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Investing in crypto may be easier and faster than ever — you can now opt to invest through online brokers like Robinhood and SoFi Invest or crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Gemini— but it’s far from being a foolproof venture. Many of the same risks and pitfalls that vexed crypto pioneers can still cause headaches for those entering the field today. That’s not to say that navigating the crypto universe requires a masters in computer science or finance; rather, it just means that some of the financial resources, protections and patterns investors have come to expect when trading stocks and bonds will be different when trading crypto.  Learning the rules of this new digital investment game is essential and could potentially save you from making mistakes worth thousands, or even millions of dollars. Here are a few mistakes that new crypto investors often make when they get started, as well as some things to consider before taking the plunge.

If you decide to buy Bitcoin, make sure it’s the genuine article. One of the biggest mistakes new investors make is buying the wrong coin. Just because it has ‘Bitcoin’ in its name doesn’t mean it’s a Bitcoin. There’s Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin SV, Bitcoin Private and dozens of other direct offshoots of the original cryptocurrency that have the word “Bitcoin” in its name. That’s not to say that these offshoots are bad or scams, it’s just that they aren’t the original Bitcoin that has become widely traded and quoted. But if you do buy the wrong coin, it isn’t the end of the world. You can always sell it back and buy the right one, hopefully at a profit.  

Ready to get into crypto? You can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies via online brokers like Robinhood and SoFi Invest or crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Gemini or eToro.

You’re going to need nerves of steel if you get into this space because the volatility is extreme. “Compared to the analog world or the traditional finance world, volatility is kind of off the charts,” Theresa Morrison, a certified financial planner in Arizona, told Marketwatch.

Morrison recommends that new investors commit a nominal sum at first, even as low as $50 a month, to an established cryptocurrency they understand, and then to forget about it. The swings in volatility are such that if an investor is constantly eyeing the market it could drive them crazy.  Furthermore, if you’re new to the crypto world, you may want to stick to cryptocurrencies that you know and understand at first. “I like my clients to look at established coins first – the ‘Blue Chips’ of crypto, if you will, namely Bitcoin and Ethereum,” says Erik Goodge, an independent certified financial planner based in Indiana.

Believe it or not, many new and veteran cryptocurrency traders have lost money sending their coins to the wrong place. Unlike a bank wire transfer that can be halted or a check that can be canceled, there’s often no recourse if you make a fat-finger error. 

“I got a good buddy who was trading Stablecoins and he sent USDT to a USDC address and lost $4,000,” Adam Blumberg, a financial planner in Houston, recounted. “He texted me saying that this transaction is two days old and he doesn’t know what’s going on. When he sent me the transaction I told him he had accidentally sent it to a USDC account and asked me if he could call them to fix it and I was like ‘no, it’s gone – you should have called me first before you did this.’”

Ready to get into crypto? You can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies via online brokers like Robinhood and SoFi Invest or crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Gemini or eToro.

While there will only be 21 million Bitcoins that will ever be mined, less will trade because many of them are simply lost forever as people have forgotten the passwords to their digital wallet. You often can’t call somebody to reset your password, if you forget it or lose it then you’re locked out. Around 20% of the Bitcoins mined so far are lost in stranded wallets, according to Chainalysis, a cryptocurrency data firm. Therefore, how you store your password is critical and needs to be thought out in advance before you start trading. Writing it down on a piece of paper is the first step but even that has its own concerns as it can then be stolen and used by someone else. Also, paper is not the most durable material. “I have clients who wrote down their passwords and kept them in a special place in their house,” Blumberg said. “But a couple of years ago, when Houston was hit with those terrible floods,” many of those carefully hidden passwords dissolved in swamp water.

Blumberg recommends putting the password in a flood-safe and fire-proof container or keeping it in a bank safety deposit box. As an alternative to writing it on paper, he has seen some clients get their passwords stamped on metal that can resist the elements.

Ready to get into crypto? You can buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies via online brokers like Robinhood and SoFi Invest or crypto exchanges like Coinbase, Gemini or eToro.

About the author: Cyrus Sanati has been a financial journalist and columnist for nearly two decades, covering a wide variety of topics from the energy markets to digital currencies. His work can be seen in a variety of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune Magazine and Breakingviews. He is a graduate of UCLA and earned post-graduate degrees in journalism and business from Columbia University. 

Also see: What you need to know to start investing in cryptocurrency right now

The market was merged as Bitcoin (BTC) on May 11, jumping from $ 53,000 to $ 56,862 on Monday’s decline, but digital assets are still finding resistance at the $ 57,000 level.

Ethers also worked at above $ 4,100, but according to Cointelegraph analyst Marcel Pechman, the bullish sentiment for ether seen in recent weeks has faded as traders question whether the new all-time high Will be sustainable in the short term.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView show that bitcoin bulls defended a late-night sell-off on May 10 that BTC price fell below $ 54,000 before selling orders to buyers briefly, and the sell-off price to $ 56,000. Exceeded.

Blue-chipwheel Blue chip cryptocurrency is stuck on the market in a sideways, canine-themed meme coin including Shina Inu (SHIB) and Dogelon Mars (ELON) has led Dogecoin (DOGE) and their triple-digit gains Prices have exploded.

Range-bound trading of bitcoins between $ 50,000 and $ 60,000 in recent weeks can be partly attributed to the rising price of ether, which has attracted the attention of institutional investors, who risk for more than just BTC Are looking for The increasing demand for ether can be clearly seen in the price action of the ETH / BTC pair.

According to David Lifchitz, managing partner and chief investment officer at ExoAlpha, the ether’s recent all-time high was due to persisting bitcoin, which helped push the price of ether, which was an abrupt pre-4,214 high Was before being pushed down. $ 3,658 (-13% in one hour). “

The slowdown in the crypto market led to a sell-off in US equity markets that collided with a technically heavy NASDAQ index. Lifechitz said bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were eventually able to “bounce back half of the losses from high”.

