of cryptocurrency just like any other currency or investment supply and demand, public sentiment, the news cycle, market events, scarcity, and more.
As a new and emerging asset, additional factors influence Bitcoins value more than the average currency or security. Here are some:
There are only 18 to 19 million Bitcoins currently in circulation, and minting will stop at 21 million. Industry experts consistently point to this built-in scarcity as a big part of cryptocurrencys appeal.
Theres a fixed supply but increasing demand, says Alexis Johnson, president of the blockchain public relations and events company, Light Node Media.
Other experts point out Bitcoin has value because people give it value. Thats really why everybodys buying because of the psychological aspect, says Nelson Merchan, Johnsons Light Node Media co-founder. That can make it difficult for the average consumer to discern whether Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are legitimate. The whole concept of supply and demand only works when people want something scarce even if it previously didnt exist.
It actually does almost kind of seem like a scam, Merchan says about Bitcoins origins. Though he says hes seen his crypto holdings reach millions at times since he began investing in 2017, hes also seen them disappear in an instant.
Im a big believer that if its not in cash, you dont really have that money because in crypto, anything can drop dramatically overnight, Merchan says. This is why certified financial planners suggest only allocating 1% to 5% of your portfolio to crypto to protect your money from the volatility.
One of the main factors driving the price increase of Bitcoin is the rate at which new consumers are buying and exploring cryptocurrency, says Waltman.
Crypto technology is being adopted at a faster rate than humans first adopted internet technology, she says. Assuming it continues, the compounding acceleration of new adoption could keep pushing the value of Bitcoin higher and higher.
Bitcoin adoption has been increasing at an annual rate of 113%, according to data from the digital asset management firm CoinShares. (Meanwhile, people adopted the internet at a slower rate of 63%.) If people warm up to Bitcoin at a comparable rate to that of the internets early days (or faster), the report makes the case that there will be 1 billion users by 2024 and 4 billion users by 2030.
CoinDesk reported last month the number of new wallets worldwide increased 45% from January 2020 to January 2021, to an estimated 66 million. Popular crypto exchange Coinbase says it has now over 73 million worldwide users, while fellow exchange Gemini recently released its State of U.S. Crypto Report, which found 21.2 million Americans own cryptocurrency of some kind.
Federal officials have made it clear in recent months they are paying attention to the crypto industry. President Joe Biden recently signed an infrastructure bill requiring all crypto exchanges to notify the IRS of their transactions. Similarly, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently said stablecoins a type of crypto linked to the value of the U.S. dollar should be subject to federal oversight.
The conversation on regulatory policies is patchy, said an industry white paper published byFlourish, a fintech platform designed for investment advisors. With a relatively new asset class like cryptocurrency, any new regulation has potential to impact value and in turn investors portfolios.
When China banned crypto in September 2021, for instance, investors saw the price of Bitcoin drop, though it has since risen and resumed its usual volatility. Even though theres now about a decade of precedent for Bitcoin, the Securities and Exchange Commission is taking all decisions on a case-by-base basis in what experts refer to as its crawl, walk, run strategy toward mainstream crypto adoption.
[Regulation has] kind of evolved over the last five years, says Ben Cruikshank, head of Flourish, Regulators can always change their mind.
Finally, another major influence on Bitcoins price is a cycle known as halving. Its complicated and algorithmic in nature, but in essence halving is a step in the Bitcoin mining process that results in the reward for mining Bitcoin transactions getting cut in half.
Halving influences the rate at which new coins enter circulation, which can impact the value of existing Bitcoin holdings. Historically, halvings have correlated with boom and bust cycles. Some experts try to predict these cycles down to the day after a halving event concludes.
As with any investment, financial planners and other experts advise against letting Bitcoins price fluctuations lead you to emotional decision making. Studies have shown investors who contribute regularly to passive index funds and ETFs perform better over time, thanks to a strategy called dollar cost averaging.
Thats part of why experts recommend not investing more than 5% of your overall portfolio in cryptocurrency, and never to invest at the expense of saving for emergencies and paying down high-interest debt. The path to long-term wealth and saving for retirement is most often successful for people with diversified investments like low-cost index funds, with crypto making up a very small part.
