What do Vladimir Putin and Burger King have in common? 

For starters, they both have a cryptocurrency named after them. Actually, PutinCoin and Whoppercoin might be the only thing they have in common. But their namesake cryptocurrencies are among the thousands of different virtual currencies making up a growing marketplace grabbing investors’ attention.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have a growing track record of holding and increasing in value over time, though recent dips have wracked the market, while lesser-known cryptos are considered much more speculative and unpredictable. And while PutinCoin and Whoppercoin belong to a category of cryptocurrencies marked more for their absurdity than their potential as either an investment or cryptocurrency, they show just how unique different types of cryptocurrencies can be.

Here’s Where to Start:10 Most Popular CryptocurrenciesDecentralized FinanceDigital GoldDigital Cash or Internet MoneySoftware Platforms Stablecoin or Digital FiatMemecoins, and Other Strange Cryptocurrencies

In general, cryptocurrencies can be grouped by utility: What is the purpose of the cryptocurrency? What is its value proposition? What is it for?

“They all have different utilities, they all have different founders who have different visions for where that cryptocurrency is going,” says Mike Uehlein, founder and financial planner of WealthU advisors. Uehlein regularly talks to clients about investing in cryptocurrency. 

10 Most Popular Cryptocurrencies

There are thousands of cryptocurrencies, most with very little value and unclear potential. Many advisors recommend investors stick to Bitcoin and Ethereum — if any — and pass on the smaller cryptos. 

Leading cryptocurrency news outlet CoinDesk maintains a Coindesk 20 list of the most popular cryptocurrencies currently being bought and sold. This list includes cryptocurrency assets and networks by their most common names. Some, like Bitcoin (BTC), have one name for both the blockchain network and the cryptocurrency. Others, like Ethereum, are named for the broader blockchain network, but have a different name for their associated native cryptocurrency (Ether, or ETC, in the case of Ethereum).

Updated quarterly, the list ranks cryptocurrencies based on dollar volume and other data from third-party cryptocurrency exchanges, where people can buy and sell different arChainlinkUniswapPolkadotUSD Coin

Note: This top 10 list was last updated — using the Coindesk 20 — on May 26, 2021. 

Bitcoin

As the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC) is also the most popular and highly valued, despite high volatility over the course of its history. Bitcoin was initially created to be used as a digital payment system, but experts say it is still too volatile to be used for that.Ethereum

Ether (ETH) is the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, an open-source blockchain upon which developers can build apps and other cryptocurrencies. It’s also the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, behind Bitcoin. Ether’s value has risen sharply since its creation in 2013, to nearly $3,000 for one token as of late May, but still lags well behind Bitcoin’s value of nearly $40,000 per coin. 

XRP

XRP is the cryptocurrency of the Ripple digital payment network. Built for digital payments, XRP touts itself as a faster and more efficient way to power global payments. Ripple and XRP also allow for third-party development on other uses for XRP.

Tether (USDT) is a fiat currency tied to the U.S. dollar. This keeps its value more stable, allowing Tether to present itself as a stable cryptocurrency alternative to cash deposits and withdrawals. Amid high volatility with other cryptocurrencies, Tether’s value hovers around $1 on account of its tie to the U.S. dollar.

Cardano

Cardano (ADA) uses a technology called Ouroboros, a peer-reviewed blockchain protocol. It describes itself as a more secure and scalable way to maintain decentralization.

Stellar

Stellar’s native cryptocurrency is the Lumen (XLM). Stellar is designed as an “open network for storing and moving money” that allows people to create, send, and trade digital money. It’s designed to sell and trade all digital monies, not just Stellar’s own associated cryptocurrency, the Lumen — although you’ll need to own some Lumen to make transactions.

Chainlink

Chainlink (LINK) uses “real-world data and off-chain computation while maintaining security and reliability,” according to its website.

Uniswap

Uniswap (UNI) is a decentralized crypto exchange that operates on Ethereum’s blockchain. Its developers promise to get rid of unnecessary intermediaries, which it says gives users more control.

Polkadot

Polkadot (DOT) says its mission includes allowing different blockchains to exchange information and transactions with one another. Its website plays up data and identity security and users being in control.

USD Coin

USD Coin (USDC) describes itself as “the world’s digital dollar.” Created by a global financial firm called Circle, USDC is the result of work that has been invested in by Goldman Sachs, Baidu, and IDG Capital, among others. USD Coin is tied to the U.S. Dollar, which makes its price much more stable than other cryptocurrencies. That stability lends itself more toward digital payments, while other cryptocurrencies have more potential to increase in value as investments (along with more risk of losing value, of course).

Bitcoin Cash 

Bitcoin Cash is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, which was the original intention of Bitcoin. The currency allows you to send money anywhere for very low fees.

While each of these top cryptocurrencies is unique in its own way, they all tie into an underlying principle called  decentralized finance (DeFi). 

Decentralized Finance 

In its simplest terms, decentralized finance refers to financial activities conducted without the involvement of a traditional bank. 

Think about all of the activities in which you’d normally use a bank or some other financial institution — getting a loan, insurance, investing, even using a credit card. “All of these [activities] are traditional-finance based and have intermediary companies,” says Ollie Leech, learn editor at CoinDesk. “Now people are creating these products in a completely autonomous way with [cryptocurrencies].”

It can seem counterintuitive — where else would you go for a loan, if not an established lender? But that’s one of the appeals to DeFi, says Leech. 

In the same way people have increasingly brought “smart” technology into their homes, proponents say cryptocurrency has potential to automate and digitize more and more aspects of the financial system. The appeal of this happening outside the conventional — or centralized — finance system depends on who you ask. 

Many Americans may not understand the appeal of a finance system that operates beyond government control. But things can be very different in countries with less financial stability, says Roger Aliaga-Díaz, principal and senior economist with Vanguard Investment Strategy Group. If cryptocurrencies offer as much or more stability as a given national currency, it’s an entirely different equation than if your national currency is the safe and stable U.S. dollar.

Just like there are different types of accounts and tools in conventional finance — from savings accounts to investment accounts to credit cards — that are used for different purposes, different cryptocurrencies can have similarly unique uses in this emerging decentralized finance system.

Instead of going to a bank to draw out a loan, you might “go to a decentralized application that’s not owned or operated by anyone in particular,” says Leech. 

Where conventional loans involve humans at a bank who take part in processing, reviewing, and approving loans, a DeFi loan — with funding in the form of cryptocurrency — could run via app on a network like Ethereum with an algorithm processing it. The borrower would put up some cryptocurrency as collateral, which they’d get back minus interest when they repay the loan.

“The code runs autonomously using smart contracts,” Leech says. “So once the developers release the data they’re pretty much hands-off, and everything runs automatically so there’s no intermediary.” 

Ethereum’s website offers a comparison chart contrasting decentralized from traditional finance. Along with these technical differences, a big consideration to keep in mind is that the conventional financial system is regulated to serve the interests of everyday customers, while cryptocurrency and decentralized financial systems are largely unregulated, and subject to governance and oversight only by their creators/users.

Unlike the money kept in a bank account, money you have in crypto may not be FDIC insured. Some exchanges offer this insurance while others don’t — something you’ll want to look into before buying crypto from one or another. For exchanges that don’t offer this insurance, there’s no guarantee you will be repaid if there is a hack or the exchange goes out of business.

You hold your moneyMoney held by financial institutions Transfers happen in minutesPayments can take days to processTransactions are pseudonymous Financial activity is coupled to your identity (social security number, name, address, etc.)Market is always openMarket closes Built on transparency – anyone can inspect the systemFinancial institutions are closed books.comparison-table tr td:nth-child(){border-left: 10px solid #5bffb1;border-right: 10px solid #5bffb1;}.comparison-table tr:first-child td:nth-child(){border-top: 10px solid #5bffb1}.comparison-table tr:last-child td:nth-child(){border-bottom: 10px solid #5bffb1}

With that in mind, here are some of the broad categories of cryptocurrencies that tend to organize the market.

Digital Gold

Digital gold refers to cryptocurrency comparable to real gold in its ability to store and increase in value. There’s a limited amount of gold on earth, in the same way that digital gold cryptocurrencies have a limited supply. 

“People buy gold not because they expect to be able to go to the store and spend it, but because they expect it to hold its value and maybe, probably, increase in value over time,” says Galen Moore, director of data and indexes at CoinDesk. 

The primary example of a digital gold cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, though that was not its original intention. Bitcoin was originally put forth as an electronic peer-to-peer cash system, but its volatility, among other things, limited its potential for that purpose. 

