Category Archives: Cryptocurrency
An act of benevolence: how cryptocurrency investors are stepping in to help India in time of need – Economic Times
Concept by Sidhartha Shukla and Muhabit ul haq
The future of cryptocurrencies, an asset class that has created immense wealth for investors across the world, is uncertain in India. While the global cryptocurrency communitys eagerness to help India fight a deadly second wave of the pandemic is commendable, the regulatory environment in the country could be a stumbling block.
It all started with a tweet over the weekend.Cant take this sitting down anymore, I am going to run a Covid relief campaign Need help from the global crypto community. I will take full responsibility for transparency, funds usage, and regulatory compliance, Sandeep Nailwal, chief operations officer at Ethereum (ETH) scaling platform Polygon, tweeted on Saturday.Nailwals call for help from the global community came at an opportune time as
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An act of benevolence: how cryptocurrency investors are stepping in to help India in time of need - Economic Times
Bitcoin and the Realm of Cryptocurrency – Lexology
Of late, cryptocurrency, a form of digital currency, has grown increasingly attractive to investors. On 16 April 2021, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, bitcoin, soared to a new alltime high above US$63,000 -- almost tenfold of its trading price a year ago. This surge in cryptocurrency investment has naturally led to an increase in cryptocurrency exchange businesses.
Landscape in Malaysia
In Malaysia, cryptocurrency is regulated by the Capital Markets and Services (Prescription of Securities) (Digital Currency and Digital Token) Order 2019 (Order), under the purview of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC). The Order provides guidance as to how and when digital currencies are recognised as securities for the purposes of securities laws in Malaysia.
Trading of digital assets such as cryptocurrency takes place via an electronic platform known as a digital asset exchange (DAX). DAX is regulated under the Guidelines on Recognized Markets (DAX Guidelines), similarly under the purview of the SC. The DAX Guidelines require DAX operators to be registered as a Recognized Market Operator (DAX Operator) under s 34 of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA) and the DAX Guidelines.
In assessing the eligibility of an applicant aspiring to qualify as a DAX Operator, SC must be satisfied the applicant has the ability to provide a safe and secure platform for the trading of digital assets, and to fulfil, among others, the following criteria:
(a) Being able to operate an orderly, fair and transparent market;
(b) Having a clear or unique value proposition or will contribute to the overall development of the Malaysian capital market;
(c) Being locally incorporated and have a minimum paid-up capital of RM5 million; and
(d) Utilising appropriate systems, policies and controls to ensure a high degree of security and operation reliability.
At present, there are only three registered DAX Operators in Malaysia.
Strict enforcement
The growth in cryptocurrency investment has also seen a parallel increase in illegal investment scheme often promising high returns to investors over a short period of time. In this regard, there are sanctions in place under securities laws. Companies which provide a trading platform via DAX without being registered as a DAX Operator commit an offence under s 7 of the CMSA. If convicted, the company risks being liable to a fine not exceeding RM10 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both.
In tandem with the regulators' increased efforts to combat illegal investment schemes, a company was recently publicly reprimanded for offering a trading platform for cryptocurrency without being registered as a DAX Operator. The company in question was added into the SC's Investor Alert List, and access to its platform was blocked by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
Conclusion
In light of the above, aspiring DAX operators shall, therefore, ensure they comply with the relevant regulations and go through the rigorous registration exercise.
At the other end of the spectrum, investors are also reminded to exercise caution and to trade only with registered DAX Operators, as engaging in trades with other unregistered entities may risk waiving one's protection and access to legal recourse under the securities laws.
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Bitcoin and the Realm of Cryptocurrency - Lexology
Whats going on with bitcoin? Cryptocurrency is following price prediction model with astonishing precision – The Independent
Bitcoins recent price crash, which saw it lose a quarter of its value after hitting an all-time high, could be just the midway dip in a new record-breaking rally if market patterns from 2013 and 2017 are repeated.