And even with crypto, experts say a set-it-and-forget-it approach makes sense. Passive investing is a very valid way to achieve financial goals, says Arkansas-based certified financial planner Sarah Catherine Gutierrez.
Since crypto is still new to most people, its OK to wait and see how things unfold before putting your money on the line. We only have about 10 years of data to inform crypto price predictions, and the value of Bitcoin while climbing long-term is highly volatile from day to day.
Volatility makes it hard to know the what and why behind your crypto strategy. Before investing in Bitcoin or any alternative assets, ask yourself what you want to achieve from your participation in this particularly volatile market, and why. That will help you stay focused.
I dont think people understand across the board how to value [Bitcoin], says Gutierrez. When youre buying it, you need to know your expectation of what value youre going to get from what youre buying.
Financial planners dont have a bias against cryptocurrency, Gutierrez says, particularly if a client expresses an interest in learning about it. However, you should ask yourself whether you need crypto as part of your plan. In most cases, says Gutierrez, the answer is no.
Our take is that we dont think you need Bitcoin in order to reach financial goals, she says, adding that the average person should favor simple ways of investing that are easy to understand. This will keep you on track for core financial goals and better position you long-term for a healthy retirement.
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Bitcoin Will Hit $100,000, According to Experts. Heres When They Predict It Will Happen - NextAdvisor
Kenya needs to grasp the cryptocurrency nettle: how a digital currency could help – The Conversation US
Kenyas central bank has been mulling the official use of a digital currency. More than 60 central banks have already entered the digital currency race since 2014.
No details have been released in Kenya, but the central bank governor, Patrick Njoroge, commented that the bank was working with other global regulators and financial institutions to explore the use of digital currencies.
The shift towards digital currencies has been used by some central banks to formulate and implement regulations to manage the use of cryptocurrencies. For example, Nigeria has launched its official digital currency, the eNaira.
The World Economic Forum estimates that a third of Nigerians use or own cryptocurrencies. Kenya is one of the top three markets for Bitcoin, one of the more popular cryptocurrencies.
Read more: Nigeria's digital currency: what the eNaira is for and why it's not perfect
Cryptocurrencies currently operate as unregulated digital money even though they are accepted and used by the virtual community.
The cryptocurrency market has grown significantly over the past 10 years. This has raised alarm bells because they are distributed directly from one network to the other. This enables participants to interact and confirm payments without involving intermediaries such as banks.
The reason that central banks see the launch of official digital currencies as useful as a first step in regulating crytopcurrencies relates to the fact that both use blockchain technology. A blockchain is a public ledger that allows instant copying, sharing and synchronisation of data across different computers, sites, countries and organisations.
Over 88% of the digital currencies that have been launched use blockchain technology. It also underpins cryptocurrencies.
The launch of a central bank digital currency would mark Kenyas official entry into blockchain-based digital assets and currencies. But Kenya, alongside many other countries, does not have a framework for managing cryptocurrencies.
Nevertheless, theres a growing body of evidence that the Kenyan central bank can draw on to design a comprehensive regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.
We explored the parameters of what a regulatory environment in Kenya would look like in a paper published in 2020. My colleagues and I sought to explain, in depth, the benefits and challenges of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.
Our analysis was based on the discussion from other parts of the world. Our insights could be used to guide the central banks research and adoption of digital currencies.
Though popular, cryptocurrencies are not fully accepted across the world. Some people regard them as scams. In some instances, hackers have managed to steal the currencies and exchange them for legal tender. This is because comprehensive, global governance structures on cryptocurrencies are not yet in place.
The World Economic Forum has recently created a Global Future Council on Cryptocurrencies. The team is expected to evaluate challenges and opportunities of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and blockchain technologies. The group will also assess what it will take to achieve the key aims of digital currencies.
The World Economic Forum is rooting for the rollout of central bank digital currencies through distributed ledger technology, itself a blockchain technology. The ledger technology gives central banks a toehold into gaining sight of transactions.