In use, such digital gold cryptocurrencies are bought and held, “for the same reason people would have diamonds, or some $100 bills, or some gold coins in a safe,” says Moore. Litecoin is another example — it’s been described as silver to Bitcoin’s gold.

Digital Cash or Internet Money

Internet money is exactly what it sounds like — you use it to buy things over the internet. 

Bitcoin was originally intended to be digital cash, but speculation led to the creation of another cryptocurrency, Bitcoin Cash (a variation of Bitcoin). Bitcoin’s price was too volatile for it to be a suitable currency, which proponents for Bitcoin Cash argued was the entire point of the currency to begin with. 

“There was a big debate about what the future of Bitcoin was going to be. Was it gold or was it cash? The people who wanted it to be more like gold won out,” says Moore. The decision was a “turning point for Bitcoin where it really went down to be digital gold.” 

But the group that wanted Bitcoin to remain internet money split off — or forked, in crypto parlance — the currency and created Bitcoin Cash. The network is devoted to digital payments (with faster processing and lower fees). In these ways, Bitcoin Cash is “meant to be cash. That’s the value proposition,” says Moore.

Though Bitcoin Cash is designed and intended for transactions, its price is still volatile and probably not your best option for making or receiving payments. 

Software Platforms  

Ethereum represents another type of cryptocurrency: It operates as a cryptocurrency network and along with its native cryptocurrency, Ether, offers a programmable crypto environment for developers. Similar to how smartphones allow third-party apps to be downloaded and used, Ethereum allows developers to create “dapps” — Ethereum-based apps that tap into the network. 

Investors can buy Ether just like they can buy Bitcoin, hoping it increases in value. Ethereum’s programmable network allows for other, more customizable uses. One example is the creation of NFTs — nonfungible tokens — that caught the attention of people far beyond the cryptocurrency community this year. NFTs are Ethereum-based digital assets, which hold value based on demand and supply on the Ethereum network.  

Stablecoin or Digital Fiat

A stablecoin pegs its value to some other currency or commodity. A digital fiat represents a fiat, or government-backed, currency on the blockchain, says Moore. One of the most popular examples of a digital fiat is Tether, a cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar. 

Tether is a system that enables you to have a cash-like currency that is always worth $1 — but only on cryptocurrency exchanges. A digital fiat like Tether comes in handy when you want to quickly move your assets within a cryptocurrency exchange. For example, if you think the market for smaller, more unpredictable coins is going to crash, you might put your money in a stablecoin like Tether, and then buy back at a lower price after the crash, says Moore. 

Stablecoins enable the exchange to flow better, says Moore. Taking the previous example, you could theoretically cash out your smaller coins for actual dollars, and then reinvest those dollars after the crash, but it could take days to convert your coins into dollars and back again, says Moore. 

Memecoins, and Other Strange Cryptocurrencies

There are thousands of cryptocurrencies available. Many of them have little to no value, and no discernable value proposition, which lands them in the category of memecoins. Experts recommend avoiding investing in this category of coins and sticking with more well-known options like Bitcoin or Ethereum, if you decide to invest in crypto at all. 

Whoppercoin and PutinCoin fall into this category of cryptocurrencies, as does another famous memecoin of recent fame: Dogecoin. While Dogecoin has seen a rise in demand — and thus value — in recent weeks, it still is highly volatile, as evidenced by its drop in value when Tesla CEO Elon Musk made it the subject of a joke on a recent episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

Any cryptocurrency that’s not Bitcoin is referred to as an “altcoin.”

Bitcoin, Litecoin

Bitcoin Cash, XRP

Ethereum, Cardano, Polkadot

Tether, USD Coin

Dogecoin, PutinCoin, Whoppercoin

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You can buy more things than ever with cryptocurrency these days, from video games to new furniture. But should you?

“I wouldn’t,” says Kiana Danial, author of “Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies” and the personality behind @Investdiva on Instagram. While there are a few circumstances where it can make sense, the practical answer for most people is no. 

Cryptocurrency markets are notoriously volatile, and the price you pay for an item today may not be what your purchase is worth tomorrow. Plus, many companies experimenting with crypto payments only accept Bitcoin, which experts say is one of the worst cryptos you could choose to pay for something. 

Nevertheless, people are interested in how crypto might work as a payment method. Nearly 20% of all U.S. adults say they’re likely to make a purchase using crypto, according to a recent report by PYMNTS.com, a news and research platform for payments and commerce. But before you cash in your Bitcoin to top up the balance on your Starbucks app, here’s what experts have to say about purchasing with crypto:Don’t Pay With Bitcoin

Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, was originally intended to be used exactly like money. Its white paper dubbed it a “peer-to-peer electronic cash system.” But Bitcoin’s frequent and volatile price fluctuations make that unrealistic in practice. 

“The price volatility kind of makes it useless as an electronic cash system,” says Ollie Leech, learn editor at CoinDesk, a leading cryptocurrency news outlet. “No person in their right mind would want to buy a coffee with Bitcoin. Say you pay $3 for the coffee, and tomorrow your Bitcoin could be worth $30. That’s a loss.” 

Just one year ago, in June 2020, Bitcoin’s value was under $10,000. Since then, it reached a high of more than $64,000 and, despite a recent price drop, remains close to $40,000. Imagine a video game that cost $50 worth of Bitcoin last June. If you waited until today to buy it instead, the same price in Bitcoin today would now cost you $200. 

People buy Bitcoin “not because they expect to be able to go to the store and spend it, but because they expect it to hold its value,” says Galen Moore, director of data and indexes at CoinDesk.

What About Other Cryptos?

Bitcoin has failed at its intended mission to become a new currency, but experts say there are other cryptocurrencies better for transacting. “Every one of them are optimized for certain things. For example, you wouldn’t go to the store and pay for groceries with gold,” says Danial — in the same way you shouldn’t spend Bitcoin on your morning latte. 

Some popular cryptos specifically designed to work better for spending include Dash, Manero, and XRP, according to Danial. Stablecoins, like Tether or USD coin, can also make better alternatives for purchasing, since their prices are tied to existing currencies. 

“There are coins that are more like cash,” says Pat White, co-founder and CEO of Bitwave, a company that helps businesses with crypto tax reporting. These coins are a better choice for spending, in theory, thanks to faster processing and lower fees. “They are designed to be spent and used very quickly.”

But in reality, there’s still a downside to using crypto developed to mimic cash to make payments. Take Bitcoin Cash (BCH), for example. BCH came about after the original Bitcoin proved itself too volatile to be used as a new kind of internet money. A group of creators decided to split off from the original crypto and create Bitcoin Cash, which was designed as a more stable version to be used for transactions.  But in practice, Bitcoin Cash is still highly volatile. In the last year its price has run from around $250 per coin to over $1,500, highlighting the risk of using it to buy something at the wrong time.

Taxes are another complication. While you don’t need to report your crypto purchases to the IRS, you do need to report when trading a cryptocurrency for goods or services. Each time you make a purchase using crypto, you need to track your cost basis, or the fair market value of the crypto when you bought it versus when you used to transact, and report that capital gain or loss.

Are There Other Real-World Uses For Crypto?

For American citizens in America, “There’s probably not going to be a good reason to buy things in crypto,” Danial says.  

That’s because the U.S. dollar fluctuates less than the vast majority of cryptocurrencies out there. However, when you consider a currency that’s less safe and stable than the U.S. dollar, the case for cryptocurrency payments increases, says Roger Aliaga-Díaz, principal and senior economist with Vanguard Investment Strategy Group.

Take a volatile currency like the Iranian Rial. “It loses value every single day,” Danial says. “I’m Iranian, my parents are as well, and whenever they go to Iran they try to never convert any money to Rial, because it just goes down.”

Would You Ever Buy Things With Crypto?

While it’s not the wisest financial decision, crypto payments can provide an alternative transaction method for those who don’t have the necessary requirements for opening a bank account, or can’t access traditional financing in a certain place. For example, unbanked people can transfer money to others, even internationally, using their crypto wallets, or make purchases using crypto with participating merchants using apps like BitPay, all without the need to go through traditional financial institutions.

Some people may also choose to buy goods with crypto to capitalize upon the speed of transaction. Globally, “a lot of deals are being made with crypto,” Danial says. “Like, maybe a prince in Dubai wants to buy a Lamborghini from Italy, and wants it immediately and doesn’t want to wait for deposits and bank information and everything, so they purchase it using crypto.”

Crypto transactions are also relatively anonymous — which is why they have a reputation as being used by criminals to buy and sell on online black markets. Crypto’s prevalence as a form of payment for illegal trades persists. It played a role in recovering the Colonial Pipeline — a key gas line servicing the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts — last month, after hackers shut down its computer systems until they were paid $4.4 million in Bitcoin. The U.S. government has since seized back $2.3 million of that ransom fee (most of what was originally paid, since the price of Bitcoin has dipped recently). 