This is the view of a number of prominent cryptocurrency analysts, who adhere to a stock-to-flow model dictated by bitcoins inbuilt scarcity.
The model is based on the relationship between the existing stockpiles of bitcoin and the yearly production rate of new bitcoins through digital mining. Roughly every four years, a halving event occurs that reduces the rewards for mining the cryptocurrency by 50 per cent. After the first halving in 2012, bitcoins price rose from around $11 to $1,100 before falling back down. The second halving in 2016 saw bitcoins price rise from $500 to $20,000 before dipping again.
The most recent halving event took place in May 2020, right at the beginning of the latest price rally. It has since risen from below $10,000 to the new all-time high of $64,863 that it hit this month. After briefly falling below $48,000, it has since recovered slightly to $55,000 at the time of writing.
This latest dip appears to be similar in scale and timing to other dips experienced following the 2012 and 2016 halvings.
(Twitter/ PlanB)
The creator of this stock-to-flow model is the Netherlands-based analyst PlanB, whose most recent projections suggest that bitcoin is still only trading at a fraction of its next major peak.
A graph plotting bitcoins value over time on a logarithmic scale (where its value increases by increments of 10x) shows that the cryptocurrency has largely followed a linear progression since its inception in 2009.
In his original stock-to-flow model from March 2019, PlanB noted that irregularities could be attributed to various external forces as evidenced by the pandemic-induced market crash in early 2020 but that ultimately bitcoins fixed supply is the main driver of price movements in the long term.
Other factors also impact price regulation, hacks and other news that is why it is not 100 per cent (and not all dots are on the line), he wrote. However, the dominant driving factor seems to be scarcity.
(PlanB)
Dr Saifedean Ammous, economist and author of The Bitcoin Standard, also noticed similarities between the recent price crash and the previous post-halving rallies.
More than two years after this model was published, the price continues to track the models predictions with astonishing precision, he tweeted in response to the latest dip.
Another analyst noted: This is starting to play out scary close.
Following bitcoins price crash in March 2020, which saw it briefly dip below $5,000, PlanB stood by the model and its forecast that the cryptocurrency will hit $100,000 at some point in 2021.
A month after the 2020 crash, he went even further by releasing a revised version of this stock-to-flow model that put bitcoins trajectory on course for $288,000.
(PlanB)
A market report by cryptocurrency exchange Luno soon after cited the stock-to-flow model, stating: Based on bitcoins historical data, it may be a lucrative level to accumulate more bitcoin now.
At the time, one bitcoin was worth just $7,000.
Konstantin Anissimov, executive director at London-based cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO, in another figure within the cryptocurrency industry to praise the accuracy of the model and its apparent ability to predict future prices.
The stock-to-flow model has been extremely accurate at anticipating bitcoins future price action as a direct result of the supply shock it experiences following each halving, he told The Independent.
Based on this fundamental indicator, bitcoins scarcity is highly correlated with the value of the network. As the cryptocurrencys rate of production dropped to 328,500 new tokens per annum last August, such a significant cut had a serious implication on prices.
The final halving event is expected to occur at some point in 2140, at which point all 21 million bitcoins will have been mined into existence.
Estimates for what bitcoin will be worth by then range from $0 to $100 trillion in terms of its overall market cap putting it on par with the global real estate market.
Whatever bitcoins eventual peak ends up being, there is another pattern that has appeared without fail during every halving cycle so far: Each record-breaking high has been followed by a record-breaking crash.
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Whats going on with bitcoin? Cryptocurrency is following price prediction model with astonishing precision - The Independent
Bill Aimed at Coordinating the SEC and CFTC Positions on Cryptocurrency Passes the US House – Lexology
Depending on the particular branch of the U.S. government one is talking to, cryptocurrency can be property (IRS), a security (SEC) or a commodity (CFTC). On April 20, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill aimed at remedying this situation. The bipartisan Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act will establish a digital asset working group to ensure collaboration between regulators and the private sector to foster innovation.