The distributed ledger technology, coupled with a regulatory oversight, has the effect of cushioning the central banking community from risks linked to receipts, payments, hardware and software systems.
At the moment, the structures for digital currencies have not yet been developed in Kenya. Yet the rest of the world has already ventured into these currencies, and have structures in place in support of the innovation.
The World Economic Forum is developing a central bank digital currency policy toolkit. This is a document that guides central banks on how they can develop digital currencies that suit their monetary policies.
Kenya can make use of the guidelines to create its own official digital currency that doesnt compromise its monetary policy and financial stability. In addition, a central bank digital currency would need to coexist with, and complement, the existing notes and coins.
The Central Bank of Kenya is a reputable organisation that demonstrated objectivity and care to its entire citizen by warning them about cryptocurrencies. However, with the trend of stable coins and piloting of central bank digital currencies around the world, the government should actively engage in research on these digital currencies and provide a framework around these technologies.
With the use of blockchain technology, a central bank digital currency can be developed that would open the door to transformational innovations. Businesses and individuals can use them to add novel transactions to the existing chain of activities. And, because blockchain encourages direct sharing of a network in which an individual can interact and confirm payments without contacting any intermediary, it could boost financial inclusion in Kenya.
The adoption of digital currencies will change the financial market and improve the money transfer landscape in the eastern African region. Its no surprise therefore that the Governor of Tanzanias Central Bank Florens Luoga has also just announced that the country plans to launch its own digital currency soon.
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Kenya needs to grasp the cryptocurrency nettle: how a digital currency could help - The Conversation US
Another city cryptocurrency? Austin, Texas, could be next – StateScoop
Written by Ryan Johnston Dec 2, 2021 | STATESCOOP
CityCoins, the cryptocurrency group behind digital currencies dedicated to Miami and New York City, may target Austin for its next city-based cryptocurrency, but officials there told StateScoop they were unfamiliar with the platform.
On the website for CityCoins, a nonprofit group of developers and cryptocurrency advocates, users in October voted to create a new digital currency called AustinCoin that, if activated and mined, would begin funneling the cryptocurrency into a digital wallet thats only accessible by the Texas capital. The new coin, called ATXCoin for short, would divert 30% of every coin thats mined into a digital wallet set aside for the city government.
But Austin Chief Information Officer Chris Stewart said the city must do additional research before it commits to spending any ATXCoin.
This is the first I have heard of this platform, but Im interested to see how it evolves here in Austin, Stewart wrote.
Miami city commissioners voted in September to allow the city to withdraw funds from the digital wallet, which has reached $27 million. New York City, meanwhile, has not formally acknowledged its digital wallet, which now contains $28 million.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler told Fox News last month that adopting an Austin cryptocurrency is certainly something to consider, noting the citys eagerness to help develop new technologies.
The Texas state government has spent much of this year courting cryptocurrency mining firms and entrepreneurs, telling state banks in June that they are allowed to safeguard their customers cryptocurrency assets. Bank customers who hold bitcoin or another cryptocurrency can ask Texas banks that offer the service to either store a copy of their private key or transfer their digital currency to the bank for holding.
With cheap energy and a Bitcoin-friendly administration under Gov. Greg Abbott, large international bitcoin mining firms have also set up shop in Texas over the past year, including several in Austin. The pro-cryptocurrency environment around the city and state could entice CityCoins miners to move forward with the AustinCoin, CityCoins co-founder Patrick Stanley told StateScoop.
AustinCoin is not activated yet, Stanley wrote in an email. The community may decide to if they feel the mayor is truly a technological progressive, like [New York City Mayor-elect] Eric Adams and [Miami Mayor] Francis Suarez have been. Theres also a bit of a 1st mover advantage to technologically progressive mayors as they can do more good for their city, faster by being responsive.
Stanley told StateScoop in September that cities that can project an image of being technologically savvy increase the likelihood that people are going to mine the coin of that city, driving up its price and raising the value of that citys digital wallet. Suarez in Miami and Adams in New York have both been outspoken about their belief in cryptocurrencies, even offering to instantly convert portions of their paychecks to bitcoin.