As for businesses willing to accept payment in crypto, expect to see more as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies grow in popularity. Some companies may be looking to cash in on the latest craze, or take part in the novelty of a new payment form, while others believe cryptocurrency is the way of the future. A bullish perspective on the future of crypto was behind Tesla’s recent decision to begin offering the option to pay with Bitcoin, although the company declared it would stop accepting Bitcoin payments for cars last month, citing concerns about its environmental impact. 

There may be a future in which digital currencies become more commonplace forms of payments, but for the average American crypto investor considering paying for groceries in crypto, “I think we are not there yet,” says Danial. 

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It’s been a hot year for cryptocurrencies, and 2021 isn’t even halfway over. The total value of cryptocurrencies briefly surpassed $2.5 trillion in May as a plethora of new investors jumped in, and now approximately 14% of American adults own cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that are exchanged online on exchanges like Coinbase (the largest U.S. crypto exchange) and Gemini or via online brokers like Robinhood and SoFi Invest. Cryptocurrencies are hardly new. Bitcoin, the first and largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was created in 2009 and has been followed by more than 7,700 others. You may have also heard of ethereum, tether, or even dogecoin, which began as a joke and now sits among the 10 largest cryptocurrencies.

While some people are investing purely to speculate, others look at cryptos as a way to store value or hedge against inflation. Here’s how to invest in crypto now, whether you should get into it, and what to know before you do.

While investing in cryptocurrencies has gone mainstream, it’s not an option at many traditional online brokers — yet.  Here are a few brokers that allow you to directly hold cryptocurrencies alongside other assets like stocks and bonds, but fees vary and it’s key to do your homework:

TD Ameritrade, Interactive Brokers, and Charles Schwab offer bitcoin futures trading.

If your broker doesn’t offer cryptocurrencies, you might consider signing up for an account with a crypto exchange, such as one of the following:

Not all cryptocurrencies are created alike, and each token has unique characteristics that help dictate its price swings. That’s why it’s important to learn as much as possible about a specific token before investing, including why it was created (what problem it’s trying to solve) and by whom (the governance structure), recommends Chris Kuiper, vice president of equity research at CFRA Research.

“The more you understand it, the more you’re going to approach investing in the ‘right’ way,” Kuiper says. For example, he likens bitcoin to “gold 2.0” because the digital coin has a finite supply and is seen by some as a way to store value and hedge against inflation — characteristics that don’t apply to ethereum, for example. (Note that this bitcoin-is-the-new-gold take is certainly not shared by everyone, as this MarketWatch column reveals). 

Cryptocurrencies fall under the umbrella of alternative assets (like commodities or real estate) because they offer a way to diversify your portfolio and have a low correlation to other assets, like stocks and bonds, Kuiper notes. But cryptocurrencies are volatile, and because trading occurs 24/7, 365 days a year, that allows traders to react immediately to news — or even tweets. Indeed, this year, tweets from Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, caused crypto prices to both jump and slump.

“Look, this is the Wild West, so you have to be ready for it,” Kuiper says. While bitcoin has experienced average annualized returns in excess of 200%, that’s come with huge price slumps, he adds. “You need to embrace the volatility if you want those gains.” 

If you are ready to invest in crypto, here are a few of your options: Coinbase, Gemini, eToro, Robinhood and SoFi Invest.

Investing in crypto is not for everyone. Those who do dive in should remember this: Given the extreme volatility, moderation is key, notes Matt Schwartz, senior advisor and a certified financial planner with Great Waters Financial. Just as you shouldn’t invest all of your money in one asset — like a stock or bond — cryptocurrencies should have a limited impact on the risk-reward dynamics of your overall portfolio, he adds.

“If you have 2%-5% of your portfolio allocated to any asset class, that isn’t going to move the needle on your overall portfolio that much,” Schwartz says, adding that the exact allocation is unique to each investor. “It’s important to think about your own situation and how it may or may not help you accomplish your goals.” 

Some investing pros say that if you do want to dive into crypto, a smart way to do it may be through dollar-cost averaging, which simply means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals. And be sure to consult an accountant about the tax implications of trading (it can get pricey).

Finally, be mindful of how investment decisions affect you. “Don’t take on so much risk that you can’t sleep at night,” Kuiper says. “But the opposite is true: If you’re constantly watching bitcoin because you have 0% invested and you’re watching it go up, you probably need to buy a little of it for peace of mind.”

If you are ready to invest in crypto, here are a few of your options: Coinbase, Gemini, eToro, Robinhood and SoFi m>About the author: Anna-Louise Jackson is a financial journalist with more than a decade of writing and editing experience. She was a reporter for Bloomberg News, covering the U.S. economy, U.S. stock market, and corporate finance. Her work has also appeared in/on NerdWallet, CNBC, The Associated Press, USA Today, Forbes, Fortune, and Money. 

It’s been brewing for some time, but 2021 is finally seeing established payment companies take the opportunities of cryptocurrency seriously, and among those leading the pack is Visa V . 

An industry that was previously plagued by volatility and speculation is beginning to see its enterprise-friendly side blossoming, and according to the card network, the opportunities are abundant. 

“The world of digital currencies and crypto has moved and evolved quite significantly since the 2009 launch of Bitcoin,” explains Nikola Plecas, head of new payment flows, Visa Consulting and Analytics, Europe at Visa. 

“Visa's strategy is to be a network of networks and really be able to originate and terminate new payment flows outside of card rails. We have made tremendous push into these new flows over the last couple of years with products such as B2B Connect, Visa Direct, Push to Pay – and digital currencies naturally fall into that category.”

However, this doesn’t mean that the world’s most famous cryptocurrency – Bitcoin – features heavily in the card network’s plans. Instead, Visa characterises the industry as made up of two distinct groups: conventional, untethered cryptocurrencies and fiat currency-backed digital currencies, often known as stablecoins, which are attracting greater interest from institutional and government organizations despite currently a smaller part of the overall market.

The former is seen by the company as a tradeable asset with limited industry potential – CEO Alfred Kelly described it as “digital gold” in the company’s Q2 2021 earnings call. However, the latter is where Visa sees significant potential for payments.

“We see these as having the potential to be used by consumers and merchants in the same way as existing fiat currencies are,” says Plecas. “And when it comes to areas of opportunity, there are many for organizations such as ours.”

While many use the terms cryptocurrency and digital currency interchangeably, Visa has chosen to characterize the area it is focusing on – the stablecoin side of the industry – as digital currencies. 

Visa’s digital currency efforts currently fall into five areas. Some of these are well-established and already contributing to the company’s revenue growth, while others are in the early stages and are unlikely to make a meaningful impact on Visa’s top line in the near future. However, they together represent a long-term view of the market.

The first is perhaps the most obvious: making it easy for consumers to buy cryptocurrencies, which has involved working with wallets and exchanges “drive acceptance”. This area earned a mention in Visa’s most recent earnings call as being the second biggest contributor of growth in its card-not-present excluding travel segment – the biggest growth was the surge in ecommerce.

Second is a natural progression from the first: enabling cryptocurrency to be cashed out to fiat. 

“We want to make sure that you as a consumer, once you exit your cryptocurrency positions in exchanges and wallets can cash onto a Visa credential and then start spending at any of our 70 million-plus merchant endpoints,” says Plecas.

While those two are in full swing, a newer development is the third pillar, which is the use of digital currency APIs to enable banks and neobanks to add cryptocurrency options for their clients. This is in the early stages, with US neobank First Boulevard becoming the pilot customer earlier this year, however Plecas highlights that Visa is “looking to extend to other markets and regions” with the product.

“We quickly realized that there's potential to be the next gen of neobanks,” he explains. “They're also doing a lot of their treasury operations, paying vendors and employees already in stablecoins.”

In order to do this, the company needed to enable customers to “stay within their ecosystem when they also settled their obligations” with Visa, which is where pillar four, settlement in stablecoins comes in. This has seen Visa settle its first transaction in a stablecoin, US dollar-tethered USDC, this year. 

“Settling in USDC is very similar to settling in USD,” he explains.

“What we've done is an upgrade of existing treasury infrastructure operations to be able to receive these assets, because actually receiving them is now done through public blockchain rails. And as time evolves, we want to support other stablecoins.”

The final pillar, however, is the most long-term: central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). According to the Bank for International Settlements, 86% of the world’s central banks are now considering the launch of CBDCs of one form or another, with more than one in ten currently engaged in pilots. 