While sell-offs “can be explained by some correlation trades leading to quick gains in crypto”, Lifechitz pointed to the possibility of a more organized sell-off, where some traders took advantage of market conditions.

Lifechitz said:

“It could also have been an organized sale as Ethereum was on its ATH to stretch the weak hands and move them, which was a weak ride (ie. ETH due to a quick drop) and trigger a cascading effect before buying them back. Does. Even after selling ETH on the cheap is shown by higher volumes. “

Lifchitz highlighted that simply:

“Twenty-four hours later, bitcoin is back in the midst of its twilight zone ($ 50,000 to $ 60,000) and ether is slowly grinding higher than $ 4K. So for everyone, it was a normal day in crypto land. “

Further information on the market move over the past week was provided by Ben Lilly, co-founder and analyst at Jarvis Labs, who highlighted the increase in on-chain profit over the past week, including “In Alto Stock There was a lot of capital. “

“Capital made its way from coin to coin, realizing profits without trading bitcoins. What we saw on 10 May was the end of this phase. “

The overall altcoin market has shaken off the recessionary moves seen in the big-cap cryptocurrency. EOS led the day with a jump of 50%, taking the price to $ 13.92 after Block.on. Announced that it had acquired a $ 10 billion fund to launch an EOS-based cryptocurrency exchange called Bullish Global.

Yearn.finance (YFI) managed to exit the trading range, which was stuck in a 58% rally to hold it at a new record above $ 80,000, while Revain (REV) price reached a multiple of 130. Exploded to%. High year at $ 0.049.

The cryptocurrency market cap overall now stands at $ 2.474 trillion and the dominance rate of bitcoin is 42.8%.

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The price of Bitcoin dropped back below $30,000 for the first time this month on Tuesday, though it had risen back to above $32,000 as of Thursday afternoon. 

Crypto regulation was back in the news this week, with a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department and proposed new cryptocurrency regulation from the European Union. Fresh comments from Tesla CEO Elon Musk also coincided with a brief rise in value for Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

Here’s a rundown of the latest big crypto news:

At the same time, the price of Ethereum bounced from a low of around $1,733 to a high of $2,012, according to Coindesk, a normal swing that parroted the fluctuation of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, and a good indicator of the crypto market in general, since other coins like Ethereum (and smaller altcoins) tend to follow its trends. Even though Bitcoin fell below $30,000, it was a pretty normal dip for the crypto, which saw more than a 50% decrease in value in past months from an April high of $60,000. That’s not to say investors should take the fall lightly, and this is also why investing experts recommend only investing in crypto whatever you’re OK with losing.

The cryptocurrency space is still very new, and everything from innovation to regulation can have outsize impact for investors. Here’s how you can invest smartly, regardless of what’s making news or Bitcoin’s price swings.

How Investors Should Deal With Volatility

Cryptocurrency volatility is nothing new, and you should be comfortable with this if you decide to invest. 

Volatility can be attributed to an “immature market,” says Ollie Leech, learn editor at Coindesk, a cryptocurrency news outlet. Anything from a celebrity tweet to new federal regulation can send prices spiraling. 

“If Elon Musk puts hashtag Bitcoin in his Twitter bio, it sends Bitcoin up 10%,” says Leech. 

This unpredictability is part of the reason why investing experts warn against investing huge amounts of your portfolio into a risky asset like crypto. Many recommend keeping your crypto holdings to less than 5% of your total portfolio. 

For new investors, day-to-day swings can seem frightening. But if you’ve invested with a buy-and-hold strategy, dips are nothing to panic about, says Humphrey Yang the personal finance expert behind Humphrey Talks. Yang recommends a simple solution: don’t look at your investment. 

“Don’t check on it. That’s the best thing you can do. If you let your emotions get too much into it then you might sell at the wrong time, make the wrong decision,” says Yang.

This is the traditional “set it and forget it” advice that many traditional long-term investors follow. If you can’t get on board, and the extreme dips continue to cause you worry, then you might have too much riding on your cryptocurrency investments. 

“The most important thing any investor can do, whether they are investing in Bitcoin or stocks, is not just to have a plan in place, but to also have a plan they can stick with,” says Douglas Boneparth, a CFP and the president of Bone Fide Wealth. “While buying the dip might be attractive, especially with an asset that you really like, it might not always be the best idea at the moment.”

Other Recent Crypto NewsThe Federal Reserve Chairman says U.S. might need more crypto regulation, but long-term HODLers of big coins like Ethereum and Bitcoin probably don’t need to worry about changing their strategy, experts say. Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance is no longer authorized to operate in Italy, according to a statement from Italian regulators. The move shows how easily new national regulations can impact current cryptocurrency infrastructure. 

Square Inc. announced it’s building a new decentralized finance unit using Bitcoin, according to CEO Jack Dorsey’s tweets. This is the latest example of a big player investing in the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Read More:Fed Chairman Says U.S. Might Need More Crypto Regulation. Here’s What That Means for InvestorsBitcoin Dropped Below $30,000. Here’s What Investors Can Learn From the Continued VolatilityThe Price of Bitcoin Continues to Fall. Here’s What It Means for Investors, According to ExpertsHow to Buy Bitcoin: A Guide for New Crypto InvestorsCurious About Crypto? What 10 Financial Advisors Are Telling Clients About Investing in ItWhat is Bitcoin – The First Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is a highly volatile, speculative investment. Only invest in crypto what you’re prepared to lose, and make sure you have other financial priorities in place first: save money in an emergency fund, contribute to retirement savings, and pay off any high-interest debt balances.

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Could the cryptocurrency boom be starting to ease off in China? Sales of graphics cards from mining groups seems to suggest it may well be. Not to speak too soon, but Taiwanese PC builders spotted heaps of GPUs up for grabs in China, cards likely once used to mine cryptocurrencies but seemingly no longer worth the hassle.