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Another city cryptocurrency? Austin, Texas, could be next - StateScoop
Related to cryptocurrency? You will not be allowed to participate in organized securities trading in Russia – JD Supra
The Central Bank of Russia did another shot at the rights of cryptocurrency holders on July 19, 2021. The Bank issued an Information Letter No. IN-06-59 / 52 On certain types of financial instruments on this day.
Now Russian and foreign issuers, if their securities payments depend on:
But this is not the only limitation. Professional securities market participants should refrain from offering unqualified investors (individuals) securities related to digital rights. Management companies are also not recommended to include in mutual funds and joint-stock investment funds shares related with digital rights and companies that payments depend on the turnover of digital rights.
Recommendations for brokers can be reasonable in general. Financial instruments related to digital rights and cryptocurrency are high-risk assets. It is necessary to be well versed in the specifics of this area and regularly monitor the dynamics of cryptocurrency rates.
An unqualified investor will be suffering from significant losses if he bought securities related to digital rights on the advice of his broker. But he may suffer losses from other investments. This recommendation from the Central Bank is based on the fact that unqualified investors should not be offered high-risk assets in general.
It is more interesting with a recommendation for management companies. Joint-stock investment funds are professional securities market participants and for them making investments is the only available type of activity. The Central Bank does not impose such high demands on mutual funds as it does on joint-stock investment funds.
However, many mutual funds are targeted at qualified investors who are also professional market participants. It seems that professional market participants and their management companies should independently resolve the issues of investment direction. The recommendations of the Central Bank can be taken into account, but this may deprive qualified investors of the opportunity to invest profitably.
The Federal Law On digital financial assets has been in effect in Russia since January 1, 2021. This law was supposed to create a legal field for the owners of digital financial assets and digital currency. Why such restrictions are necessary if a legal framework has already been created for the activities of such owners of cryptocurrencies and digital rights? Why restrict market participants access to the exchange if they operate within the law?
Probably, otherwise the Federal Law On digital financial assets will not be respected by market participants. The process of legalizing activities according to the law is extremely bureaucratic; increased requirements are imposed on the management bodies. At the same time, cryptocurrency owners now have the right to judicial protection only if they declare their digital currency. However, the legislator did not provide tax benefits considering the specifics of the industry.
Now there are no organizations registered as digital financial asset exchange operators in almost a year of the laws existence. Probably the Central Bank (responsible for the implementation of this law) decided to influence market participants by issuing the Information Letter No. IN-06-59 / 52.
This decision can hardly be called reasonable at the same time. The Central Bank letter addresses all who meet the above criteria. It makes no difference whether market participants (holders of cryptocurrency and digital rights) conduct their activities legally or not. In such conditions, there will be no motivation for registration since the registered company will not have access to the exchange anyway.
Cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin, Ether weaken …
Cryptocurrency prices fell on Wednesday due to profit booking by investors. (Photo: Reuters)
Cryptocurrency prices fell slightly over the past 24 hours due to profit booking across the spectrum by investors.
The value of Bitcoin, which is the worlds largest cryptocurrency, decreased slightly as investors rushed to book profit a day after the popular virtual coin hit a record high. Bitcoin was trading at $66,636 or 1.35 per cent lower than its price 24 hours ago at 5:30 pm.
The market capitalisation declined slightly to $1.26 trillion and the 24-hour trading volume stood at $1.35 billion.
Ethers valuation also dipped slightly by 0.74 per cent and it was trading at $4,742. The market capitalisation stood at $557 billion and the 24-hour trading volume was $1.05 billion. Most other altcoins fell marginally while some remained flat.
Crypto highlights | Check yesterday's prices
There are changes that prices may fall over the next 24 hours but the long-term momentum remains steady.
Commenting on the momentum, Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder of Mudrex, a global algorithm-based crypto investment platform, said, Over the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market witnessed profit booking across the spectrum. As trade volumes go up, the market might end up a bit lower.