CBDCs have a variety of benefits, including the potential to better reach the underbanked, and Visa argues that their implementation will require public-private partnerships.

“That way, they will be integrated in the right way into the existing payments' ecosystem,” says Plecas.

“At Visa, we want to make sure that our products and services are acting as a bridge between our existing clients and the new clients and blockchain rails involved with digital currencies.”

While much of this is focused on the consumer side of cryptocurrency and digital currencies, Visa also sees significant potential in B2B payments.

“B2B is an area of high growth, high importance and high interest to all of Visa. And we see that digital currencies can supplement and compliment some of the existing solutions that we have in the space,” says Plecas.

However, while digital currencies can impact the B2B space, and in some cases are already doing so, broader institutional adoption is likely to take time. 

Nevertheless, in areas with poor infrastructure, the potential of CBDCs in particular is strong for B2B.

“In some countries the infrastructure is just not there yet, and for these types of countries and regions, digital currencies can complement what we already have.”

One of the areas that is often raised in digital currency discussions is cross-border payments, with many citing potential speed and cost benefits. However, Plecas stresses that while there is potential, it is not a simple clean fix.

“The cross-border space is highly complex, and it has a large number of actors who are trying to solve for consumer experience in terms of end user price and time efficiency,” he says.

“It's not easy to solve for this, even if you're trying new technologies that would give you some advantages theoretically with this aspect.”

However, he says Visa sees particular opportunities in global marketplaces that bring together buyers and sellers from different currencies.

“In those instances, potentially digital currencies can help them reach some of these markets in a more time and cost efficient way.”

Daniel is Founder and CEO of FXC Intelligence, a financial data company specializing in the cross-border payments, cards and ecommerce industries. Daniel is a leading

Daniel is Founder and CEO of FXC Intelligence, a financial data company specializing in the cross-border payments, cards and ecommerce industries. Daniel is a leading influencer in the cross-border payments space globally. He is frequently invited to speak at industry conferences and provide insights and data on the sector. His weekly industry newsletter is the most widely read in the international payments market.

Why is there controversy?

1. Do they make bombastic claims?

While Tether makes no claims about promises for high returns (due to it being a stable coin). They do claim the token is backed by actual dollars, but an audit revealed that tether is only backed 74% (more on this in section 8). Still, there is no promise from leadership that investing in Tether will yield high returns

2. Is there a tiered-referral system?

3. Where can it be traded?

USDT is the most used cryptocurrency, having surpassed even BTC in daily traded volume, with a majority of users relying on it to transfer value between exchanges because of its stability. It’s the 3rd largest crypto by market cap (as of 3:50 pm EST 6/10/20) & traded on many exchanges

4. Is it legal in the US & other regulated countries? Why or why not?

Well, yes, and no.

Legal controversy has surrounded Tether since accusations that Tether was used to manipulate the price of bitcoin in 2017. Additionally, NY Attorney General filed a suit in April 2019 accusing Bitfinex of using Tether’s reserves to cover up a missing $850 million

While USDT can be held in some custodial wallets (like Coinbase) that allow US customers, the exchange most commonly associated with Tether (Bitfinex) stopped serving US customers on August 15, 2018 stating “Exchanges based in the U.S. are better positioned to properly service retail U.S. customers”

Additionally, Tether’s legal terms indicates that U.S. residents (with an extra emphasis on inhabitants of NY) are prohibited from holding USDT tokens in Tether’s wallet. As the wording in the legal document is somewhat confusing, I reached out to Stuart Hoegner – the team’s chief legal counsel – for clarity. He responded on Twitter saying,

Pursuant to @Tether_tos terms of service, U.S. persons (as defined in the TOS) are not permitted to use our services. That includes U.S. residents (see para. 1.1.46.1)…. The NY prohibition is broader, but for individual residents of the U.S. – whether in NY or not – it amounts to the same thing.”

This is likely related to rules and regulations of the SEC and the allegations brought against the firm by NY’s AG.

5. Do actual experts promote it?

Not exactly: traders use it (because it's very useful for trading!), but using tether is not necessarily an endorsement of it.

6. Who are they marketing to? Noobs or saavy buyers?

I’d say they are primarily marketing to traders and others who want the ease of transferring money offered by cryptocurrency without the potential volatility, meaning those who are transferring large sums of money. IMO these are not typically noobs

7. Who is on the team? Are they real, pseudonymous, or fake?

8. Have the founders made claims that have since been proven to be false?

Yes, Tether's founding team originally claimed that USDT was backed 1-1 with dollars, but in March 2019 team attorneys discovered that wasn't true. Tether changed their statement, claiming instead that the token's stability is backed by a combination of dollars and loans to affiliate companies. In April 2019, Tether's attorney claimed each Tether was backed by $0.74 in cash &/or cash equivalent, which is fractional reserve lending that many take issue with as it's part of the problem with the Federal Reserve

For more information about allegations of false claims and how various journalists and researchers have reached those conclusions, please view the Tether (cryptocurrency) wiki, and refer to the notes for sources.

9. Do they have a functioning blockchain or token?

Yes, USDT is the most used cryptocurrency. Additionally, Tether Limited has 4 tokens: 2 are pegged to the US dollar, and 2 are pegged to the euro. 1 of each is issued on the bitcoin blockchain using the Omni Layer Protocol, and 1 of each is an ERC-20 token

10. Check github repository for relevant activity

11. Look up the smart contract

Available here on etherscan.io.

12. Listen to your gut/instinct

Created using free & open source software.

Hosted on the decentralized web.

Yellow Card, a leading Africa-focused finance platform for trading cryptocurrencies has finally arrived in Kenya.

The company claims it already has offices in 9 African countries, allowing customers from Nigeria, Botswana, Cameroon and South Africa, and others, to buy and sell crypto through its platform.

“Yellow Card is a cryptocurrency exchange on which you can buy or sell supported cryptocurrencies with your local currency,” reads Yellow Card’s official website.

The company “offers a secure cryptocurrency wallet with which you send, receive, and store your cryptocurrencies. You gain access to your personal crypto wallets once you sign up for a Yellow Card account.”

The platform will automatically create users a virtual wallet for every type of crypto they wish to deal in.

“You can receive cryptocurrency into these wallets when other Yellow Card users send you tokens or from external wallets.”

What is Yellow Card?

Founded in 2016 in Lagos, Nigeria, Yellow Card also seeks to partner with local merchants in countries and accelerate digital payments and e-commerce through crypto trading.

“The company partners with local merchants, vendors, and convenience stores to sell their vouchers and once the customer purchases the voucher, they redeem it for cryptocurrency through a mobile platform and they can even send money to their family or buy whatever they may need online, allowing even bankless individuals to participate in e-commerce,” reads a blurb about Yellow Card from Startups List Africa.

Available Crypto

For Kenyan users, there are 3 types of cryptocurrency that can be traded on Yellow Card. These are namely Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether. All of which can be traded without any hidden fees, the company says.

At the top of its list of priorities, Yellow Card is focused on the security of its customers’ funds and e-wallets. The platform uses a distributed security system built from the ground up that specialises in its particular trading scheme.

The system is streamlined for both customers and agencies, using multi-sig wallets to ensure user funds are airtight.

Techweez writes that Yellow Card’s platform is built to allow everyone access to finances and crypto. It runs on the mission “Financial inclusion for all.”

By Luis Monzon Follow Luis Monzon on Twitter Follow IT News Africa on Twitter

Coinbase, the US-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Monday support for Polkadot (DOT) within its Coinbase Pro offering. Although transferring DOT into Pro accounts is now possible, trading will be enabled after 4pm GMT on June 16 only if liquidity conditions are met, the company clarified.

According to the firm, once enough DOT supply is set on the exchange’s platform, trading on DOT-USD, DOT-BTC, DOT-EUR, DOT-GBP and DOT-USDT order books will be deployed in three phases known as post-only, limit-only and then full trading. “If at any point one of the new order books does not meet our assessment for a healthy and orderly market, we may keep the book in one state for a longer period of time or suspend trading as per our Trading Rules,” Coinbase noted.

Polkadot (DOT) is not available on Coinbase’s website or mobile apps, although the exchange stated such plans would be announced when the support is enabled outside Coinbase Pro. Support for DOT will be available for most supported countries in the publicly-listed crypto exchange, but the firm highlighted it would not be allowed for Singapore.

What Are the Benefits of a Technology Driven Liquidity Provider?Go to article >>

Also, the exchange said on the official announcement that it would keep customers informed through Coinbase Pro’s Twitter official account when each phase mentioned has been passed in terms of order books for DOT.