According to a screenshot from a mining group posted to PTT, a popular Taiwanese bulletin board, miners in China are selling off a large number of Nvidia and AMD GPUs (via HKEPC). These include the latest 30-series or 6000-series, but also other older GPU generations, such as AMD's cheap and cheerful Polaris generation.

Card prices aren't massively inflated, either. HKEPC reports that an RTX 3070, sold in there hundreds and thus potentially cheaper for it, will cost roughly $3,120 HKD (Hong Kong Dollar) each. That's a little over $400 US. 

Since these cards are being sold in bulk, it may be that the sellers are hoping cryptocurrency miners elsewhere will take them up on the offer. Regardless, gamers will likely want to steer clear.

The fact these graphics cards have been used to mine crypto should comes as a red flag for would be purchasers: you probably don't want a graphics card that's been on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and at high temperatures for your next gaming PC. 

Best gaming PC: the top pre-built machines from the pros Best gaming laptop: perfect notebooks for mobile gaming

The mere fact these cards are being put on sale could be indicative of a larger slide in cryptocurrency profitability, or viability, in China. The country currently has the world's highest hash rate, meaning it mines more crypto than anyone else, but recent crackdowns on mining by both China's financial and local authorities may have some looking to move on or even elsewhere.

There are a few other signs of a potential turning of the tides for GPU mining, most of all in China: GPU prices are dropping, ASRock says demand is easing, and Ethereum is moving to proof-of-stake which may also accelerate the whole process. Then there's Nvidia's hash rate limiter, sure to be of more concern to miners if profitability swings down further than it already has this year.

We can't say for sure what's going to happen, though. This could be a small blip, a temporary lull for today's biggest cryptos. Even Ethereum or Bitcoin's 'low' value today is far in excess of what it was just in January of this year. 

Basically this certainly isn't the end of cryptocurrency, and we're definitely not out of the woods yet.

The recent volatility in bitcoin prices triggered by Tesla’s Elon Musk has raised new doubts among institutional fund managers over the future of cryptocurrencies as an asset class.

UBS Wealth Management, Pimco, T Rowe Price and Glenmede Investment Management were among the firms that have expressed reservations in recent days about the potential of cryptocurrency investments.

The upheaval came after Tesla said it would no longer accept payment in bitcoin for its electric vehicles owing to environmental concerns, and Musk jokingly referred to dogecoin, a rival cryptocurrency, as a “hustle” during an appearance on the Saturday Night Live television show.

“Our stance with clients is the 10-foot pole rule: stay away from it,” said Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede. “I don’t think the Fed and other regulators are fans of the current market structure for cryptocurrencies.”

Rob Sharps, president and head of investments at T Rowe Price, told the Financial Times: “Crypto has an impact across capital markets, and we’re capital markets experts. Ultimately, the mandates we manage for clients are not well suited for investing in cryptocurrencies, and we recognise the high level of speculation in this space.”

Highlighting the extreme volatility, bitcoin traded at just above $44,000 on Monday, down about $20,000 from the record high it hit just a month ago. The latest tumult was sparked by Musk seeming to imply on Twitter that Tesla has or will sell the stake it has accumulated in bitcoin. He later clarified that the automaker “has not sold any bitcoin”.

To be sure, bitcoin has gained ground with investors in recent years and trading in futures contracts has become more liquid. US regulators are also considering whether to approve crypto exchange traded funds.

But asset managers say they are troubled by signs that cryptocurrencies are failing to live up to expectations that they would become less volatile over time or offer investors hedges against equity turbulence or inflation.

“The volatility of crypto is stratospherically high and we often see that, when equities sell off, so does bitcoin and that means it is not a good portfolio diversifier,” Pride said.

Nicholas Johnson, portfolio manager for commodities at Pimco, took issue with bitcoin advocates who praised it as an inflation haven after cryptocurrencies rallied while gold fell in price.

“This idea that crypto is an inflation asset is curious,” he said. “Inflation assets underperformed in recent years while cryptocurrencies did very well. People are looking for a reason to justify why crypto has gone up.”

Cryptocurrency anxieties were further exacerbated this week when a leading US regulator warned investors that buying mutual funds with exposure to bitcoin futures “is a highly speculative investment” — and warned mutual funds that it would be subjecting their involvement with the cryptocurrency to intense scrutiny.

The Division of Investment Management at the Securities and Exchange Commission said: “Investment in the bitcoin futures market should be pursued only by mutual funds with appropriate strategies that support this type of investment and full disclosure of material risks.”

“We expect more stringent policy and regulatory controls ahead for crypto as it becomes more mainstream,” UBS Wealth Management said, adding that the price volatility that followed the Tesla announcement “highlights risks companies face if they take on crypto balance sheet exposure”.

Tom Jessop, head of digital assets at Fidelity, which has been more receptive to cryptocurrencies, nevertheless cautioned that such investments were still in the early stage of development.

“We refer to bitcoin as an aspirational store of value and it’s an adolescent in terms of its development due to the extreme volatility,” he said. “Some investors are willing to accept the volatility as they see bitcoin as a long-term venture opportunity.”

Robert Armstrong dissects the most important market trends and discusses how Wall Street’s best minds respond to them. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox every weekday.

Fidelity provides a brokerage service that enables more than 100 institutional investors such as hedge funds and family offices to buy cryptocurrencies and offers them custodian services. Fidelity has a small fund that invests in digital assets for clients and its has applied to the SEC to launch an ETF for bitcoin.

Even if asset managers shy away from crypto, swings in its valuations are a concern for the industry because of the growing power of retail traders to cause volatility in the equity market, known as the “substitution effect”.

“Watching what retail investors are doing is as important as bond flows to managers now,” said Viraj Patel, an analyst at Vanda Research. “They are asking, if millennial capital is buying bitcoin, does this mean they’re going to stop buying high-beta US stocks?”