Despite this profit booking, the long term investors need not worry as the momentum in the market is still pretty positive, he added.
Cryptocurrency
Price (US Dollar)
24-hour change
Market cap
Volume (24 Hours)
Bitcoin
66,826.40
-0.94%
$1.26 trillion
$1.35 billion
Ether
4,746.01
-0.64%
$557.44 billion
$1.05 billion
Dogecoin
0.272903
-0.72%
$36 billion
$1.96 billion
Litecoin
290.91
17.81%
$20.05 billion
$436.83 million
XRP
1.26
2.38%
$125.01 billion
$4.65 billion
Cardano
2.24
-1.44%
$73.33 billion
$671.42 million
DISCLAIMER: The cryptocurrency prices have been updated as of 05:45 pm and will change as the day progresses. The list is intended to give a rough idea regarding popular cryptocurrency trends and will be updated daily.
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Cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin, Ether weaken ...
Cryptocurrency prices today: Meme coins take charge as …
Cryptocurrency prices gained on Thursday despite heavy profit booking. (Photo: Reuters)
Popular cryptocurrency prices have weakened over the past 24 hours due to heavy profit booking by investors. While popular virtual coin prices bounced back slightly, meme cryptocurrencies zoomed on Thursday.
Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency, was trading barely above $61,000 or 3.69 per cent higher than its value 24 hours ago at 3:30 pm. The market capitalisation of Bitcoin fell to $1.15 trillion and the 24-hour trading volume reduced marginally to $1.76 billion.
Ether was trading at over $4,150 or 3.90 per cent higher than its price 24 hours ago. The cryptocurrencys market capitalisation stood at $488 billion and the 24-hour trading volume was $1.45 billion.
Cryptocurrency highlights | Check yesterday's prices
While all other altcoins gained substantially during the day, meme coins Dogecoin and Shiba Inu were the biggest gainers. Dogecoin was trading over 27 per cent higher while Shiba Inu was retailing over 30 per cent higher at the time of publication.
Commenting on the cryptocurrency market momentum, Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder of Mudrex, a global algorithm-based crypto investment platform, said, The cryptocurrency market saw a wave of profit-booking over the past 24 hours.
However, technical indicators suggest that this could likely be a blip in an otherwise positive momentum. SHIBA Inu continued in the course of a massive rally, shooting up over 45 per cent, he added.
Cryptocurrency
Price (US Dollar)
24-hour change
Market cap
Volume (24 Hours)
Bitcoin
61,196.69
3.97%
$1.15 trillion
$1.76 billion
Ether
4,175.06
4.53%
$490.38 billion
$1.45 billion
Dogecoin
0.298597
26.63%
$39.33 billion
$11.93 billion
Litecoin
188.28
3.59%
$12.96 billion
$143.53 million
XRP
1.06
4.59%
$106.03 billion
$6.19 billion
Cardano
2.02
3.12%
$66.21 billion
$545.53 million
DISCLAIMER: The cryptocurrency prices have been updated as of 04:10 pm and will change as the day progresses. The list is intended to give a rough idea regarding popular cryptocurrency trends and will be updated daily.
Click here for IndiaToday.ins complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Cryptocurrency prices today: Meme coins take charge as ...
Cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, other coins recover from lows – Livemint
Cryptocurrency prices today have recovered from lows after the government listed a Bill that seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrenies, barring a few exceptions.
The world's largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin is up by 4.59% at 45,60,417 (in INR terms), while Ethereum is trading 6% higher at 3,47,661, according to the data from CoinSwitch.
In dollar terms, Bitcoin was trading at $58,560.80 with a market capitalisation over $1.1 trillion. Dogecoin price is up over 4% to $0.22 whereas Shiba Inu surged nearly 6% to $0.000040, as per CoinDesk.
The government has recently confirmed that it will introduce The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021" during the winter session of Parliament beginning 29 November.
The bill seeks to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India, but will allow certain exceptions to promote the underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its uses, the government said in a notification on Lok Sabha website. The bill also aims to create a facilitative framework for creation of the official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India".