The company has been adding cryptos to its platform actively, such as Gitcoin (GTC), Enzyme Token (MLN), Amp (AMP), Dogecoin (DOGE), Internet Computer (ICP), Cartesi (CTSI), iExec (RLC), Mirror Protocol (MIR) and Tellor (TRB), among others. In fact, Finance Magnates reported in April that Coinbase announced support for stablecoin Tether (USDT), whose trading in Coinbase Pro started on April 26.

When the US-based crypto exchange announced support for DOGE in Coinbase Pro early in June, the meme coin skyrocketed around 15%. Order books for Dogecoin available are DOGE-USD, DOGE-BTC, DOGE-EUR, DOGE-GBP and DOGE-USDT.

In this article we discuss the 10 biggest cryptocurrency predictions in 2021. If you want to skip our detailed analysis of these predictions, go directly to the 5 Biggest Cryptocurrency Predictions in 2021.

Cryptocurrencies have widely been hailed as the future of finance across the globe but the price volatility surrounding these digital offerings still makes them risky investments. For example, after registering record increases over a period spanning more than twelve months, Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, fell from around $64,000 in April to below $30,000 in the middle of May after social media speculation around coin mining, before recovering slightly to above $40,000, but has since fallen to $32,000 again. 

The freefall was initiated when Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) chief Elon Musk took to Twitter to question the environmental impact that coin mining had on the globe. Musk is a world renowned tech mogul with a cult-like following in many countries, and his followers, which had until then been bullish on Bitcoin, started cashing out, leading to a chain reaction that ultimately ended up hurting many crypto-related stocks, including Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) itself. This fall came in tandem with a broader lull in the market around technology growth stocks. 

As growth stock volatility stoked institutional concern, hedge fund managers, many of whom are bullish on companies that accept crypto transactions like Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP) and Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), sought to ease the concerns, revealing their own holdings in cryptocurrencies and even buying up some crypto stocks at lower prices in anticipation of a crypto boom in the latter part of the year.

There is still a lot of uncertainty in the market surrounding cryptocurrencies in general. Amid all the high drama, financial experts, hedge fund managers, government officials, and even some of the founding members of popular digital currencies have recently appeared on news platforms, spoken at conferences, and engaged with their followers on social media to predict the future of the crypto industry and provide some much-needed context to the conversations around crypto and fintech and their power as disruptors of traditional finance.

There is no doubt that the finance world is evolving around new technology. The entire hedge fund industry is feeling the reverberations of the changing financial landscape. Its reputation has been tarnished in the last decade, during which its hedged returns couldn’t keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. On the other hand, Insider Monkey’s research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 124 percentage points since March 2017. Between March 2017 and February 26th 2021 our monthly newsletter’s stock picks returned 197.2%, vs. 72.4% for the SPY. Our stock picks outperformed the market by more than 124 percentage points (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that significantly underperformed the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 13% through November 16th. That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. You can subscribe to our free newsletter on our homepage to receive our stories in your inbox.

Luis Louro / shutterstock.com

With this context in mind, here is our list of the 10 biggest cryptocurrency predictions in 2021. We mentioned predictions, important statements, analysis and forecasts by famous experts about cryptocurrencies.

Prediction: Blockchain Will Change How Money is Moved Around the World

Jed McCaleb is the chief technology officer of the Stellar cryptocurrency, a digital currency that is developing a name for itself by offering expertise in enterprise-level crypto transactions. Stellar has partnered with popular companies like International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) to facilitate cheaper and quicker cross border money transactions. 

While announcing the partnership between Stellar and International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) back in 2017, Jed McCaleb predicted that the new collaboration represented a significant milestone for Stellar as well as the financial technology industry as a whole. He added that blockchain tech was being used to facilitate cross-border payments.

Predicting the future of the crypto industry, he noted that once fully scaled by International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), the new technology could potentially change the way money was moved around the world. Stellar has competition in the enterprise crypto solutions market from Ripple, another cryptocurrency with low cross border transfer fees. 

Just like Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP), and Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) is one of the top crypto stocks according to the 10 biggest cryptocurrency predictions in 2021.

Prediction: Going to Take Years to Become a Decentralized Autonomous ­Organization

Changpeng Zhao is the CEO of Binacce, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, like Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN), that is the largest digital currency exchange in terms of trading volumes. The exchange also offers Binance Coin, a cryptocurrency used for transactions on the Binance platform. Zhao gave an interview to business news publication Bloomberg in April. 

When asked about the future public listing of his exchange, following the blockbuster debut of Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) on the stock market earlier this year, Zhao was adamant that the Binance exchange had no such plans, saying that his company was cash-­sufficient and able to grow without help.

Binance is the chief rival of Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN), the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of value of transactions on their network. When pressed about his company being run by just software, Zhao said it was still possible for Binance to become a decentralized autonomous ­organization, but it was going to take a number of years.

Just like Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP), and Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) is one of the top crypto stocks according to the 10 biggest cryptocurrency predictions in 2021.

Prediction: Disruptions In Stablecoin Value Could Wreak Havoc on Crypto

Timothy Massad is the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and an expert on digital currencies. In an opinion piece for business news publication Bloomberg in May, Massad delved into a lot of detail about Tether, a cryptocurrency tied to the US dollar that companies like Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) have supported in the recent past.

Since Tether is tied to a stable fiat currency, it is much more stable in terms of price than other coins on the market, making it a suitable crypto candidate for Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA). In his Bloomberg piece, Massad elaborated how this key differentiation between Tether and other digital currencies would impact the wider crypto industry. 

He likened the hypothetical fall in value of Tether to below $1 to the collapse of the Lehman Brothers before the 2008 financial crisis that even affected market giants like Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA). Massad wrote that disruptions in a stablecoin’s value could wreak havoc on the broader crypto market unless regulators step in.

Just like Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP), and Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) is one of the top crypto stocks according to the 10 biggest cryptocurrency predictions in 2021.

Prediction: Cardano More Energy Efficient Than Bitcoin

Charles Hoskinson is the CEO of research firm Input Output Hong Kong and one of the founders of Cardano, a blockchain-based cryptocurrency that is not very different from the crypto coins used by big firms like DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) to widen the overall trust in digital currencies in the business world. 

However, Cardano is different from the digital coins accepted by DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) as it is more energy efficient than the other currencies, a point that Hoskinson raised in an interview with business news publication Forbes in April. The founder of Cardano said that his currency was 1.6 million times more energy efficient than Bitcoin. 

The overall strain that mining coins puts on the environment has put firms like DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) under pressure to switch to energy efficient options, resulting in a dramatic fall in value of cryptocurrencies that are energy intensive or do not use clean energy solutions for mining.

Just like Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP), and Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) is one of the top crypto stocks according to the 10 biggest cryptocurrency predictions in 2021.

Prediction: Use Cases Will Increase Value of Bitcoin Cash Like Other Cryptocurrencies

Brian Kelly is the CEO of BKCM LLC and one of the earliest proponents for the wider adoption of Bitcoin Cash, a Bitcoin spinoff mined using powerful computer hardware marketed by companies like NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA). Bitcoin cash offers several advantages over Bitcoin, including faster transaction speeds. 

However, the market has been slow in catching up to the untapped potential of Bitcoin Cash, much like the undervalued visual computing power of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) chips. Kelly, a veteran financial expert, believes that value can only be added to new cryptocurrencies by increasing their use cases.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), by making its hardware more adaptable, has successfully become a top computer hardware firm through this strategy. In an interview with business news publication CNBC a couple of years ago, Kelly called Bitcoin Cash a must have cryptocurrency based on news around the setup of a Bitcoin Cash Development Fund. 

Just like Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA), Shopify Inc. (NYSE: SHOP), and Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ), NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is one of the top crypto stocks according to the 10 biggest cryptocurrency predictions in 2021.

Click to continue reading and see 5 Biggest Cryptocurrency Predictions in 2021.

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Disclosure: None. 10 Biggest Cryptocurrency Predictions in 2021 is originally published on Insider Monkey.

Peter McCormack’s podcast with Paolo Ardoino and Stuart Hoegner from Tether/Bitfinex did shed some light on Tether’s operations. Stuart Hoegner, the general counsel, answered most of the questions. Given his position, the devil wasn’t in what he said, but how he said it.

Overall, it was a performance of deflecting questions, making legally true statements, and trying to sound legit AF while accusing “nocoiners” of creating “FUD”. Tether really needed to rebuild some goodwill with the coiner community.

Paolo Ardoino, while explaining how Tether can issue USDTs on weekends, says:

“most of our, uh, biggest customers are banked into the same bank (as Tether, i.e. Deltec)”.

It’s revealing how he paused after “most of our”, as he was about to say “most of our customers” – which would have been very weird. How come those hundreds of thousands of people who use USDTs all over the world could ALL have an account at a small banking institution in the Cayman Islands?