The new law will require the SEC and CFTC to establish a working group on digital assets, which will consist of appointees from each agency as well as representatives from financial technology companies, financial firms, and small businesses, among others. The working group will produce a report within a year that will include an analysis of the domestic regulatory framework and the developments in other countries relating to digital assets. The report also requests insight into best practices to reduce fraud, protect investors, and assist in compliance with obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act.
Congressman Patrick McHenry, Republican leader of the House Financial Services Committee made clear that the objective was for Washington to keep up with the innovations in the fintech industry and provide more regulatory clarity. Congressman Stephen F. Lynch, Democratic Chair of the Financial Technologies Task Force delivered a similar message, saying: As this technology continues to develop and deploy, it is extremely important that we consider the possible vulnerabilities that the wider adoption of digital assets might present while addressing the lack of clarity in the regulation of these financial instruments to mitigate potential harms that may occur. This bill will create critical collaboration between the S.E.C., the C.F.T.C. and Congress that will ultimately help create fair and transparent markets.
At the same, the Token Taxonomy Act ( H.R. 1628) has been reintroduced and is currently pending before the House. The sponsor of this bill, Warren Davidson, has explained that the purpose of the bill is also to improve regulatory clarity. But it more directly confronts the SEC, which has applied the Howey test to determining if tokens qualify as securities, concluding in almost every case that it does. This bill specifically excludes digital tokens from the definition of a security and directs the SEC to enact certain regulatory changes relate thereto.
In a previous post, we explained how the U.S. Internal Revenue Service had introduced a question on the 2020 tax form that asked, at any time during 2020 did you receive, sell, send, exchange, or otherwise acquire any financial interest in any virtual currency. Along another path, the IRSs Operation Hidden Treasure is a partnership between the civil office of fraud enforcement and the criminal investigation unit aimed at rooting out tax evasion from cryptocurrency owners. And, the IRS is also pursuing John Doe summonses against cryptocurrency exchanges.
On April 1, 2021, a federal court in the District of Massachusetts entered an order authorizing the IRS to serve a John Doe summons on Circle Internet Financial Inc. seeking information about U.S. taxpayers who conducted at least the equivalent of $20,000 in transactions in cryptocurrency during the years 2016 to 2020. The IRS is requesting that Circle produce records identifying such U.S. taxpayers, along with other documents relating to their cryptocurrency transactions. Circle is a digital currency exchanger headquartered in Boston.
A typical summons is issued when the IRS knows the name of the target and seeks information about that taxpayer. A John Doe summons allows the IRS to get the names of all taxpayers in a certain group. A John Doe Summons must be approved by a federal district court judge.
According to the Justice Department, the governments petition does not allege that Circle has engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with its digital currency exchange business. Rather, according to the courts order, the summons seeks information related to the IRSs investigation of an ascertainable group or class of persons that the IRS has reasonable basis to believe may have failed to comply with any provision of any internal revenue laws[.]
The IRS is simultaneously pursuing authority to issue John Doe summonses against Kraken, a California cryptocurrency exchange. Once again, the government is asking about U.S. taxpayers who conducted at least the equivalent of $20,000 in transactions in cryptocurrency during the years 2016 to 2020. The IRS is not having as much luck there. On March 31, 2021, the federal court in the Northern District of California issued an Order to show Cause in which it said that the IRS had likely made a sufficient showing to satisfy the requirements of the statute for issuing a John Doe summons, but the court had concerns with respect to scope of the request (which the statute requires be narrowly tailored). The IRS does not allege that Kraken engaged in any wrongful conduct.