Amid lightning pace developments in the cryptocurrency space in the country, the industry has urged investors to remain calm and not arrive at a rushed conclusion.
"It is hard to comprehend what the government means by private cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, Ether etc. are public crypto built on public blockchains and have their own specific use cases," said Nischal Shetty, founder of WazirX.
"They are needed to run smart contract and write to the distributed ledger that theyre built on top of. People cannot use INR or USDT to pay for fees on the Bitcoin or Ethereum Blockchain," Nischal Shetty further added.
BuyUcoin CEO Shivam Thakral said he expects the Bill to accommodate the aspirations of Indian crypto owners, Indian crypto entrepreneurs, and investors who have put their faith in India's crypto growth story.
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Cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, other coins recover from lows - Livemint
Black Friday Sales Come Early for Cryptocurrency Investors: 2 Top Tokens That Just Went on Sale – Motley Fool
For investors looking for deals on top cryptocurrencies, this past week provided what may turn out to be an early Black Friday sale. The majority of large-cap cryptocurrencies have taken a hit of late, outside of specific groups of digital assets, such as those tied to the metaverse, that cryptocurrency investors have latched on to.
Unfortunately, the cryptocurrency world appears to be taking on some of the characteristics of other asset classes. Whether that's good or bad, macroeconomic factors now play into the valuations of these digital assets, perhaps more than ever.
Image source: Getty Images.
This week, one of the key catalysts that drove down valuations across most highly valued asset classes was the renomination of Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Chairman. While the market appeared to initially view this renomination as positive, it has become clear that investors were pricing in some probability that a more dovish option would be chosen. This sell-off continued into Tuesday and Wednesday, with the Nasdaqand cryptocurrency markets under pressure.
Now, investors have certainly been rewarded with a "buy the dip" approach to risk assets over the past decade. For those looking to do just that, there are certainly some juicy discounts to jump on with top cryptocurrencies. Here are two great options to consider right now.
Currently the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization,Cardano(CRYPTO:ADA) is one of the cryptocurrencies that's been under pressure of late. Since hitting an all-time high of $3.10 on Sept. 1, Cardano has lost more than 45% of its value.
Among the key reasons why investors like Cardano is this network's speed and scalability. Cardano can reportedly handle more than 250 transactions per second right now, compared to around 4.6 for Bitcoin(CRYPTO:BTC) and 15 to 20 for Ethereum(CRYPTO:ETH). These numbers are expected to rise over time, as the network continues to be updated. For a large-cap cryptocurrency network, Cardano is fast.
Additionally, Cardano's proof-of-stake protocol has been enticing for investors considering alternatives to Bitcoin and Ethereum. While Ethereum is moving toward the adoption of a proof-of-stake model, Cardano remains one of the largest proof-of-stake networks available to investors right now.
The recent declines we've seen in Cardano appear to be the result of two key factors.
First, the network has seen slower adoption among developers for decentralized finance (DeFi) apps. Cardano's recent Alonzo hard fork brought smart contract functionality to Cardano. Thus, this token got bid up earlier in August in advance of the Sept. 12 launch. However, a rather disappointing showing on this front has led to a corrective sell-off among investors.
Additionally, this week it was revealed that cryptocurrency exchange eToro will delist Cardano. Regulatory concerns were cited as the rationale for this decision, though few specifics were given. Accordingly, investors remain on edge with Cardano right now.
That said, for those taking the longer view on Cardano, these shorter-term headwinds could prove to be a great opportunity to buy it. As investors continue to look at proof-of-stake networks with smart contract capabilities and the potential for growth, there's a tangible thesis to own this top cryptocurrency right now -- especially at a generous discount to recent highs.
Tezos (CRYPTO:XTZ) is a cryptocurrency investors need to go a little further down the list to find. This is another token that has been beaten up by the market of late. Since hitting a high of $9.18 on Oct. 3, Tezos has lost approximately 45% of its value.
However, this cryptocurrency is one I remain bullish on, for various reasons.