In fact, it’s not weird at all – Tether is calling “customers” a very small number of actual users, the ones Tether is issuing USDTs. The rest aren’t customers, they’re users. The distinction is very important, for Tether also says that they perform complete AML and KYC on their customers. This means that they know who are the people (some exchanges and OTC desks) to whom they issue USDTs; but after that first step, feel free to do whatever you want, the blockchain is your oyster!

Stuart also points out at the end of the interview that they don’t have US customers. Which also makes his claim that they’re regulated by FinCEN much less grand – after all, it’s not that hard to comply with regulations when none apply.

At the time Stuart had to swear on the NYAG affidavit, he admitted that Tether’s reserves were 74% cash and equivalents, the rest being an IOU from Bitfinex. He says, “USDTs are 100% backed by reserves, so the loan to Bitfinex is still good backing”, and later on, “so maybe people object to the amount of the backing, but it’s not nothing”. Oh it’s not nothing, case closed!

One thing is clear – these reserves aren’t cash. It can be whatever Tether wants, valued at prices convenient to them:

The rule of thumb is, whenever Tether talks about dollars, they don’t actually talk about dollars, but about their reserves, which aren’t dollars. Stuart says,

“[at the time of the affidavit,] other than $2.1B in reserves (and today, just for context, that amount has grown to $22B), Tether had cash and cash equivalents on hand representing approximately 74% of the current outstanding USDTs). Just note that that loan is now $550m out of almost $22B in reserves – 2.5% of the total.”

So we know the nature of 2.5% of their overall reserves – it’s the Bitfinex loan – but that doesn’t mean that the rest is cash. Why focus so much on such a small portion of their portfolio, then, if it isn’t to distract?

If you listened to the interview, you must have noticed how carefully Stuart is wording what he says, and the result is certainly very confusing for the average listener, who is entitled to believe they really have the $22 billion. I certainly heard exactly that, until I rewinded and listened to Stuart speak all over again.

Stuart also mentions “third party loans” as part of their reserves, like the loan to Bitfinex. Which is exactly how the fiat banking system works: banks will credit your account with new dollars if you sign an IOU. And it could very well explain how Tether ended up with a Bitfinex loan in the first place: Bitfinex needed 850m USDTs, didn’t have $850m, but simply signed an IOU for $850m. If you’ve seen the document, where Giancarlo Devasini, CFO of Tether and Bitfinex, signs both for Tether and Bitfinex, it’s epic.

Tether’s select few customers can access the USDT printer without any cash, and use the new USDTs for whatever they want. And you still wonder why Bitcoin has gone parabolic lately?

Peter McCormack asks them, point blank, if they own Bitcoin, and if they use Tether to pump Bitcoin.

As per the affidavit, Stuart confirms that they own Bitcoin:

“part of it is in Bitcoin; if nothing else, there are transaction fees, that need to be paid on the OMNI layer… we don’t presently comment on our asset makeup, overall, but we are contemplating starting a process of providing updates on that on the website this year”.

Note how Stuart doesn’t say that the only Bitcoin they have is for the OMNI layer transactions. So they have other Bitcoin as well? And by the way, why are supposedly segregated customer assets being used to pay for operational costs?

Peter insists, “What’s the process of the Bitcoin reaching your basket?”, and this time Stuart deflects, “Paolo, do you have any comments on that?”

Left alone neck deep in shit by his lawyer, Paolo has no choice but to ask Peter to change the question:

“Well, ummm… so… I’m not sure if the question is really clear. Are we talking about how we acquired the Bitcoin that we need to fulfil the OMNI layer transactions?”

No Paolo, the question was why do you have Bitcoin in your reserves, not why you have a few Bitcoin for clear operational reasons. Why don’t you want to answer it?

When McCormack asks Stuart if they buy Bitcoin on the market, “at the right time”, and then pump it with Tethers, Stuart replies,

“we don’t have the ability to buy Bitcoin at the right time in the market, we’re not prognosticators about wether the market’s gonna go up or down, that presumes some level of clairvoyance which we don’t have”.

Well OK but the question wasn’t if you can see the future, but if you buy Bitcoin – why deflect it in such a weird way?

Peter insists “people say that you have the ability to pump the market by issuing Tethers”, to which Stuart replies, “We don’t issue Tethers to buy Bitcoin. We issue Tethers to customers who want Tethers.” So if a customer that happens to be Bitfinex wants to pump Bitcoin with USDT, that’s fine.

Then Paolo answers with its own rhetorical question.

“The entire concept of us issuing Tethers to buy Bitcoins for ourselves doesn’t make sense. Why issue Tethers when we already have the dollars, and we have the ability to manage our inventory and out portfolio, when we could just use the dollars? The entire narrative is completely nonsense. Why do we have to do two steps when we can do one?”

To answer Paolo’s rhetorical question with another rhetorical question, may I venture,

“Why buy Bitcoins with real dollars, which are hard to get by, when you can simply print 20,000,000,000 USDTs that cost you nothing? Is it really because you’re too busy and want to save one step?”

Stuart boasts that all USDT redemption requests have always been met. Well, given Tether’s contract, that’s a pretty low bar:

The whole USDT contract is just incredible, when you read it. USDTs aren’t legal claims on Tether’s reserves. Maybe they are for Tether’s customers, who might have signed a different agreement with Tether. But if you’re not a Tether customer, USDTs are just digital toilet paper. You might be left with it forever on the blockchain, as a stark reminder that database entries without a contract in the real world, are utterly worthless.

Stablecoin issuer Tether is set to launch its USDT token on Avalanche, making it the ninth blockchain network it operates on.

USDT's launch on the Avalanche network is expected in mid-June, Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino told The Block. Once launched, the stablecoin would work on nine blockchains: Algorand, Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash’s Simple Ledger Protocol, Ethereum, EOS, Liquid Network, Omni, Tron, and Solana.

Ethereum's high gas fees have made USDT more popular on other chains, such as Tron. As The Block reported recently, USDT's supply on Tron surpassed that of Ethereum. It is still the case as of writing. USDT's supply on Tron stands at $31 billion, while on Ethereum, it is at around $27 billion, according to The Block's Data Dashboard.

Ardoino told The Block that if Ethereum's gas fees remain high on average, this trend may continue.

"Avalanche is surging in popularity," Ardoino told The Block. "It has support for Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing decentralized finance (DeFi) projects to migrate easily to it to enjoy lower fees, while making USDT deployment easy since we already have a battle-tested EVM compatible setup."

When asked if Tether is looking to support more blockchain in the near future, Ardoino said there are no other blockchains in the pipeline for the time being.

Did you happen to notice the big news in Bitcoin the other day? It wasn’t the sound of the top forming at $59,000 or Janet Yellen’s comments about its ‘inefficiency.’

It was settling, once and for all, the argument that central planners and oligarchs aren’t omnipotent.

The State of New York’s pathetic slap on the wrist of Tether marked the moment Bitcoin joined the ranks of the ‘Too Big to Fail.’

Somewhere Peter Schiff is sad.

This lawsuit was supposed to be the nuclear bomb goldbugs thought would finally blow up bitcoin and return the world to their vision.

Too bad that multi-megaton nuke was more like an M-80 going off in my neighbor’s backyard.

“Tether’s claims that its virtual currency was fully backed by U.S. dollars at all times was a lie,” James said in a statement. “Bitfinex and Tether recklessly and unlawfully covered-up massive financial losses to keep their scheme going and protect their bottom lines,” she further said, adding: “These companies obscured the true risk investors faced and were operated by unlicensed and unregulated individuals and entities dealing in the darkest corners of the financial system.”

This is a face-saving statement for the press by NY Attorney General Laetitia James. Because if there really was a Ponzi scheme at the heart of Tether’s business in 2018-19 then she would have gotten them to cough up a helluva lot more than $18.5 million.

If the powers that be could destroy bitcoin at this point they would have pressed further charges against Tether, undermining the structure of the entire bitcoin market which is increasingly becoming a function of Tether liquidity.

But they didn’t.

In fact they gave Tether and Bitfinex the same treatment they gave J.P. Morgan for gold and silver market manipulation and the entire mortgage industry for fraudulently robosigning legal documents.

In other words, ‘We fined some folks.’

Most, if not all of the anti-bitcoin arguments come down to “the government hates it they will ban it.” But what happens when the government admits it can’t?

So while, Murray Rothbard was right, the establishment hates a free market more than anything else, Murray was also right that their is a limit to their power.

Um, someone tell Janet Yellen and Bill Gates running the anti-environment talking point that Bitcoin uses a lot of electricity isn’t working.