The proposed summons seeks broad categories of information such as complete user preferences, [a]ny other records of Know-Your-Customer due diligence, and [a]ll correspondence between Kraken and the User or any third party with access to the account pertaining to the account, among other similarly expansive requests. The court therefore required the IRS to show cause why the petition should not be denied for failure to meet the narrowly tailored requirement of the statute. In doing so, the IRS must address specifically why each category of information sought is narrowly tailored to the IRSs investigative needs, including whether requests for more invasive and all-encompassing categories of information could be deferred until after the IRS has reviewed basic account registration information and transaction histories.
IRS guidance regarding the tax treatment of virtual currencies was first introduced in IRS Notice 2014-21. Under U.S tax law, virtual currency is treated as property for Federal income tax purposes. The IRSs position is that receipt of virtual currency as payment for goods or services is treated as income and that a taxpayer can have a gain or loss on the sale or exchange of a virtual currency, including for when it is used to pay for goods.
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Bill Aimed at Coordinating the SEC and CFTC Positions on Cryptocurrency Passes the US House - Lexology
What’s driving Indians into cryptocurrency amid all the uncertainty – Economic Times
Sathvik VishwanathBitcoin has had a volatile trading history since its creation in 2009. The first price hike occurred in November 2013 when one bitcoin was trading at around $1,124. Four years later, in late 2017, the virtual currency touched record highs of approximately $20,000. On 19th April 2021, it recorded a new high of Rs 50,40,806. The cryptocurrency has also surpassed gold in the past and is expected to be the go-to reserve asset solution.
India is increasingly adopting bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrency on the whole. The country triumphs of being the highest remittance market as it grew to $100 billion in 2015. This makes it one of the thriving markets for cryptocurrencies.
The country possesses the worlds largest IT population and is also one of the growing smartphone markets. As a byproduct, e-commerce players and online payments are also rapidly growing. This has also led to the increased awareness levels and curiosity about cryptocurrencies. E-commerce players might increasingly adopt cryptocurrency as their payment gateways.
Understanding the potential of the growing market, Indian investors have been increasingly showing interest in funding the cryptocurrency markets, especially in bitcoin. While a small part of the sales volume is from short-term traders who are seeking instant profits, the trend is primarily driven by long-term investors who have understood the value of the cryptocurrency and want to own it for years and even decades to reap optimal benefits.
Bitcoin is one of the most recognized cryptocurrencies and is preferred owing to its reliability, credibility, and feasibility features. It offers various benefits of being a decentralized, digital, and impossible-to-forge kind of currency which has led to industry experts terming it 'Money 2.0'.
Indian investors are increasingly allocating a separate place for cryptocurrency investment in their portfolios. They keep an eye on the market and hence invest all the more considering it to be one of the most protected and suitable investment options. The domestic investor community has often expressed its desire for having a proper regulation and framework for full-fledged working of cryptocurrency in India.
It was in 2010 when bitcoin received a cash value for the first time when a customer swapped 10,000 bitcoin for two pizzas. Eventually, other currencies were introduced and the market flourished in the subsequent years. Ever since then, it started gaining popularity and while it did experience a few dips, the market has been proliferating to the extent that it will be the ideal investment choice and will be preferred over gold in the coming times.
Pandemic impactWhile the pandemic disrupted our lives last year, it did upturn the cryptocurrency market as well. Prices experienced a dip but the distressed times didnt last too long and it eventually turned out to be a boon for cryptocurrency industry. The market started growing during lockdown and presently, despite all uncertainties, the sector is booming.
In March 2020, the Supreme Court removed restrictions imposed by RBI on the usage of cryptocurrencies. This gave the crypto market a fresh boost in India. While the markets were upturned, many investors resorted to cryptocurrency amid lockdown.
Even though the cryptocurrency market faces various challenges in its growth trajectory, investor interest seems to be strengthening with time.
There have been a lot of queries, ifs & buts concerning cryptocurrencies and their viability in the Indian market. Considering it is a volatile and ever-evolving sector, predicting what will happen next is indeed tough. While new investors are keen to know about the right time to invest and the possible futuristic benefits of doing so, considering the present growth of the market, it seems to be a good option investment per se and its future, for now, seems promising.