Tezos is a leader in the security token space. By security tokens, I'm not referring to the security or integrity of the blockchain itself -- on that front, Tezos receives top marks, alongside most of the major digital assets on the market. Rather, Tezos' Layer 1 platform (a term referring to actual blockchains and their tokens) allows for the tokenization of securities that normally are traded off-blockchain. Think of the various financial products investors may buy on an exchange (stocks, bonds, etc.).
Essentially, Tezos provides functionality to allow for assets to be traded on the blockchain. By tokenizing various asset classes, investors can expand their range of investments on the blockchain in a secure and seamless fashion.
One of the attributes that make Tezos so enticing in the security token space is the fact that this blockchain is self-amending. Rather than using hard forks (such as the aforementioned Alonso hard fork Cardano recently implemented), Tezos' blockchain includes an on-chain mechanism to update, rather than requiring simultaneous updates from nodes on the network.
Unfortunately for investors in Tezos, it appears that heightened regulatory risks pertaining to the cryptocurrency sector continue to provide headwinds for networks engaging in tokenization. The Biden administration has recently moved to tax cryptocurrency more heavily. Various Securities and Exchange Commission investigations into whether several crypto-related assets are deemed "securities" under the law have plagued this sector for some time. And countries like China and India appear to remain inflexible with their stance on cryptocurrency right now.
However, those with a longer-term time horizon may want to think about a future where blockchain technology can truly make a difference in the world. In the DeFi space, Tezos provides a solid investment thesis as a leader in security tokens. This is one area I think could provide tremendous value in the years and decades to come. Accordingly, investors may want to keep their eye on these tokens at these discounted levels today.
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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Black Friday Sales Come Early for Cryptocurrency Investors: 2 Top Tokens That Just Went on Sale - Motley Fool
Congress must clarify how the infrastructure bill will impact cryptocurrency – TechCrunch
Christopher MortonContributor
The $1 trillion U.S. infrastructure bill, signed into law by President Joe Biden last week, contains provisions that would tax cryptocurrency trades and yield the U.S. government some $2.8 billion a year.
That is, frankly, not a lot of money.
The issue is that the crypto tax element of the law is not clearly written, and the government risks squashing a burgeoning part of the economy.
The infrastructure bill says a brokerage needs to keep track of these things. But you can enter into a smart contract without a brokerage, so who is responsible for reporting in that case? Would a miner be considered a brokerage?
Theres no question that, on some level, the government is due taxes earned from cryptocurrency trading like any other investment gain typically at the time a person liquidates, or like a transfer of property. But the vagueness of the law risks either trading platforms eliminating access for U.S. citizens or simply preventing smaller cryptocurrency investors from joining or remaining in the market.
Weve seen this before. FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, caused some financial institutions to block U.S. citizens from using their services because the compliance rules were too burdensome relative to the risk and potential benefit.
Here are a few scenarios some simple and some complex that need to be thought through:
The minimum is $10,000 a carryover from the Bank Secrecy Act. Transactions below that amount are not taxed, but $10,000 is a fairly low amount of money to have to deal with a complex tax situation.
The tax reporting for trading platforms and investors may be onerous enough to discourage further investment, which ultimately may make the tax worthless, or at least generate far less revenue than estimated.
And for the IRS, this could be a complex tax to audit. They will need a way to tie identities to these transactions. This is already done on trading platforms like Coinbase, but individual miners typically do not.
Whats somewhat noteworthy about this particular bill is that while tax laws will almost always be problematic initially, they usually get clarified over time. This infrastructure bill seemed to go the opposite direction. Congress started with the impact number ($1.1 trillion) and then tried to find ways to generate enough taxes to match the number.
This is unusual in a few ways, but perhaps indicative of our current political climate. Politicians used to start with the specific programs they wanted to fund, then tried to make the cost as small as possible. This time, both parties were fighting to promise a larger number when their party was in power. (Trump, after all, worked on a $2 trillion infrastructure bill, though it was never signed into law.)
Its a bit of a strange time in the U.S. politically, with mayors from Miami to New York and across the political spectrum offering to take their paychecks in cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, on the national level, theres no clear guidance on the federal governments long-term plans.