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If you asked 10 random people if they ever used cryptocurrency, you’d likely get 10 nos, but it seems like the digital alt-money is trending more every day. It’s easy to understand why. Bitcoin, the first and most famous cryptocurrency, is the investment story of the decade and perhaps of all time. Bitcoin was worth a fraction of a cent when it first emerged in 2009. In March 2021, it peaked above $60,000. When a penny turns into a Porsche in a little more than a decade, it tends to draw attention. Here’s what you need to know about cryptocurrency.

Find Out: Where Does Cryptocurrency Come From? Read More: Binance Coin (BNB): Why It’s So Interesting to the Cryptocurrency World

Cryptocurrency is often described as a “digital asset,” but don’t mistake it for a digitized version of cash like the kind you spend with PayPal. You can pay for things with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, just like dollars, yen and euros, but the difference is that those and all other traditional currencies are issued and backed by central authorities like governments or banks.

The Economy and Your Money: All You Need To Know

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are not. Instead, they’re awarded as digital tokens to “miners” for their work in maintaining blockchains, the encrypted ledgers where cryptocurrency ownership is recorded, stored and validated.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH): How’s It Differ From Bitcoin and What’s It Worth?

Cryptocurrency is:

Decentralized, traded on a peer-to-peer basis and exchanged with neither the scrutiny nor the security that comes with a central authority like a bank or government

Anonymous — privacy is one of crypto’s primary selling points

Secured in a special digital wallet, not a bank account

Cryptocurrency is not yet a realistic day-to-day alternative to money as the world knows it for the average person, but it has certainly come a long way from its early days in the online underground. Most recently, Visa announced it would accept cryptocurrency. Before that, PayPal added crypto capabilities to its own platform. Everyone from Burger King to Overstock.com accepts it as payment and several big, publicly traded companies — most notably Tesla — have added large crypto positions to their portfolios.

But it’s not just big corporations. A 2020 HSB study found that more than one-third of small- and medium-sized businesses accept cryptocurrency, too.

Find Out: What Is Chainlink and Why Is It Important in the World of Cryptocurrency?

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and it’s still the most widely known and widely used by far. Its success has spawned thousands of crypto spinoffs. Among the best-known challengers are Ethereum and Binance Coin, but Bitcoin is still the king of the hill. In fact, all cryptocurrencies that aren’t Bitcoin are known collectively as “altcoin.”

Read: Dogecoin: Is It a Worthwhile Investment?

Bitcoin’s first decade was a story of fairytale gains spun out of pinball-machine volatility that would send the average investor scrambling for cover. Along with wild price swings, the first years of cryptocurrency were riddled with headline-grabbing cases of fraud, theft, hacking and other scandals.

Ethereum (ETH): What It Is, What It’s Worth and Should You Be Investing?

Not only is crypto investing a highly speculative and turbulent undertaking, but the actual process of investing is unfamiliar and outside the mainstream. Unlike the stock market, which is heavily regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, there is no central authority that oversees the exchange of cryptocurrency. Some crypto exchanges are regulated, some are not. Big ones like Coinbase and Kraken are located in the U.S. Many others are scattered across the globe.

Since the SEC doesn’t recognize the exchanges where cryptocurrency is traded, there are no ETFs that track cryptocurrency directly the way there are for gold and traditional currency. So-called crypto ETFs only track companies that are indirectly connected to cryptocurrency.

Read: The Hype Around NFTs: What Are They? And How Pricey Do They Get?

In short, crypto is still fast-lane investing that constitutes a minority position, if any, in most portfolios. What can be said today that could not in years past, however, is that it’s now clear that cryptocurrency is here to stay.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Cryptocurrency: Breaking Down the Basics

A senior US financial regulator has spoken out against attempts by her colleagues to regulate cryptocurrencies more strictly, warning that doing so runs the risk of discouraging investors.

Hester Peirce, one of two Republicans among the five commissioners at the Securities and Exchange Commission, told the Financial Times she was worried about the push by several US regulators to play a more active role in the $1.5tn cryptocurrency market.

Her comments expose a split at the top of the SEC just as Gary Gensler, its chair, spearheads an effort to bring the fast-growing cryptocurrency market more in line with other types of financial assets.

“I am concerned that the initial reaction of a regulator is always to say ‘I want to grab hold of this and make it like the markets I already regulate’,” Peirce said in an interview. “I am not sure that’s going to be great for innovation.”

Peirce previously researched financial regulation at the Mercatus Center, a free-market think-tank, and had worked as a lawyer on the SEC staff. She joined the SEC in 2018 after being appointed by former president Donald Trump.

Trump cast doubt on bitcoin in an interview on Monday. “My opinion is . . . the currency of this world should be the dollar,” he told Fox Business Network. “And I don’t think we should have all of the bitcoins of the world out there. I think they should regulate them very, very high.”

US regulators have become increasingly concerned about cryptocurrencies after wild swings in some of the world’s most commonly traded digital assets. This year bitcoin has soared from just under $30,000 to over $60,000, before crashing back to about $33,000, prompting senior government officials to call for greater investor protections.

The Treasury department announced last month it would require cryptocurrency transfers worth $10,000 or more to be reported to the US tax authorities. Officials from the country’s three leading federal bank regulators — the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — have begun discussing how best to regulate the market.

Members of the Senate banking committee will meet on Wednesday to discuss the potential merits of a digital currency backed by the Fed, which some hope will provide more stability to the market.

Gensler is pushing to update America’s rules on investing in cryptocurrencies.

He told members of Congress last month there were “gaps” in the regulatory system and called for laws to clarify which regulator should oversee crypto exchanges in particular. He added that he wanted to provide crypto investors with similar protections to those they would have at the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.

Peirce’s comments suggest that Gensler will encounter pushback from inside his own agency as he pursues his agenda.

