The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped substantially since Jan. 8, totalling a decline of more than $10,000 at time of publication. Retail investors could be part of the rationale behind the drop, according to Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev. 

“The price correction we’re seeing was brought about by retail investors following the lead of institutions that created the Bitcoin high,” he told Cointelegraph on Jan. 11, adding:

After blazing past its 2017 record high near $20,000, Bitcoin quickly doubled, hitting almost $42,000 per coin by Jan. 8. In the days following, the digital asset fell approximately 28%, down to almost $30,100.

Price advances often come with pullbacks, although a retracement does not necessarily indicate the end of an overall macro bull market. So what would signal a macro Bitcoin top?

“There are a few observable signs to watch for," Trenchev told Coitelegraph on Jan. 8. "Regulation, for example, has a powerful influence on the market,” he noted. “Regulatory activity that appears to tighten rules on crypto can dissuade new buyers.”

United States regulators have stepped up their engagement in the crypto space over the last few years — potentially the sign of a maturing industry. Several legal actions have recently come into the spotlight, including a proposal from the U.S. government aimed at tracking digital assets withdrawn from exchanges.

“There is even potential for over-excitement on the upside to cause some level of crash, although I doubt it’d be too big a concern,” Trenchev said. “Every year since 2013 has seen a ‘crash’ of around 25% of a peak earlier in the same year, and yet here we are with BTC hitting heights it never has before,” he added. “Corrections like this are an inevitable aspect of market behaviour,” he said on Jan. 8, referring to a smaller correction that occurred on that day.

“So much is made of institutional involvement when it comes to bitcoin price movement, and rightly so — however retail activity is something to watch closely for signs the market has topped,” Trenchev explained. “Many will panic, take their profit, and walk away — which can have a domino effect on the rest of the market.”

The latter half of 2020 hosted a noteworthy amount of Bitcoin attention from mainstream giants, such as MicroStrategy and MassMutual, potentially making this bull run different from years prior. 

UPDATE Jan. 12, 15:19 UTC: This article has been updated, correcting Antoni Trenchev's title from CEO to co-founder. 

It's been a crazy, wild, and interesting news week for crypto. Bakkt launched on Monday. The markets crashed on Tuesday. The stablecoins are looking good, but not much else. There still hasn't been a bounce back. Maybe we should just look at this as a time to buy.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on the Top Bitcoiners list on Twitter. You might like to follow the subject of our No. 10 news item, @OhGodAGirl.

Market Watch: It's been a rough week for crypto. Bitcoin and every major altcoin hit the floor Tuesday. In fact, for a couple of days, only stablecoins looked promising. If you're invested in Tether, it hasn't looked bad this week, so continue hedging. Something's up with Algorand, though. It hasn't looked good all week and has been in the bottom five at least twice. Today, it's the biggest loser of the top 100. ABBC Coin and Metaverse ETP have flipped. Yesterday, the latter was a top gainer and the former a top loser; their positions today are reverse. It's one of those weeks.

Prices are as of 12:43 p.m. EDT.

2. Led by Bitcoin, the entire crypto market took a plunge this week and Mashable is asking if Bakkt is the culprit. Bitcoin fell as low as $8,165 after spending several months testing $10,000 and staying above its key support for an extended period. The fall was approximately 15 percent. All the major altcoins followed. Bakkt, with much anticipation, launched a Bitcoin futures market on Monday, but trading has not met expectations. The total first-day trading volume reached 71 BTC. Celsius Network CEO Alex Mashinsky saw it as a signal that institutional investors weren't ready for BTC trading and that Bitcoin's $10,000 marker was too high. -- MASHABLE

Are you rooting for Kik or the SEC? Shoot me an email to allen.taylor@inside.com and let me know.

4. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added 11 bitcoin addresses to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. OFAC alleges that a group of Chinese nationals used the addresses for money laundering and drug trafficking. The addresses have not been sanctioned. Rather, they've been added to the list solely to inform the cryptocurrency community of the importance of identifying transactions that should be blocked. -- INVESTMENT WEEK

8. Google claims to have built the world's most powerful quantum computer, able to perform calculations in 200 seconds that would take a normal computer 10,000 years to perform. A NASA document claims we could be entering a new age of quantum supremacy. The document was taken down because, according to a source at Google, it might not have been peer reviewed. Nevertheless, if there is any substance to the claim, quantum computing could have huge implications for Bitcoin. For instance, a quantum computer could use Shor's algorithm to ascertain a private key from a public key address. -- DECRYPT

9. Nexo accepts tokenized gold for instant credit lines and will soon offer interest-bearing accounts for gold. PAX Gold will be regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services and allow gold-backed lending. PAX Gold currently provides instant access in over 45 fiat currencies across over 200 jurisdictions. PAX Gold represents physical gold held in Brink vaults in London on the Ethereum blockchain. -- COVINGTON JOURNAL

10. ProgPow author Kristy-Leigh Minehan has resigned as Core Scientific chief technology officer. She cited potential conflicts of interest as the reason. ProgPow aims to level the playing field in Ethereum mining by negating performance differences between ASIC, GPU, and FPGA miners. Ethereum Classic Executive Director Bob Summerwill uninvited Minehan from the ETC Summit last week due to connections Core Scientific has with Craig Wright, Calvin Ayre, and Coingeek. -- BITCOINIST

Inside Bitcoin is written and curated by award-winning journalist and former newspaper editor Allen Taylor. Recognized by the Dallas Bar Association three times for excellence in legal reporting, Allen has since gone on to author, edit, or ghostwrite several white papers, books and e-books, and over 10,000 blog posts for clients ranging from small business owners to global management companies and corporate executives. Learn more about him on LinkedIn.

Editor: David Stegon (senior editor at Inside, whose reporting experience includes cryptocurrency and technology).

Cryptocurrency News – TCAT Cryptocurrency News – REAL News ® Home » Nexo Revolutionizing the World of Finance Supporting HODL Bitcoin and NEXO Nexo Revolutionizing the World of Finance Supporting HODL Bitcoin and NEXO By Maheen Hernandez May 2, 2020 Off Nexo celebrated its birthday on April 30, 2020.  In 2 years, they are feeling good about 700,000 users +.  They are confident in that they will revolutionize the world of finance. Nexo has helped several investors make the crypto work for them.  It is the only insured account that permits borrowing instantly in 45 plus fiat currencies, thus making it possible for a daily interest on the idle interest of users. Being licensed and regulated and providing $100 Million Insurance on Custodial assets sets them apart from other lenders.  The Nexo Instant Crypto Credit Line works very instantly. Nexo is also excited about anything like Bitcoin, because they recently expressed that following client’s feedback, NEXO is pleased to announce that BCH gets facilitated as a repayment option for their Instant Crypto Credit Lines.  Thus they have already expanded the benefits of using Nano_io, but are contributing to enriching BCH’s adoption and utilization. It is good that Bitcoin Cash is now available as a repayment method for the BCH community. Coinmarket Cap recently covered the fact that Nexo Finance have evolved to have grown their global brand to reach out to a highly engaged audience and acknowledges the substantial customer growth with their advertising campaign. Making money apart, NEXO have contributed to a good cause.  They expressed that they were feeling proud to be matching $10k worth in crypto donations to Savethechildren’s noble cause with SavewithStories initiative! At a point in time when investors are looking towards safe-havens, Nexo opines that it would be good for investors to make use of the potential of probably the best store of value.  They have introduced a credit line process where it is possible for customers to borrow against tokenized gold when they need liquidity rather than selling it. Typically, relatable to pawn broking – Token Broking. Share var VUUKLE_CONFIG = )(); CategoryFinance Bitcoin (BTC) Halving Getting A Share of the Profit Pie Will It Pass like a Small Event Ripple XRP Something very active should happen for some Passive Income to happen in Cryptocurrency Space Maheen Hernandez A finance graduate, Maheen Hernandez has been drawn to cryptocurrencies ever since Bitcoin first emerged in 2009. Nearly a decade later, Maheen is actively working to spread awareness about cryptocurrencies as well as their impact on the traditional currencies.

Nexo will spend $12 million on its native token in the open market. Confirming the news in a press statement, the firm’s co-founder and managing partner Antoni Trenchev said: 

The company looks to continue growing the value of its token, which has already seen notable gains this year. Since October, it’s up around 160%.

It’s hoped that the move will reward investors who have supported the project from early on. 