(Sathvik Vishwanath is Co-Founder & CEO of Unocoin. Views are his own)
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What's driving Indians into cryptocurrency amid all the uncertainty - Economic Times
H. C. Wainwright to Host Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Fintech Virtual Conference – Business Wire
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--H. C. Wainwright & Co., LLC (HCW), one of the leading investment banks focused on capital markets and equity research across multiple sectors, is hosting a daylong virtual conference on Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Fintech. The online event is scheduled for Tuesday, April 27, 2021. Of particular relevance to institutional investors, the conference will offer valuable insights to public and private companies, business development executives, venture capitalists, and others.
The online event will run from 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. E.D.T., and the full agenda of topics and panelists is available at http://www.hcwevents.com. In addition to over 40 confirmed presenting companies, and the opportunity to have one-on-one meetings both with investors and with H. C. Wainwrights investment banking and research teams, the days lineup of top names includes:
Alexis Glick, former Wall Streeter, financial-news anchor, CNN financial commentator, and currently CEO of GENYOUth, will moderate, along with H.C. Wainwrights Kevin Dede, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst.
Were pleased to have the opportunity to convene this investor forum with the leading names in the Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Fintech arena, said H. C. Wainwright Managing Director Craig Schwabe, who leads cryptocurrency, blockchain, financial technology investment banking. Its crucial to get thought-leaders in this area together now, particularly at a time when we see, a wider adoption of crypto currencies and blockchain technology.
Register for the event by emailing lk@hcwco.com.
About H. C. Wainwright & Co.
About H.C. Wainwright & Co. H.C. Wainwright is a fullservice investment bank dedicated to providing corporate finance, strategic advisory and related services to public and private companies across multiple sectors and regions. H.C. Wainwright & Co. also provides research and sales & trading services to institutional investors.
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H. C. Wainwright to Host Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Fintech Virtual Conference - Business Wire
Tesla reveals $101 million bitcoin profit following its massive cryptocurrency investment – Yahoo News
Tesla is still holding more than $1.3 billion worth of the cryptocurrency. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Tesla says it cashed out $272 million in bitcoin in the first quarter of 2021.
The company made $101 million in profits from the sale, it said Monday.
Tesla disclosed the sale as part of its first-quarter earnings, which showed continued profitability.
See more stories on Insider's business page.
Tesla made a splash when it announced that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in February - and it's already profited more than $100 million from the investment.
Elon Musk's automaker on Monday said that it sold $272 million worth of digital assets during the first three months of 2021 and that it netted $101 million from the sale, which represented about 10% of its holdings at the time.
Tesla still has $1.33 billion in digital assets on its balance sheet, it said. It's not clear exactly where the other $171 million went, but converting bitcoin to US dollars can come with high fees.
Read more: Tesla is ideally positioned to become the world's most important Bitcoin bank
The disclosure came as part of Tesla's first-quarter earnings report Monday afternoon, in which the company revealed $10.39 billion in revenue and made $438 million of profit for the three-month period ending March 31.
Tesla turned a profit thanks to $518 million it earned selling regulatory credits to other automakers, and the $101 million it brought in from selling bitcoin padded its bottom line as well. Bitcoin has surged about 60% since Tesla's February disclosure but is down slightly from an all-time high of more than $63,000 in April.
On a conference call with investors and analysts on Monday, CFO Zachary Kirkhorn said the company plans to continue adding bitcoin to its balance sheet from vehicle sales.
Musk has been known to hype up cryptocurrencies on social media and has contributed to bitcoin's massive rally by firing off tweets about it to his more than 50 million followers. His past tweets have also sent bitcoin's meme cousin, Dogecoin, soaring to unprecedented highs.
In March, Tesla began accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for its vehicles.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Three indirect ways investors can play the cryptocurrency craze – CNBC
The cryptocurrency craze is quickly going mainstream.