Asked about Gensler’s comments on crypto exchanges, she said: “I am concerned about trying to make it harder for people to do truly peer-to-peer transactions . . . I think regulation doesn’t all have to happen at government-level. You can have pretty effective self-regulation.”

She added that her worries applied to attempts to enforce stricter rules for retail stock trading platforms as well.

Online trading apps such as Robinhood have come under scrutiny following the market turbulence unleashed this year, when an army of retail traders used them to drive up the share price of the games retailer GameStop.

US officials have raised questions about how such platforms encourage heavy trading with game-like features such as competitions, rewards and leader boards. But Peirce said all these were useful tools to encourage more people to invest in capital markets.

“Gamification is not necessarily a bad thing; making financial platforms more user-friendly is not a bad thing,” she said. “Platforms like this should look like the other platforms in people’s lives.”

She added that one way to help educate users about the risks of such trading would be to make the SEC’s own messages more like games.

“We need to gamify our communications with investors,” she said. “We need to meet them where they are.”

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.

MarketWatch has highlighted these products and services because we think readers will find them useful. We may earn a commission if you buy products through our links, but our recommendations are independent of any compensation that we may receive.

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 trong>Also see: 9 mortgage mistakes too many Americans make

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. 

The Biden administration recently met with other government officials, including staff members at the Treasury Department, to discuss the risks presented by the extreme volatility in cryptocurrency markets, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, and how to prevent illicit activities that use crypto.

The White House has also discussed the matter with the Treasury department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, although these talks did not include most senior-level officials like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, two unnamed individuals told the Post.

Biden officials are reportedly looking at possible “gaps” in oversight of the crypto market, and whether such gaps might be exploited to fund illicit or terrorist activities, the Post reported.

They also discussed possible ways to protect retail investors who want to purchase cryptocurrency.

Although federal regulators don’t currently believe the massive swings in crypto prices pose a threat to overall financial market stability, they contend such risks are worth monitoring, the Post noted.

Forbes has reached out to the White House, Treasury Department and the CFPB for comment.

“[Federal officials are] aware of the fact that there are all kinds of risks [related to crypto] in the abstract and things to look out for, but they are still largely in a wait-and-see posture,” an unnamed person briefed on the discussions told the Post. 

Last week, the Treasury Department revealed a plan to raise $700 billion over the next 10 years to help fund Biden’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan which included new tax enforcement provisions that seeks to put pressure on cryptocurrencies, crypto asset exchanges and crypto payment services to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service in order to uncover unreported income or to detect incidences of tax evasion, money laundering and other illicit activities. The plan would also compel businesses to file a current transaction report if they receive cryptocurrency valued at more than $10,000 (as they are currently required to report cash payments above $10,000). Meanwhile, Bitcoin, the largest and most popular cryptocurrency, traded at around $38,000 on Tuesday at 1:20 p.m., a 36% plunge from May 9, partly due to worries about Chinese regulatory crackdowns on cryptocurrency transactions as well as comments made by Tesla chief Elon Musk about the climate impact of mining Bitcoins. Bitcoin hit an all-time high of almost $65,000 in mid-April.

Luke Lloyd, wealth advisor and investment strategist at Strategic Wealth Partners in Independence, Ohio, told Forbes that government regulation of crypto markets isn’t “necessarily a bad thing” as long as it doesn’t completely ban cryptocurrency. But he cautions that regulation can kill innovation, and could restrict the free markets from working properly. “In the end, the issue of volatility in the cryptomarkets will fix itself if cryptocurrency becomes what it’s supposed to, at least for the larger coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum,” he said. “As more players and money get involved with Bitcoin and Ethereum, the market cap will rise. As the market cap rises, volatility will shrink.”

$1.63 trillion. That’s the current total market cap of the entire crypto market, according to CoinMarketCap, however that figure has dropped about 36% from a peak of about $2.53 trillion in early May.

On Monday, Federal Reserve board governor Lael Brainard promoted the idea of a cryptocurrency backed by the central bank, saying it would, among other things, help to provide financial services to the 20% of Americans who are “underbanked.” In a speech at a conference presented by Coindesk, a crypto news site, she said: “We must explore, and try to anticipate the extent to which households’ and businesses’ needs and preferences may migrate further to digital payments over time.” She added that a digital dollar would be a “new type of central bank money issued in digital form for use by the general public.” Last week Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank plans to release a working paper this summer on the various facets of central bank digital currencies, suggesting the Fed is getting serious about the matter.

Allianz chief economic adviser Mohamed El-Erian warned on Monday that volatility is likely to be a permanent feature of cryptocurrencies.  “I think the volatility will continue,” he told CNBC. “The roller coaster, the up and down. We’ve traded in the $30,000 to $44,000 price range [for Bitcoin] in a week, that’s enormous.”

Elon Musk And Michael Saylor Lead Effort By Bitcoin Miners To Address Environmental Concerns (Forbes)

Billionaire Ray Dalio Reveals Bitcoin Investment But Warns Of Regulation Rocking Crypto Markets (Forbes)

What Is Bitcoin And How Does It Work? (Forbes)

I have more than 20 yrs experience in writing about financial markets. I am especially interested in history and literature.