As NEXO is an ERC-20 token, the purchases will be viewable on the Ethereum blockchain. Nexo has set up an Investor Protection Reserve with its own address on the network. The buybacks will have a vesting period of at least 12 months after repurchase, and locked tokens won’t be eligible for dividends.

That means current holders will benefit further from the program in the next round of dividends. 

Once vested, the tokens may be used for buyback trenches, interest or cashback payments, dividends, or to provide liquidity on decentralized exchange (DEX) pools. 

The platform’s token trades at $0.34 today. Its market cap is just north of $190 million. 

Disclosure: Nexo is a sponsor of Crypto Briefing.

The information on or accessed through this website is obtained from independent sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, but Decentral Media, Inc. makes no representation or warranty as to the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information on or accessed through this website. Decentral Media, Inc. is not an investment advisor. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice. The information on this website is subject to change without notice. Some or all of the information on this website may become outdated, or it may be or become incomplete or inaccurate. We may, but are not obligated to, update any outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information.

You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment. We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities.

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The crypto loan scheme platform Nexo has recently expanded its services to include retail clients. According to reports, Nexo has decided to include small scale investors in its loan scheme. Thanks to the new offering, interested customers can get fiat currency loans against the gold-backed cryptocurrency. Since its inception in late 2019, Nexo loan schemes were majorly for institutional-grade clients. Prior to this, there were no options for small-scale or retail grade clients. With the present onslaught of COVID-19 pandemic on nations and global economies, this is indeed trying times. The resultant volatility has led to a spate of loan schemes with a large number of clients looking to get funds. Many clients who own crypto, however, prefer to use their tokens as loan collateral instead of converting them to cash. The co-founder of Nexo, Antonio Tranchev, pointed out that the new loan scheme was the result of popular demand. He pointed out that all customers, especially their retail clients, would benefit by being able to borrow funds against PAX Gold. The Nexo CEO added that the crypto lending platform was also enabling clients to invest in physical gold using PAXG token. As a result, customers can pledge the tokens as collateral and get credit up to 70 percent of the investment. And the Annual Percentage Rate for this scheme would start from 5.9 percent. According to Nexo, they have over 650,000 clients, including institutional and retail grade customers. Last year, the crypto lending firm had paid over $2.4 Million as dividends to its token holders. Further, it bought PAXG tokens worth $5 million to meet the demand for tokenized gold lending and borrowing. PAX Gold (PAXG) is an ERC-20 token designed on the Ethereum blockchain. It is currently equivalent to one fine troy ounce of London Good Delivery gold bar and redeemable by real gold secured in vaults.

Nexo, a crypto lending platform launched by Credissimo, has just doubled the rate of interest users will receive on their deposits. 

The new rates are a response to rising volatility and uncertainty in the marketplace, which Nexo attributes to the COVID-19 pandemic and upcoming US elections.

The update is the beginning of a new “Nexonomics” initiative aimed at making improvements to the NEXO token on the platform. The firm states that the improvements will deal with tokenomics, utility, and the native currency’s underlying value.

The firm now offers double the interest on BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH, LTC, EOS, LINK, XLM, TRX, and PAXG, with rates of up to 8% APY. 

In total, the two-fold increase in interest rates amounts to a 1% hike in standard interest.

Nexo co-founder and managing partner Antoni Trenchev described the company’s strategy as “market neutral,” stating:

The move may be part of the firm’s effort to remain competitive in the ever-growing DeFi sector. 

Nexo was founded in 2014 and has proven disruptive by slashing borrowing costs and paying out more interest to users than traditional financial services. However, with an ever-growing number of lending protocols in DeFi and over $11.27 billion in assets now locked in to the ecosystem, Nexo may now be cornering a smaller chunk of the market.

DeFi lenders such as Maker have seen major growth throughout 2020.

The new initiative to boost interest rates will likely be well-received by Nexo users and may be instrumental if Nexo remains a key player in crypto lending.

The information on or accessed through this website is obtained from independent sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, but Decentral Media, Inc. makes no representation or warranty as to the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information on or accessed through this website. Decentral Media, Inc. is not an investment advisor. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice. The information on this website is subject to change without notice. Some or all of the information on this website may become outdated, or it may be or become incomplete or inaccurate. We may, but are not obligated to, update any outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information.