PayPal's peer-to-peer payment service Venmo has started letting users to buy, sell and hold bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin and bitcoin cash, the next step in PayPal's foray into digital assets.
But in some cases, investors might find more luck with indirect crypto plays than the currencies themselves, two traders told CNBC on Tuesday.
"In this case the rush to the mining it's better to sell the picks and shovels than necessarily go for the mined asset," Chantico Global founder and CEO Gina Sanchez said on "Trading Nation."
PayPal, for one, will make "extraordinary fees" off Venmo's move, said Sanchez, also chief market strategist at Lido Advisors.
"We own PayPal in our portfolio [at Lido Advisors]. We also own other chip names like Nvidia and Intel," she said. "You need two things to mine bitcoin: you need very powerful computers and you need electricity. Electricity's harder to play, but the chip shortage is easier."
As businesses embrace digital assets, companies that help facilitate crypto transactions could also win out, Strategic Wealth Partners president and CEO Mark Tepper said in the same interview.
"Silvergate's a bank ... that works with all the crypto companies out there. Venmo's allowing its users to access crypto through Paxos, which happens to be a Silvergate customer. So Silvergate's going to benefit from this whole Venmo deal," Tepper said.
"I really like them as a play and I think they're actually going to benefit tremendously from what Venmo's doing," he said.
As for bitcoin itself, more hype will likely bring higher prices, Tepper said.
"What's really going to drive bitcoin higher is more and more adoption," he said. "If Amazon ever were to all of a sudden accept payments in bitcoin, I think bitcoin would shoot to over 100,000 overnight. So, yes, the more you see companies adopt and embrace it, I think the higher bitcoin goes."
Disclosure: Lido Advisors owns shares of Nvidia and PayPal. Tepper owns shares of Silvergate Capital.
Disclaimer
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Three indirect ways investors can play the cryptocurrency craze - CNBC
Why Bitcoin ($BTC) Plunged, and What Is The Cryptocurrency’s Price Outlook Now? – Bloomberg
Follow us @crypto for our full coverage.
The crypto rollercoaster is back in action. Bitcoin has recovered some losses after falling as much as 15% Sunday. Rival coins like Ether and XRP also plunged.
Bitcoin inched up to trade above $56,000 on Monday afternoon in New York, less than a week after hitting a record high of more than $64,000. The highs coincided with the stock-market debut of the U.S.s largest exchange for the tokens, Coinbase Global Inc., which stoked enthusiasm for all things crypto.
While some investors said the coin was overvalued, others saw the dip as an opportunity to steel their nerves and buy. Even Dogecoin which began as a joke rose 20%.
As is often the case especially with assets as opaque as cryptocurrencies where its often unclear who is selling or buying there isnt one answer. Analysts point to a grab bag of reasons.
As digital assets make further inroads with both retail and institutional investors, regulators across the world are taking a closer interest.
On Friday, the Turkish central bank said it would ban their use as a form of payment from April 30 and would prohibit companies that handle payments and electronic fund transfers from processing transactions involving crypto platforms.
There was also online speculation over the weekend that the U.S. Treasury is poised to crack down on money laundering carried out through digital assets. The Treasury declined to comment.
Other sources of regulatory pressure include central banks plans to create digital currencies such as Chinas for the yuan, and the ban of cryptocurrency mining in Inner Mongolia, long an industry favorite because of its cheap power.
We will see more regulation coming, Eva Ados, chief investment strategist at asset manager ERShares, said on Bloomberg TV, warning investors to be very careful. We think there is going to be even more volatility going forward.
Any big rally offers potential for the market to get ahead of itself.
Thats the view of Galaxy Digital founder and long-time crypto bull Michael Novogratz, who wrote on Twitter he sees the retreat as a healthy correction.
Other things could be adding to the mix. Industry news site CoinDesk reported Saturday that power outages in parts of China had knocked out a significant amount of Bitcoin mining capacity, which reduced the overall processing power of the cryptocurrencys network.