The Easy Cryptocurrency Swing Trading strategy takes advantage of the highly volatile upswings and downswings that occur in the crypto market.Thestrategy works for trending and non-trending markets alike, thereby offering us huge profit making potentials.It works for Bitcoin and altcoin trading without exception!Lets get startedTrade Setup MT4 Indicators: mcginley-dynamic-indicator.ex4 (Default Setting), mega-trend-indicator.ex4 (Inputs Variable Modified; Period=120, Colors Modified; #1=Yellow), DeMarker.ex4 (Parameter Modified; Period=28)Suitable for: Scalping, day trading, swing trading, investingTrading Time: 24/7, Around the ClockCryptocurrency: Any (Bitcoin and Altcoins)Timeframes: AnyDownload Download the Easy Cryptocurrency Swing Trading StrategyBuy Trade Example : XRP/USD (Ripple / US Dollar), H1 Chart Fig. 1.0Strategy Rules Buy Signal Open a buy trade if the following trading conditions appear on the crypto chart:If the blue line section of the mega-trend-indicator digital currency indicator crosses below the red mcginley-dynamic-indicator line as illustrated on Fig. 1.0, the Ripple market sentiment is said to be bullish, therefore a trigger to go long on the designated cryptocurrency.If the light sea green line of the DeMarker Metatrader 4 indicator breaks and hovers above the 0.5 horizontal level (see Fig. 1.0), price is said to be pressured higher i.e. a trigger to buy the selected cryptocurrency.Suggested Stop Loss for Buy Trade : Place stop loss a few points below support.Suggested Exit Strategy/Take Profit for Buy Trade Exit the buy trade if the following trading conditions appear on the chart:If while a bullish trend is running, the mega-trend-indicator custom indicator line intersects the red mcginley-dynamic-indicator line as shown on Fig. 1.0, a bearish reversal is said to be looming, thus an exit or take profit is recommended.If the light sea green line of the DeMarker indicator readjust below the 0.5 alert level, bulls power is said to be weaning, therefore an exit or take profit stance will suffice.Sell Signal Open a sell trade if the following trading conditions appear on the crypto chart:If the blue line section of the mega-trend-indicator digital currency indicator crosses above the red mcginley-dynamic-indicator line as shown on Fig. 1.1, the Ripple market sentiment is said to be bearish, therefore a trigger to go short on the cryptocurrency of interest.If the light sea green line of the DeMarker indicator breaks and hovers below the 0.5 horizontal level (refer to Fig. 1.1), price is said to be dragged lower i.e. a trigger to sell the stipulated cryptocurrency.Suggested Stop Loss for Sell Trade: Place stop loss a few points above resistance.Suggested Exit Strategy/Take Profit for Sell Trade Exit the sell trade if the following trading conditions appear on the chart:If while a bearish trend is ongoing, the mega-trend-indicator custom indicator line intersects the red mcginley-dynamic-indicator line as exemplified on Fig. 1.1, a bullish reversal is said to be on the horizon, thus an exit or take profit is advised.If the light sea green line of the DeMarker indicator realigns above the 0.5 alert level during a bearish signal, bears power is said to be halting, therefore an exit or take profit stance will do.Sell Trade Example: XRP/USD (Ripple / US Dollar), H1 Chart Fig. 1.1Free Download Download the Easy Cryptocurrency Swing Trading StrategyAbout The Cryptocurrency Technical Indicators Used The mcginley-dynamic-indicator is a custom MT4 digital currency indicator that delivers enhanced smoothening using an updated mean price.The mega-trend-indicator is a modified Hull Moving Average indicator set to a default period of 144.It does attempt to eliminate lag found on crypto chartswhile also enhancing smoothing.The DeMarker indicator is an oscillator designed by Tom Demark that finds use when crypto traders are trying to determine possible overbought and oversold regions in the market.EasyInstallation Start using this cryptocurrency strategyin just 5 minutes.Click hereto get started now. Share Now!