You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment. We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities.

See full terms and conditions.

Nexo announced the addition of the TRON (TRX) cryptocurrency as collateral for fiat currency loans.

Nexo offers both the possibility to obtain fiat currency loans by collateralizing cryptocurrencies and to lend funds in order to earn interest. 

With the new addition, the company expands its Instant Crypto credit lines by offering TRX owners access to the Earn on Crypto product, which allows users to receive up to 10% annual interest on lending digital assets.

The choice fell on TRX both because it is a popular token and because the TRON network has versatile use cases, high speed and a decentralized blockchain. 

TRX is the native cryptocurrency of the TRON blockchain, which thanks to its scalability and effective smart contracts can constantly handle over 2,000 transactions per second.

In turn, adding TRX to Nexo’s credit lines increases the usefulness of this cryptocurrency, alleviates sales pressure, and reduces emotional stress for holders. 

In fact, TRX secured loans allow its holders to borrow fiat money instead of having to sell tokens.

Nexo’s co-founder and managing partner, Antoni Trenchev, said: 

TRON founder and CEO of BitTorrent, Justin Sun, commented: 

Recently, the price of TRX has benefited from surges in the crypto markets, rising from less than $0.017 to over $0.019 in one month, a gain of more than 12%. 

It was since late February 2020 that it no longer fluctuated around $0.020, a level at which it had already been at the end of July last year. 

The peaks of over $0.250 at the beginning of 2018, in the middle of the speculative bubble, are still extremely distant, but at least the $0.026 figure reached in February of the same year does not seem to be so far off. 

“Bitcoin continues to defy all expectations and doubters,” said Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and managing partner of Nexo, a crypto lender. “It’s leaving all other assets trailing in its wake like it’s done a year in, year out for the past decade,” he added. Other cryptocurrencies are also jumping in a world awash with fiscal and monetary stimulus, even as some commentators fear an inevitable bust and others question the basic integrity of crypto markets. Ethereum also jumped above the $1000 mark after a long time. 

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The key is the crucial part of a crypto wallet. Before picking a wallet to use or store your money, you should analyze the pros and cons of a platform. In addition, there are five kinds of crypto wallets available out there. Go through this article as the top 20 best cryptocurrency wallets are highlighted to enable you to make the right decision – Best Crypto Wallets 2020. Get bitcoin wallet.

Features of Coinbase Wallet 

Featured of Exodus Wallet 

A company called Bitpay created Copay. Bitpay has enabled many businesses to allow bitcoin as the payment, and that is why Copay is the most accepted bitcoin wallet around the world. As a light node wallet, it uses simple processes to complete a transaction, although two-factor authentication is not available. 

Features of Copay Wallet 

bitcoin into other cryptos like bitcoin cash

 Jaxx is known as multi-currency, multi-platform all-in-one cryptocurrency wallet operating since 2014. You can exchange more than 80 cryptocurrencies using the Jaxx wallet. Besides, it renders all the important features like transaction history, coin balance, and insights of a particular coin. Although this is not an open-source app, the source code is available online.

Features of Jaxx Liberty Wallet 

It is a hardware wallet and stores your keys in cold storage to keep them safe from computer vulnerabilities. A 12-word security key is generated in every device while you can also retrieve them in case you lost it. BTC, BCH, DASH, DOGE, ETH, LTC, and NMC cryptocurrency is supported, and you can complete the transaction using the software, which is Electrum and MultiBit.

Features of KeepKey Wallet 

If we consider hardware wallets only, then Trezor is the best Bitcoin wallet. It gives you the power to store your assets in cold storage and use it like a hot wallet. It can be safely used in a computer affected by malware. The size is small and can be carried easily. The screen is protected with extra layers, but the price is affordable.

Features of Trezor Wallet

It takes place in the list of the best cryptocurrency wallet due to its experience and reliability. It is designed to use cryptocurrency as a regular payment method as it offers easy and straightforward solutions for conducting a transaction. More secure than the online storage and uses a server to download the blockchain instantly.

Features of Electrum Wallet

This Europe based company offers multi-currency noncustodial wallet. It supports over 40 cryptocurrencies and 10,000 currently. A vast number of crypto tools are available to exchange, manage digital assets, and generate Guarda tokens. The system is user-friendly and can be used on all platforms. It is available as desktop, mobile, web, and chrome extension as well.