Theres also the timing.
Bitcoin goes crazy on weekends because its one of the few markets open to trade in, Kyle Rodda, a Melbourne-based market analyst at IG said. And its lost some buying support.
Given the frequent warnings from mainstream financial figures of a speculative mania in cryptocurrencies, any substantial drop reawakens memories of the 2017 crash. Back then, Bitcoin fell from more than $19,000 to under $4,000 by the end of 2018.
While the current retreat is notable, its not on that scale. Bitcoin is still 93% higher than it was in January. Volatility is routine for the asset class: The 15% intraday drop on Sunday was only the biggest since February.
Ether, which fell as much as 18% before closing 9.4% lower on Sunday, is up more than 200% this year.
The trouble with any sort of price predictions for cryptocurrencies is that there arent a lot of fundamental metrics to form the basis of forecasts. Much comes down to best guesses on whether institutional investors will buy in and whether Bitcoin whales will sell. Less than 2% of accounts control 95% of the available supply, according to researcher Flipside Crypto. That means one large holder can have an outsized impact on the still illiquid market.
One key difference to the prolonged crash in 2017 is that a wide range of institutional investors now have some stake in the market. Brevan Howard Asset Management last week became the latest money manager said to be investing in digital assets.
Read more: Dan Loeb Is Latest Billionaire to Dive Into the World of Crypto
In a further sign of growing interest among the wealthy, both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are now planning to offer clients access to crypto investments. In January, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts suggested Bitcoin has the potential to reach $146,000 in the long term, a target they recently pared back to around $130,000.
Passions run deep on social as to the likely near-term path for crypto, Pepperstones Chris Weston wrote in a note to clients. But dips are clearly supported.
With assistance by Matthew Burgess, and Haidi Lun
(Recasts and updates with latest prices)
Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.
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Why Bitcoin ($BTC) Plunged, and What Is The Cryptocurrency's Price Outlook Now? - Bloomberg
Why SafeMoon Cryptocurrency Is Up 130% And What You Should Know About It – Benzinga
DeFi token SafeMoon (SAFEMOON)has surged over 130% in the past 24-hours, and over 2900% in three weeks, drawing interest from a variety of investors in the crypto space.
What Happened:The newly launched protocol aims to build rewards for people who hold their tokens for a longer time and penalize those that choose to sell quickly.
SafeMoon charges sellers a fee of 10% of the amount that they choose to sell while rewarding those who still hold the cryptocurrency with 5% of the seller's fee.
The DeFi protocol is also gearing up to launch an NFT exchange, for which it has claimed to have raised $700,000 from donors for the project.
According to SafeMoon CEO Johnny Karony, the exchange would extend the concept behind SafeMoon to other cryptocurrencies as well.
"Users holding on our platform will receive static reflection through all transactions, meaning when you hold your BTC, or Bitcoin, you will receive more Bitcoin,"he explained in a video.
So far, the protocol has managed to acquire over 600,000 holders of SafeMoon tokens based on the data shared on its website.
See also:Best Cryptocurrency Apps
Why ItMatters: At the time of writing, SafeMoons crypto token is only available on WhiteBIT, BitMart (BMX), and decentralized exchanges like PancakeSwap (CAKE).
Amidst calls from the SafeMoon community for Binance and other top crypto exchanges to list the cryptocurrency, reports have also emerged that the sharp increase in price may have been the result of a concentrated effort by a group of retail traders.
A pseudonymous crypto trader called Venizo Crypto broughtattention to a large trading group that had recently pumped the price of DOGE by over 200%, which had now turned its attention towards SafeMoon.
The discord group called Big Pump Signal seeks to pump cryptocurrency prices in a controlled manner.
The process of doing so can boost the coins by more than 50%, stated the admin.
2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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Why SafeMoon Cryptocurrency Is Up 130% And What You Should Know About It - Benzinga