For the better part of 2019,Bitcoinwas in a powerful uptrend. After the leading crypto asset by market cap touched its bear market bottom at $3,200 the asset went parabolic until it topped out at $14,000 just shy of setting a new all-time high.After consolidating in a symmetrical triangle for three months, Bitcoins bullish trend has reversed, and according to a crypto analyst, a downtrend is now in full swing, and any bounces in price to higher levels are opportunities for a profitable short position entry.Bitcoin Downtrend In Full Swing, Short Each Bounce The consensus amongst crypto analysts throughout much of 2019 was that Bitcoin was well along its way into a new bull market, and that any dips were opportunities for buying or opening a long trade position.A significant dip finally arrived after Bitcoin was rejected from $14,000, but buyers couldnt muster up enough buying force to sustain Bitcoin price above $10,000, and eventually, the multi-month triangle broke down, potentially causing a bearish reversal.One crypto analyst, known for using unorthodox Renko candle charting, says thatBitcoinhas indeed reversed and is now in a downtrend, and that buy the dip season has now turned back into an opportunity to short each bounce for profits.Topping the economic crisis further is Brexit. UK President Boris Johnsons efforts to divorce the European Union on October 31 has met with no results. His Conservative Party isfacing splitover a no-deal Brexit, which, in turn, keeps equity markets as confused as its counterparts in the cryptocurrency space.Bitcoin does not correlate with the events developing on a global financial scale. But the cryptocurrencys efforts to attract institutional investors certainly do. Big whales are ideologically switching their positions between risk-on assets like equities and risk-off assets like Gold and US Treasuries. That makes bitcoin a silent spectator, waiting for the economic turmoil to end before anyone even looks at it.Altcoins Up against Bitcoin Meanwhile, traders within the cryptocurrency space are moving out of bitcoin. That is evident in the 24-hour data presented by CoinMarketCap. It shows almost all the altcoins in green against BTC, with Binances BNB leading the charge with a 10 percent profit.Binance Coin leads intraday altcoin rally against Bitcoin | Image credits: CoinMarketCapIn the coming days, all eyes would be on the aftermath of the Feds expansionary policy. In retrospective, the central banks chairman Jerome Powell has announced that they would repurchase Treasury bonds to end an ongoing cash crunch. The move, coupled with a potential 25 bps rate cut, is likely to make the US dollar weaker. Some analysts see the event as a validation to bitcoins deflationary nature against fiat. Ikigais Travis Kling states:Bitcoin is an insurance policy against monetary & fiscal policy irresponsibility.But are institutional investors listening? Do tell us what you think in the comment box below. News Source Continue ReadingBitPays Co-founder and CEO, Stephen Pair, featured on one of Charlie Shremspodcaststo give his take on the crypto-ecosystem. During the interview, Pair claimed that theBitcoinwhitepaper was a culmination of all the failed financial projects before it, such as DigiCash, Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) and B-money. Highlighting the use of existing technologies and coding language, he said,Satoshi wasnt reinventing the wheel. But he was able to bring all these differenttechnologiestogether and solve this Byzantine Generals problem with how do you not trust anyone but have this trusted system.Clarifying the dilemma between buying or mining Bitcoins, Pair stressed that mining Bitcoin is considered as a loss making business in the eyes of the IRS, although it allows miners to earn Bitcoin which can be taxed only if sold. Further, the entrepreneur noted a shift in mentality as businesses have started to adopt cryptocurrency as a good business decision. He added,Companies are using it (Bitcoin because they get real value out of it. And its not because they are fans of the technology or they want to make a big marketing headline.Pair also spoke about the decade worth ofblockchaininnovation (led bycryptocurrency) that will be pushed into the centralized markets. He added that any kind of centralized database (such as)Facebook, Twitter, and Github, are eventually going to be replaced by blockchains of some kind.Source.cryptonewsz. Continue ReadingThe Feds decision to expand its balance sheet is seen as a long-term positive development for bitcoin by crypto market experts. However,it hasnt yet buoyed the cryptocurrencys price, which is consolidating around $8,200.Short-term technical charts are calling a bullish move to the 200-day moving average, currently located above $8,600.The case for a corrective rally to $8,600 would weaken if prices drop below $7,763, invalidating Mondays bullish candlestick pattern.Bitcoin (BTC) is lacking a clear directional bias on Wednesday, despite the Federal Reserves (Fed) plan to restart its inflation-boosting balance sheet expansion program.The top cryptocurrency is currently trading largely unchanged on the day below $8,200 on Bitstamp and has spent a better part of the last 24 hours consolidating in the narrow range of $8,100 to $8,300.The cryptocurrency is failing to draw bids even though Federal Reserves chairman, Jerome Powell,saidon Tuesday that the U.S. central bank will soon start expanding its balance sheet again in an effort to avoid a repeat of the recent turmoil in the money markets.Short-term ratesshot upas high as 10 percent in September, threatening to disrupt the overall lending system and forcing the Fed to inject hundreds of billions of dollars via market repurchase agreements (repo operations) to keep interest rates in the intended range of 1.752 percent.Powell said the Fed may have to keep pumping money into the financial markets by buying securities in the coming days in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the overnight or short-term lending markets.The markets believe the Feds latest operation is nothing but round four of quantitative easing (QE) central bank purchases government securities or other securities from the market in order to increase the money supply and encourage lending and investment. The Fed conducted three rounds of quantitative easing between 2009 and 2015.Many observers are of the opinion that the QE programs are inflationary in nature and consider bitcoin as a hedge against such policies.Bitcoin skeptic and CEO of Euro Pacific CapitalPeter Schifftweeted in June that QE is the new normal and will lead to dollar sell-off and hyperinflation.Travis Kling, a former equities Portfolio Manager and now the head of acrypto asset management firm Ikigaitweeted earlier today that bitcoin is insurance against irresponsible monetary policies like QE.The argument has merit as bitcoins monetary policy is fixed and deflationary in nature its supply is reduced by half every four years via miningreward halving.Also, QE creates hyperinflation in financial assets like sovereign bonds, as pointed out byDaniel Lacalle, Chief Economist and Investment Officer at Tressis Gestin a Madrid-based asset management company.Feds purchases of government securities will push up bond prices, triggering a drop in yields, possibly leading to increased investor demand for high-yielding assets like bitcoin.After all, government bonds in most developed countries are already offering negative yields and bitcoin is the best performing asset of 2019 with triple-digit gains.And last but not least, the crypto market community believes BTC has an innate intrinsic value like gold, which has a strong positive correlation with the Fedsbalance sheetsize.As can be seen, the Fed s balance sheet size expanded from $865 billion in August 2007 to $4.4 trillion by the end of July 2015.Golds price rose from lows near $700 seen in November 2008 to a record high of $1,920 in November 2012.The positive correlation ended in 2013 as the Fed began preparing the markets for a taper (slowdown in bond purchases). The QE program ended in October 2014 and the central bank began trimming its balance sheet size from the second half of 2017.Interestingly, gold picked up a strong bid in November last year as markets began pricing in the prospects of US recession and aggressive Fed easing.All-in-all, the Feds decision to expand its balance sheet could be a long-run positive for bitcoin, as tweeted by popular analyst@IvanOnTech.So far, however, bitcoin has struggled to find takers, as noted earlier. That said, the short-term technical charts continue to call a move higher to $8,600.Daily chart Bitcoin created a bullish outside bar candlestick pattern on Monday, warning of an impending a move higher. So far, the follow-through to Mondays bullish candle has been dismal the cryptocurrency remains below $8,313 (Mondays high).Even so, the bullish prospects remain intact, as prices are hovering well above the bullish candles low of $7,763. Further, the MACD histogram has crossed above zero, confirming a bullish reversal.Meanwhile, the daily line chart is reporting a bullish divergence of the relative strength.The cryptocurrency appears on track to test resistance at $8,607 (200-day moving average). A UTC close higher would expose the next hurdle lined up above $8,800 and near $9,000.The short-term bullish case would weaken only if prices find acceptance below Mondays low of $7,763.Disclosure:The author holds no cryptocurrency assetsat the time of writing.Source:coideKContinue Reading