Features of Guarda Wallet 

Atomic Wallet is a secure, decentralized and anonymous wallet available to Mac users as well as several other platforms.

The name comes from one of its most interesting features: atomic swaps, which allow you to convert one cryptocurrency into another without any counterparty risk.

Of all the wallets we’ve recommended, it’s like got the most beautiful user interface, which is something we rate highly due to beginners having an easier time.

If you’re interested in Atomic Wallet, it can be downloaded above!

This is one of the best cryptocurrency wallets that offers unique features at the lowest price. Portable and can be carried easily, although it is a hardware wallet. The simplistic procedures are hassle-free and support a wide variety of cryptos. It looks like a foldable USB sized device, but security is reliable and trusted by many people.

Features of Ledger Nano S

It is the first cryptocurrency wallet that has made global transactions available to the users. This universal cryptocurrency wallet ensures faster transactions through 24/7 regulation of blockchain. Fast access to the application with optimized security steps is also responsible for its popularity. Supports a wide range of cryptos that include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Neo tokens as well. 

Features of Infinito Wallet 

If you have Nexo token, then this is the best cryptocurrency wallet for you. Nexo wallet gives away 30% of the profit to its users as dividend payments. So you can have a passive income as the owner of the tokens. It is available on iOS and Android app. It can serve all the features offered by the Nexo platform.

Features of Nexo Wallet

 Bitcoin is the most trusted and popular cryptocurrency around the world. At the same Bitcoin wallet has also earned the reputation of mostly used crypto wallets in the competitive market. It is also the safest wallet and already engaged more than 42 million wallet users. Besides, over $200 billion transactions have been reported already.

Features of Bitcoin Wallet 

The blockchain wallet is similar to coinbase. It allows users to send or receive payments directly in the mobile app. Supported in more than thirty-five countries. The transaction fee is affordable and supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Stellar Lumens. The app is well equipped and performs well in managing security issues.

Features of Blockchain Wallet 

It is the best BTC wallet because of its balancing between the convenient and secured transaction of bitcoin. Designed for experienced investors, and the system is powerful. It can be integrated with Android or iOS to use it while on the go. Users can send, receive, or exchange bitcoins through the beautiful and responsive UI. 

Features of Greencoin Wallet

This app is focused on offering unique features that are unmatched and helpful for users. It intends to provide commission-free transactions to its users. It has also brought light on ETF trades. Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and other popular cryptocurrencies. Besides, it provides 24/7 customer support for achieving an optimum outcome. Renders access to becoming an investor among the mass people and provides ways to make the investment more profitable.

Features of Robinhood Wallet 

 As a hot wallet, it is the best BTC wallet that allows users to store, collect, and send bitcoin around the world. iPhone and smartphone users can easily handle their digital assets using this app while the desktop is not yet ready to serve. Customized PIN code and password will be attached and write them down for further use.

Features of Airbitz Wallet 

Intended to provide more convenience to the traders. Instead of starting as a desktop wallet, it started working on developing a mobile platform to increase efficiency and minimize the transaction time. It offers a simplified user interface where you can use the navigation buttons to get increased visibility. Traders can buy and sell cryptocurrency using two main screens.

Features of Bread Wallet 

It is one of the best cryptocurrency wallets that is available in the market. This light application is really useful for new traders. Convenient environment and comparable to other crypto wallets that are suitable for day to day use. Supported by the maximum number of people and backed by a huge number of investors.

Features of Schildbach Wallet 

Read More about Bitcoin Wallet:

Best Crypto Wallets 2020

From :: emailNexo is Removing All Withdrawal Fees From its onset, Nexo has always been about decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions forsocial inclusion and providing crypto banking services to even the remotest corners of the world.Running a truly global enterprise across200+ jurisdictionsmeans that Nexos signatureInstant Crypto Credit Linesand our high-yieldEarn Interestproducts are for anyone. Their very goal is to further enhance financial freedom and financial returns from the comfort of your Nexo Wallet, now available on alliOSandAndroiddevices.Since the beginning of 2019 Bitcoin has delivered astounding returns exceeding 840% on an annualized basis andNexo clients have been able to profitfrom the bull run in the mosttax- and cost-efficient mannerby borrowing against their crypto rather than selling it.The Nexo model is in line with Millennials' expectations as to what financial services should cost and Satoshis vision of low-cost transfer of value in a borderless manner.Maximize your returns now by securing anInstant Crypto Credit Linesand utilize Nexos high-yieldEarn Interestproduct to earn 8% per year, all at #ZeroFees. Share this amazing news with your community and let us together create the necessary pressure for all major companies and exchange in the crypto space implement a #ZeroFees model!Best Regards,Your Nexo TeamLabels:#nexo0 Comments: Post a CommentNewer PostOlder PostHomeSubscribe to:

Global payments provider PayPal has doubled its previous crypto volume record, with $242 million worth of digital assets changing hands on the platform during Jan. 11.

According to crypto market data aggregator Nomics, yesterday’s trading dwarfed PayPal’s previous volume record of $129 million recorded on Jan. 6. Since Jan. 1, daily volume has increased by 950% from $22.8.

With the spike in PayPal’s volume coming amid Bitcoin’s rally into new all-time highs, the U.S.-based payments firm appears to be gathering popularity among retail traders. Nuggets News’ Alex Saunders asserted the spike in PayPal’s volume is a likely sign of increasing adoption among retail traders, tweeting: “retail has arrived.”

The discussions regarding whether PayPal's volume milestone is bullish or bearish come shortly after Nexo CEO Antoni Trenchev speculated Bitcoin's recent crash from levels exceeding $40,000 was driven by retail investors rushing to realize profits.

PayPal’s crypto services are accessed via Paxos’ ItBit exchange. PayPal selected ItBit handle its crypto transactions upon launching digital asset trading services during October 2020.

PayPal is expected to offer cryptocurrency services to its 26 million merchants in the coming months, likely driving further demand for the company’s crypto services.

Cryptocurrency backed loan platform, Nexo, adds Litecoin as its newest option to provide loan against. The news was announced via email to Nexo’s customer and it was also announced on Twitter. With the addition of Litecoin, NEXO now supports 6 cryptocurrencies – BTC, ETH, XRP, BNB, NEXO and LTC.We are thrilled to announce Litecoin as the newest collateral option for Nexo’s instant credit lines.LTC holders can now access instant cash in 45+ fiat currency while keeping the upside potential of their #LTC!https://t.co/hqq0TtRbK9“Litecoin has always focused on expanding the decentralized finance agenda as a means of social inclusion and generating financial freedom — two goals that align the endeavor with the mission of the Nexo enterprise.”The news comes a week after Nexo announced that investors can earn up to 6.5% interest on stable coins stored on Nexo. Nexo currently supports 5 stable coins –  TrueUSD (TUSD), USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT), Paxos Standard Token (PAX) and Dai (DAI).NEXO token is currently up by 8% in the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency has a market cap of $45 million and has a daily trading volume of $4 million. NEXO token is currently the 103rd largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization.Get the latest news on Blockchain only on Blockmanity.com. Subscribe to us on Google news and do follow us on Twitter @BlockmanityDid you like the news you just read? Please leave a feedback to help us serve you better

The Bitcoin price action has also been reflected in the altcoin market as it usually does, with many popular cryptocurrencies surging alongside BTC. Noticeably, Ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum platform, has doubled in value in the last month and is currently sitting at over $1,300.

While the latest crypto rally has taken the global cryptocurrency market capitalization to the $1-trillion mark, there have been a few notable cryptocurrencies that have failed to keep up with Bitcoin’s growth for different reasons.

However, by Dec. 23, XRP had plummeted by 41%, and exchanges began delisting the cryptocurrency. By the end of December, XRP was delisted from major exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance US and OKCoin, with a few exceptions like Uphold and GateHub leaving the crypto for trading until the court decision. Currently sitting at $0.28, XRP has dropped around 47% in the last 30 days.

However, it seems that a more plausible reason as to why these projects are failing to grow alongside Bitcoin is that they are seen as direct competitors to Ether, which has had a great run in the past month and hosts most of the DeFi industry. Hobbs told Cointelegraph:

On Dec. 23, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a proposed rule change, in which it stated that anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies, like those mentioned above, are becoming more popular and are believed to be more closely associated with illicit activity such as money laundering and ransomware attacks.