Ultimately, cryptocurrency is here to stay in one form or another, and the federal government needs to get serious about an approach by talking to experts like economists, academics and cryptocurrency platform developers.
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Congress must clarify how the infrastructure bill will impact cryptocurrency - TechCrunch
Is Bitcoin the Only Cryptocurrency You Need? – Motley Fool
The cryptocurrency world is now awash with new altcoins, with Shiba Inu (CRYPTO:SHIB) being the latest to receive a huge surge of appeal among retail traders. However, that craze could be fizzling out.
As more new coins come out, the huge moves of shiny new altcoins can be tantalizing. But unless you are really involved deeply in the crypto world and know a lot about the technology and potential real-world use cases, I'd be wary investing in any cryptocurrency long-term other than Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC)... and recent events have only seemed to cement Bitcoin's lead.
Image source: Getty Images.
While a lot the investing community views bitcoin as a potential store of value and payment network, rival coin Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) was designed more specifically for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, such as smart contracts. In fact, Shiba Inu is a token that's built on Ethereum's blockchain. Ethereum's status as a go-to platform for DeFi applications is what gives it much of its value.
However, a new Bitcoin update called Taproot now gives Bitcoin enhanced DeFi capabilities too. Just activated this month, Taproot allows multiple cryptographic signatures to be recorded as a single signature on the Bitcoin blockchain. While it may sound like small change, the new innovation will greatly enhance the ability to record smart contracts on on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. Taproot also enables greater privacy for those transactions, allowing transacting parties to only submit crucial information to the blockchain without revealing all identifiers.
That essentially means Bitcoin can now be used for DeFi applications, plugging a current hole in its functionality and making it more competitive with Ethereum.
Don't think Taproot is a big deal? Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) and Square (NYSE:SQ) CEO Jack Dorsey does. He just released a white paper for a new Bitcoin-based DeFi application on November 19, shortly after the Taproot update was activated. The paper outlines plans for a decentralized Bitcoin exchange at Square called tbDEX. While the paper has been hinted at for a long time, it was only released after Taproot was activated.
Jack Dorsey is a bitcoin enthusiast and believes Bitcoin will become the "native currency of the internet." There aren't two internets, so do there need to be two cryptocurrencies that can be used throughout the world? And as a general currency inflation hedge, speculators have traditionally speculated on gold, perhaps some silver -- but not may other commodities that have their own supply demand dynamics.
Famed hedge fund manager Bill Miller also agrees Bitcoin's first-mover status and wide buy-in from large financial institutions gives it a lead that's tough to surmount. As is the case with many internet companies, once a network achieves escape velocity in terms of acceptance, network effects generally make it a winner-take-all or winner-take-most situation. In other words, once bitcoin has been institutionalized and widely accepted as a viable asset class, another digital asset would have to be decidedly better than Bitcoin in order to displace it.
Dorsey and Miller are joined in their Bitcoin-only outlook by MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) CEO Michael Saylor. Saylor has been buying Bitcoin with MicroStrategy's corporate cash as fast as he can -- a risky strategy that essentially turns the software company into a leveraged Bitcoin fund, with a nice little software business on the side.
In a recent interview, Saylor expressed his own prediction that the world's sovereign currencies could consolidate, much like all the currencies of Europe consolidated into the Euro. And if there are only a few regional government-backed currencies for the world, there may very well only be room for one universally agreed-upon digital alternative, which is likely Bitcoin.
Going back to Miller, he said in a recent interview, "There are 10,000 various tokens and stuff floating out there. The chances of more than a handful of them being worthwhile is very, very small. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a few others are probably going to be around for a while."
Of course, since that interview, Taproot was activated, perhaps neutralizing Ethereum's biggest strength. So Miller's list of winning cryptocurrencies may be even smaller -- leaving Bitcoin as perhaps the last cryptocurrency standing.
For new investors interested in crypto, I still think it's important to make Bitcoin the largest position in any crypto basket -- especially those with a longer-term outlook.
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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Is Bitcoin the Only Cryptocurrency You Need? - Motley Fool