Join our community of 10 000 traders on Hacked.com for just $39 per month. Ethereums price swings high and low. Today, the number two crypto is up big time after falling hard in the prior 24-hour period. Source: coinmarketcap.com Ethereum posted the biggest gain among the larger capitalized cryptos in the last 24-hour period, jumping 20.19%, according to coinmarketcap.com. Its 24-hour gain vastly outdid bitcoins 4.79-point gain. Its swings in both directions have been larger than bitcoins. Ethereums price tumbled from $391.51 June 13 to $262.38 on June 26, then rebounding to $321.83 on June 28. Some attributed the June 26 fall to the false rumor that co-founder Vitalik Buterin had died in a car crash. Buterin, true to form, used the Ethereum blockchain to prove he was still alive. Ethereum Chases Bitcoin Ethereum continues to chase bitcoin for the lead share of crypto market capitalization, holding $30.821 billion compared to bitcoins $42.558 billion. On June 27 Ethereum held 25.03% of total crypto capitalization, compared to 5.7% on Feb. 20. Bitcoin, by contrast, held 42.47% on June 27 versus 85.58% on Feb. 20. The only crypto to gain more than Ethereum in the last 24-hour period was AntShares, which at a $430.46 million market cap, is the 15th largest crypto. Antshares posted a 24.5-point gain. Looking at a longer term, Ethereums price has remained well above the lower teens which it held all year up until beginning its fast climb in March. Nicola Duke, a Forex Analytix technical analyst who uses historical price data to determine future price movements, predicted in late May that Ethereum, which was still an explosive growth path, could experience a 38.4-point fall from its then $227 price. Duke also said breaking through the $377 price point would be key for Ethereum. That point, according to Duke, was the resistance level, the point that traders reach but dont surpass. Ethereums next challenge is to reach $467. Duke uses historical price data to determine future price movements. Also read: Ethereum, bitcoin prices rally as crypto markets storm back Bitcoins Influence On Ethereum The swings of the last few days indicate that bitcoins vitality or lack thereof has an exaggerated impact on Ethereum, as well as other altcoins. The level of interest in bitcoin affects interest in altcoins that can deliver better gains. The expansion of ICOs has also raised awareness of altcoins. While bitcoin impacts altcoins, there is also fundamental demand for Ethereum. Ethereum supports smart contracts, which has attracted significant interest among financial institutions and other companies. Featured image from Shutterstock. Follow us on Telegram. Advertisement

The Bitcoin (BTC) futures market reawakened in early 2020, following more active price action on the spot markets. Across the board, leading futures trading platforms saw significant growth. Bitcoin Futures Volumes and Open Interest Peak as Prices Move Bitcoin futures bet on the price direction, and open interest as well as trades increased with the promise of higher volatility.Serious bitcoin futures volumes yesterday $20bln+ on our radar (not an exhaustive count) pic.twitter.com/6kCSFRq6cy skew (@skewdotcom) January 9, 2020Once again, crypto-to-crypto exchanges held the lead when it comes to futures trading. OKEx and Huobi remained at the top, with BitMex the other big influence on the futures markets.Bakkt Open Interest Breaks Record Bakkt futures remain relatively slim in comparison to the other markets, but are seen as a sign of mainstream adoption. Bakkt futures also post growing volumes, with a pickup in activity in the past few days.Wednesdays Bakkt Bitcoin Monthly Futures: Traded contracts: 4107 ($32.59 million, -15%) All time high: 6601 (12/18/2019) Open interest: $9.53 million (+45%)Knowing bots, we recommend this smart trading bot: https://t.co/W8ClGYnuNn pic.twitter.com/XyTrKfKkUM Bakkt Volume Bot (@BakktBot) January 9, 2020Bakkt volumes picked up significantly with the bitcoin price action, but are on the retreat now. The recent bull rally saw open interest close in on all-time high figures.Bitcoin poses unique challenges on the futures markets, as price swings are highly unpredictable. This leads to sudden liquidations that erase positions, especially during attempted shorting. The recent sudden spike of hundreds of dollars was enough to liquidate short positions.Futures are also viewed as holding the potential to predict bitcoin price moves. So-called gaps, or bets outside the continuous range of BTC prices, are viewed as potential target levels. It is uncertain if gaps can lead to price pressures, but currently, CME futures suggest bitcoin may take a hike down before appreciating again.#Bitcoin There are gaps in the charts of Bitcoin CME Futures. These gaps are often closed later and offer ideal correction targets. They can even help to show where a low point could be.Currently we see a target at 7680 down and 11195 up.So, down first and then up. RJ (@RJuninger) January 8, 2020Added to the futures market activity, in the coming days, the CME will also contribute with the launch of the options market.Bitcoin price is still above the $7,900 support level, which was established as one of the strong positions to be defended. However, the predictions see another dip in prices, before a new leg up eventually. BTC traded at $7,39.97 on Thursday, as spot volumes slowly diminished to around $26 billion in the past 24 hours.Bitcoin futures remain a much riskier game in comparison to spot markets. Spot markets still require actual whales to move prices, while futures offer an outright bet on which direction BTC would take. Bakkt futures also reveal there are very few physical deliveries, and positions are being rolled forward or traded.What do you think about BTC futures activity? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!Go to SourceAuthor: Christine VasilevaRecommended Crypto Services, Products and Strategies: The first thing any crypto investor needs isis a reliable and secureCrypto Wallet. Whether youre looking for an online wallet, hardware wallet, desktop or mobile wallet, Crypto Renegade provides you with all the Best Crypto Wallets in each category.When youre ready to buy more crypto, or exchange your coins for others, Crypto Renegades list of the Best Crypto Exchanges has you covered. The Crypto Exchanges recommended here offer everything from simplicity and convenience to advanced trading platforms and profit sharing.If you want to learn more about the methods and tools that can be used to find Great Crypto Projects , then be sure to check out Crypto Renegades strategy for How To Find The Best Cryptocurrency .For those people that dont have any money to invest right now, or just want to understand the technology a bit more, youll definitely want to check out Crypto RenegadesFree Crypto Strategy and start collecting Free Coins today!What do you think about cryptocurrency? Do you have any questions about it? Be sure to leave a comment below.