It’s the oligarchs’ latest talking point. And it’s pathetic.

Someone tell Laetitia James to get back in there and fight.

Meanwhile Bitfinex and Tether agree to quarterly monitoring of their books as a gesture of “transparency” and add $18.5 million to the failing tax coffers of New York State.

Whatever hinckey stuff they do they will now — like the major primary dealer banks — settle up at the end of the quarter to present the face to meet the regulators that they meet (with apologies to T.S. Eliot).

And, make no mistake, I think Bitfinex and Tether are sketchy as all get out. In fact, I think 95% of the entire crypto market is sketchy.

But, that doesn’t make it unreal or becoming something unstoppable. Because it doesn’t matter what purists want. The market, in the aggregate, is smarter than any one person.

And the market wants what bitcoin and Tether are selling… right now.

It may want something different in the future. The market is nothing if not fickle…. and gods bless it for this.

Which brings me to why this lawsuit is so important. There was a recent uptick in anti-tether noise out there, doomsdaying the latest bitcoin rally.

This article “The Bit Short: Inside Crypto’s Doomsday Machine“ (very long, and reasonably well researched) from January outlines a strong argument as to why Tether could be a scam.

And I want to point out how well-timed it was, published January 14th, coinciding with the first attempt to derail bitcoin’s rise.

He goes into a lot about Tether, staking his entire argument on their responding to this lawsuit as the proximate cause for their cashing out of their scam.

He does a forensic analysis of the Bahamanian banking system, lays out the mechanisms for startup company scam, the whole nine yards. Kudos to the writer, it’s a good tale you should read it.

He also didn’t sign his work, but, you know, details.

That doesn’t mean however:

In the end, this is just another great piece of writing that misses the bigger picture.

The market decides what it wants not you or me.

In short, it doesn’t mean Tether was intended to be a scam but could simply have been, like bitcoin itself, a service so needed by the market that demand for it far outstripped its ability to perform within its operating parameters, i.e. 100% dollar reserves 100% of the time.

That’s the main reason why Laetitia James settled out of court and Tether admitted no wrongdoing. The market was simply moving faster than the money pouring in and out of the crypto-space could clear and they shuffled some money around to, in the end, protect their clients and their business.

Here’s an aphorism which bears on this story, “It’s easier to beg for forgiveness than permission.”

$18.5 million and a negative headline is cheap to protect what is now a $35 billion business.

But, the premise of this article has been a standard refrain in the crypto-skeptic land for four years.

It boils down to, “You all know Tether’s a scam, right!?”

It’s a glaring bit of editorial bias. Because many of the arguments that people make about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general are built on the premise that everyone holding them wants to at some point “cash out and get back to dollars.”

But what does the market look like when a critical mass of people make a psychological shift valuing their portfolios not in dollars but bitcoin?

One could argue we’re in the process of finding out the answer to that right now.

I’ve talked about the potential for this shift previously here, here and here for anyone who still isn’t listening.

And that scares the living daylights out of everyone who makes their money outside of the dollar, bull or bear, but especially the bears.

Because for a generation now those bears were sold by people like Peter Schiff and the writer of this article which was disseminated far and wide in gold circles that gold was the only alternative to the dollar.

But it’s not and they are bitter about it.

They created what I now call “Gold-Only Bugs.”

For four years I’ve listened patiently to every argument against bitcoin and tether. They aren’t completely wrong. But they do, I think, overstate the risks.

I continue to hedge my bets against monetary insanity. I’m one of the few people in this space that advocates de-risking across all cash-equivalent asset classes.

With this lawsuit and the whole Tether Time Bomb removed from the market bitcoin is now part of the big time. It’s a multi-trillion industry. Those don’t just dry up and blow away without damaging the very people trying to defend against it.

When you owe the bank a thousand dollars it’s your problem. When you owe the bank a trillion dollars it’s their problem Bitcoin is a variation on that idea.

Blackrock’s buying bitcoin, folks.

Coinbase is filing for an IPO. It’ll be at a valuation higher than Facebook’s.

In fact, it’ll be the biggest IPO in U.S. market history.

The bookrunning fees alone will make Goldman’s or Morgan’s next quarter a blowout.

They said the internet was a fad, too.

But yet you still think a troika of Participatory Medal Winners like Janet Yellen, Christine Lagarde and Jerome Powell are going to stop this train?

You think they can just wave their magic wands and make it all go poofta?

Why would Tether and Bitfinex run away with all the money now when they just won? Bigly.

They can pull massive yield in DeFi on their USDT and bitcoin. But they’re going to give up their first-mover advantage in the immensely important stablecoin space for a couple of billion which can be seized by any government?

The only central banker with a brain is Powell, as he properly identified the threat to their rule… and it’s not bitcoin.

It’s stablecoins like tether.

Because what is the dollar except a stablecoin backed by the confidence of the debtholders of Nancy Pelosi’s ability to extract wealth from Americans to pay the coupons?

If someone builds a better one than the dollar eventually it’s game over for the debt-based system.

Why would Tether run away with a few billion in depreciating dollars when they can literally bring down the entire monetary system and replace it with their product?

The reality is that the day the dollar becomes irrelevant is the day Tether folds up shop and completes their scam because no one will want dollars and a dollar-pegged stablecoin with dollar reserves will be redundant.

I’m not saying that day is here. No. We’re a long way off from that day.

But this lawsuit settling with such a whimper is a primal scream marking the next phase of the war between central banks and the people.

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Tether’s market cap hit $25 billion today, with Bitcoin trading below $40,000 on the price charts. In fact, the stablecoin has been one of the most traded assets in all of crypto, with its trading volume surpassing even that of Bitcoin.

Tether’s growth was stupendous in 2020, with the stablecoin enjoying a 72% market share. Moreover, year-on-year USDT grew 455%, from $3.2 billion in December 2019 to $17 billion in December 2020.

The reason behind Tether’s growth

While speculators have speculated about Tether’s credibility all along, the stablecoin has managed to cut through the noise and grow. In fact, looking at Tether’s growth makes sense, considering the demand for Bitcoin.

Lately, institutions have found their favorite alternative investment asset and are heavily investing in it. This on-boarding takes one of two things, USDT or USD. While it is clear that the USDT market far surpasses the USD market, it is also clear that institutions will not have used the fiat markets.

This partly explains the growth of Tether in 2019, and even in 2020. As far as 2021 is concerned, since Bitcoin blasted through the roof in the first and second weeks of 2021, more and more USDT has been minted.

In 2021 alone, Tether minted a record $2 billion in a single week, with $1.5 billion minted the week before that. With its market cap hitting a whopping $25 billion at press time, one can observe that Tether has hiked by 19% in just 15 days.

Alameda Research’s Sam Trabucco recently shared a pretty interesting take on the same. He noted that a lot of people buying Tether don’t do it via creation, but do it by selling or buying it via trading. Since the market is volatile, the Tether peg varies as well.

Alameda can arbitrage these opportunities via the direct creation/redemption of Tether. This helps stabilize the peg while also benefiting the arbitrageurs.

Sam Trabucco added,

“Other stablecoins like USDC don’t have anywhere near as volatile premia — that’s because the creation/redemption process is more involved for USDT, and fewer firms can actually do it. This is why, as I noted above, many who want it are going to markets and not creating, and when USDT gets above $1? A sophisticated firm like Alameda with great setups on all the exchanges and bots to execute more than one leg at a time is gonna want to sell! And we do — a LOT.”

While the New York Attorney General’s lawsuit against Tether is still ongoing, there’s no telling which direction it is going to go. However, regardless of what the decision is, Tether might get away with it since the stablecoin is available not on one blockchain but on multiple chains. As of this writing, Tether is on ETH, Omni, TRX, EOS, OMG, Liquid, etc. That’s what you call dominance.

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Akash is a full-time cryptocurrency writer and an analyst at AMBCrypto. He is an engineering graduate with an avid interest in finance and economics. Attracted to the chaos of trading, Akash has invested in BTC, ETH and XRP for educational purposes.

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Updated: 100 Million Tether [USDT] were earlier moved to an unknown wallet and another 400 Million USDT is reported to be minted from Tether treasury. The movement of 100 Million USDT was followed by a decent pump in Bitcoin price, reaching a local high of $39,833 at the time of reporting. Is it just a coincidence? Many notable analysts including Peter Brandt have compared Tether [USDT] similar to the money pumped by FED and Central Banks.

The Tether FUD is does not seem to end and rumors of large Tether movement induced BTC price pumps seem to be forming well recognizable pattern. As reported by twitter handle, whale alert, a large $100 Million Tether’s were moved from Tether treasury to an unknown wallet.