As frequent hacks on decentralized finance and other sets of crypto continue to occur, with the funds being disposed of in crypto exchanges, it also makes sense that the venues would want to disassociate themselves from untraceable money laundering and to comply with any upcoming regulation.

As a result, trust in privacy coins seems to be shaken. Monero and Dash rose 0.79% and 3.79%, respectively, in the last 30 days. While these numbers don’t seem bad, they pale in comparison to Bitcoin’s price action. According to Dr. Octavius, co-founder of DeFi protocol OctoFi, the growth of the DeFi space may help these types of coins survive any upcoming regulatory hurdles:

Another predominant type of token that seems to have stayed on the sidelines during the BTC rally was tokens issued by centralized exchanges, including Nexo, Unus Sed Leo (LEO) and Crypto.com Coin (CRO). While the fundamental value proposal for these tokens remains the same, they are somewhat tied into the success of the venues they are associated with, being used mostly for discounts on trading or lending fees or other perks.

With DeFi on the rise, it seems likely that people would rather speculate on DeFi-related tokens or invest in the yield farming protocols themselves, which could account for the slow price action on these assets. LEO has dropped 1.66% and Nexo has surged by 11.3% in the last 30 days.

While it is unclear what the road holds for coins like XRP, Dash, Monero and ZEC, whose future seems to be heavily tied to upcoming regulation, it looks like there’s a general shift in interest taking place when it comes to altcoins, especially as multiple DeFi tokens begin to take their place in the top 20 market cap list.

As for smart contract platforms, it also seems unlikely that Ethereum will be dethroned soon, especially as the network continues to make strides toward the full release of Eth2. Not all Ethereum competitors are doing badly, however, as for example, the price of Near Protocol (NEAR) has recently soared 106% amid the current DeFi craze.

On Dec. 16, Bitcoin’s price breached its previous all-time high of just over $19,500, previously reached on Dec.17, 2017, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Since then, Bitcoin (BTC) has seen an incredible bull run, which has led the cryptocurrency to new heights, having reached an all-time high of $41,941 on Jan. 8 and rallying by over 115% during this time.

T he cryptocurrency advanced almost 50pc in December, when its value rose above $20,000 for the first time

Bitcoin has rebounded sharply after a severe crash last March saw it lose 25pc of its value amid the coronavirus pandemic

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, topped $34,000 (€28,000) over the weekend, just weeks after passing another major milestone.

T he currency gained as much as 7.8pc to $34,182.75, before slipping to about $33,970 as of yesterday afternoon in Singapore. It advanced almost 50pc in December, when it breached $20,000 (€16,500) for the first time.

The latest gains top an eye-popping rally for the controversial digital asset in 2020, which rebounded sharply after a severe crash in March that saw it lose 25pc amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The currency “will be on the road to $50,000 (€41,250) probably in the first quarter of 2021,” said Antoni Trenchev, managing partner and co-founder of Nexo in London, which bills itself as the world’s biggest crypto lender. Institutional investors returning to their desks this week will likely boost prices further after retail buying over Christmas, he said.

Bitcoin has increasingly been “embraced in more global investment portfolios as holders expand beyond tech geeks and speculators,” Bloomberg Intelligence commodity strategist Mike McGlone said last month.

Proponents of the currency have also seized on the narrative that the coin could act as a store of wealth amid supposed rampant central-bank money printing, even as inflation remains mostly muted.

Bitcoin should eventually climb to about about $400,000 (€330,000), Scott Minerd, chief investment officer of Guggenheim Investments, told Bloomberg last month.

Still, there are reasons to be cautious, partly since Bitcoin remains a thinly traded market. The currency slumped as much as 14pc on November 26 amid warnings that the asset class was overdue a correction. The big run-up in price in 2017 was followed by an 83pc rout that lasted a year.

For years, regulators have quashed hopes of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), citing worries about everything from market volatility and industry manipulation to thin liquidity.

But VanEck Associates has started a new push to launch an ETF tracking Bitcoin, according to a US regulatory filing. The VanEck Bitcoin Trust would reflect the performance of the MVIS CryptoCompare Bitcoin Benchmark Rate. There have been multiple applications for cryp to-tracking ETFs over the years. All have been denied.