Tx: https://t.co/lZJiE4VycL

— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) January 19, 2021

This was followed by a sharp rise in Bitcoin price suggesting a surge in Bitcoin buying at exchanges. Bitcoin price breached $39,000 within an hour of this transaction.

If we dig a bit deeper, large size Tether minting is speculated to be associated with BTC price pumps, as a proof the ongoing BTC bull run starting in November can be related to USDT minting in millions almost everyday.

Data shows Tether minting suddenly paused as soon as Tether was asked to handover data to NYAG w.r.t. ongoing trial for suspected price manipulations. Though, we accept this might be thin, but surely the role of USDT in BTC price manipulations needs to be investigated properly. 

As a recent update on topic, twitter account whalealert just reported 400 Million Tether minting at Tether treasury, following high demand for Ethereum at cryptocurrency exchanges. ETH surpassed its all time high at multiple exchanges at the time of writing. As described above Tether minting is speculated to pump crypto markets, so, will this recent Tether minting pump crypto?

Tx: https://t.co/tr9MD8pRZh

Peter Brandt, a known futures trader and author, recently cited his doubt on the role of USDT in pumping Bitcoin as he went on compare Tether with FED and central bank pumping. He also predicted that most of the exchanges allowing non-USD banked leverage trading will go bankrupt.

— Peter Brandt (@PeterLBrandt) January 18, 2021

We are still researching the topic and will keep you updated with developments, do share any tip or view point on story to the author at [email protected]

The number of Tether transactions on the Tron blockchain has surpassed Ethereum’s count for three weeks in a row as fees on Ethereum remain high. Investors and traders move towards the Tron blockchain because transactions cost a fraction of the fees required of trading on Ethereum.

The number of total weekly Tether (USDT) transactions on Ethereum over the last four weeks is approximately 1.5 million. Meanwhile, USDT transactions on Tron have grown from around 900k in mid-December, to over 2 million at the time of writing. 

From the 17th to the 21st January 2021 USDT transactions on Tron grew from 240k to over 310k, which is a 70k increase across 4 days. Conversely, transactions on Ethereum for the same time frame grew from 186k to 214k, which is a 28k increase. Based on the data collected from CoinMetrics both blockchains have seen growth over the same period of time, both Tron’s growth has been much greater.

The average fee for an Ethereum transaction in dollars set a record high of above $19 a week ago but now sits just below $8. The average fee is still well under the all-time peaks of 2020  which was up to $50 or 0,041 ETH at the time of writing for a standard transfer. However, this month gas fees on Ethereum surpassed 0.015 ETH multiple times per data from Blockchair. 

Given these escalating prices, other blockchains have been able to make up ground on Ethereums dominance. It’s quite logical to use Tron as it has a good level of UX, and adoption in the exchange category. But mainly, the cost of transactions on Tron is far cheaper than on Ethereum right now. 

Without a doubt, in 2020 Tron was effectively playing catch up as the DeFi category exploded on Ethereum. Tron built what were effectively copies of the best Ethereum projects and these dapps started to generate substantial activity. As of the end of 2020, there were more than 17,000 unique active wallets within the Tron DeFi ecosystem daily. 

Looking at the top 5 exchange dapps on Tron reveals which dapps play a vital role in the maturing Tron DeFi ecosystem.

The top 5 exchanges on Tron have generated over $42 million in transaction volume in the last 7-days. 

JustSwap, an exchange protocol on Tron for exchanges between TRC20 tokens is the current leader when analyzing 7-day data ranked by transaction volume. JustSwap accumulated over $22 million in transaction volume over the last 7-days.

New entry USWAP has generated over $11 million whilst Poloni DEX, TronTrade and Zethyr Finance combined, contribute approximately $8 million. 

Following the launch of its Uniswap-inspired AMM JustSwap Tron also launched its MakerDAO-inspired JUST dapp. As with MakerDAO, JUST is all about locking collateral into a smart contract and using its value to mint a stablecoin as a loan.

The introduction of these dapps throughout 2020 has certainly helped Tron make up valuable ground on Ethereum. More positive signs for Tron are appearing especially as we observe the number of tether transactions on the Tron blockchain surpassing Ethereum’s count for three weeks in a row. 

High gas fees on Ethereum are directly benefitting Tron and its DeFi ecosystem. Users are looking for cheaper alternatives and for the time being, Tron offers one of the most viable options.  

Tether is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency that has its roots in the U.S. It has some controversial history, as it was one of the first cryptocurrencies to peg its value directly to an existing fiat currency. Originally, each Tether token was said to be valued at $1 in U.S. currency, though that backing has since changed. These tokens, which were formally known as “Realcoin,” currently trade under the ticker USDT. Investing in cryptocurrency has become very popular, and a financial advisor can help you get started.

Tether is an open source, peer-to-peer blockchain digital currency. Blockchain allows data to be stored in multiple locations in chronological order. It’s used to protect the system from being overtaken by a single entity. Many cryptocurrencies use blockchain outside of Tether.

Tether is, in theory, tied to a fiat currency, which is the U.S. dollar. As a result, Tether is referred to as a “stablecoin.” This is different from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, whose prices fluctuate significantly and whose value is determined on a more speculative basis. That said, a report from CryptoCompare shows that nearly 80% of Bitcoin trading is done in Tether, making it a major source of crypto liquidity.

This type of crypto is designed to be literally tied to the value of the fiat currency that it represents. In other words, each U.S. Tether token is supposed to be worth $1 at all times. However, this has been the subject of some controversy. In 2019, Tether revealed that it wasn’t 100% backed by fiat currency, and that each U.S. Tether token was backed by closer to $0.75.

Currently, there are four Tether stablecoin currencies: USDT (tied to the U.S. dollar), EURT (tied to the Euro), CNHT (tied to the Chinese yuan) and XAUT (tied to one ounce of gold per token).

Like many cryptocurrencies, you can buy Tether through any global exchange, like Kraken, Binance or Kriptomat, for example. Most global cryptocurrency exchanges work similarly. You create an account, fill out your personal information and fund your account using fiat currency. You can then use the funds you deposit to buy cryptocurrencies such as Tether.

Keep in mind that you’ll be buying Tether from a brokerage and not directly from the blockchain. Once you own Tether on a global exchange, you can trade it at its market value or buy more. You may also want to use a cryptocurrency wallet to store your crypto holdings.

You cannot buy fractional shares of Tether, and there is no fixed amount of the cryptocurrency available. Tether also cannot be mined.

Tether tokens are issued by Tether Ltd. It was created in 2014 under the name Realcoin, and it rebranded to Tether thereafter. Brock Pierce, Reeve Collins and Craig Sellars are the co-founders of the cryptocurrency, which first launched on the Omni Layer of the Bitcoin blockchain. It began trading in 2015.

The founders launched three types of Tether, each tied to a different fiat currency with each token said to be worth one unit of said currency. Currently, it is the largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization. It is also a part of other protocols than the Omni Layer of Bitcoin, including Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, TRON, EOS and Liquid Network.

Tether hasn’t been without its issues, though. Most notably, in 2019, iFinex Inc., the parent company of Tether Ltd., was accused of trying to cover up an $850 million loss by taking over around $700 million of Tether’s cash reserves and using it to repay investors. It wasn’t clear if there was any wrongdoing, though Tether vehemently denied it in the court filings. According to the company, the money had simply been seized and safeguarded.

In 2017, Tether went through an alleged hacking where over $31 million worth of tokens were stolen. After this event, the company didn’t perform an audit that was designed to ensure it would have enough in reserves. The company even went as far as to fire its audit team, with the issuing of a subpoena coming not long after.

Tether is less volatile than many other cryptocurrencies, simply because it’s directly tied to a fiat currency. So, if you’re thinking of buying or trading Tether, you shouldn’t expect a windfall or the type of volatility you might see from a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Dogecoin.

In addition, there are very little speculative elements to Tether, which makes it a relatively safe and stable cryptocurrency investment. Some even consider it akin to buying and holding cash or another foreign currency. If you anticipate large fluctuations in the market for the U.S. dollar or the Euro, for example, this could be a worthwhile investment.

Tether is a common type of cryptocurrency, making it one of the more recognizable names in the crypto space. Despite a handful of controversies that the currency and its company have run into, it has still proven to be a rather secure and stable cryptocurrency. Again this is mainly due to the fact that it is tied to the value of existing fiat currencies. That means it’s not subject to intense market swings like Bitcoin can be.

Tether is immensely popular and easy to buy on any cryptocurrency exchange. So if you’re interested in getting into the crypto game, this could be a good place to start.

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