A CATASTROPHIC drop in the cryptocurrency market led to an almost $300 million loss in liquidations this week.
Bitcoin prices, in particular, dropped by as much as $3,000 early Tuesday, though it is slightly back up over the past 24 hours as of Thursday morning.
Plus, “futures on ether, the native currency of the Ethereum network, saw over $57 million in liquidations,” Coindesk reported.
Other major coins, such as Solana and Terra, also saw losses, the outlet reported. Shiba Inu and Dogecoin have also been down over the past week as of Thursday.
Meanwhile, Ethereum, Decentraland, and Basic Attention are all tokens that some experts think are poised for rebounds in 2022.
Contributors at Motley Fool think those three cryptocurrencies could see gains next year no matter what else happens with the highly volatile market.
“Ethereum stands out as a great crypto for 2022 and beyond,” the outlet noted, but the site thinks BAT and Decentraland are good bets, too.
Read our cryptocurrency live blog for the latest news and updates…
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How to check for blockchain scams
Cryptocurrencies operate on blockchain networks.
Scammers often claim their blockchain is “in development” or “about to be released,” but all legitimate cryptos will have an accompanying website to verify the currency.
Users can type the name of the crypto into any search engine with the phrase “blockchain explorer” or “blockchain scan” to find the connected blockchain, if it even exists.
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What is a blockchain?
A blockchain is where encrypted data can be transferred securely, making it nearly impossible to duplicate or counterfeit.
This ledger is the foundation of any cryptocurrency transaction.
The cryptocurrency allows people to trade currency or assets digitally outside of any government or bank.
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What is the Metaverse? continued
Meta’s VR boss Andrew Bosworth said: “The metaverse is a set of virtual 3D spaces where you can share immersive experiences with each other when you can’t be together.”
“What comes after the internet? Instead of looking at a screen, you get to be in the experiences.
“You don’t have to experience it in VR. Most people initially will experience it on screens they already have.”
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg called it “the next version of the internet,” and predicted the true metaverse will be ready within the decade.
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What is the Metaverse?
The Metaverse has a broad definition. It is an internet, but it is immersive – so you live within it.
The platform will have games, social networks, videos, shopping, health and fitness and more.
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What are Altcoins, continued
Simon Peters, crypto-asset analyst at eToro, said: “They build on the success of bitcoin by slightly changing the rules, economics or use cases to appeal to different users.”
“Altcoins vary greatly in their use cases and practical application. They typically have a form of technology they underpin or provide a liquidity solution to a product or service.”
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What are Altcoins?
Altcoin stands for alternative coin, a type of virtual currency that uses the so-called blockchain to allow secure transactions.
Altcoin is a category of cryptocurrency rather than a currency itself, and there are more than 900 different altcoins available.
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Alexis Ohanian on co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, Conclusion
“I’ve never been more excited about the potential of the Internet,” Ohanian added.
“And that’s largely thanks to Vitalik Buterin.”
Buterin is the co-founder of Ethereum and also co-founded Bitcoin Magazine in 2011.
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Alexis Ohanian on co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, Continued
“No one person could’ve possibly come up with all of the uses for Ethereum, but it did take one person’s idea to get it started,” Ohanian added about Buterin.
“From there, a new world has opened up, and given rise to new ways of leveraging blockchain technology—some of which I’ve invested in.”
“Whether it’s startups like Sorare reinventing fantasy sports or Rainbow users showing off their NFT collections, none of this would’ve existed without Vitalik’s creation.”
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Alexis Ohanian on co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin
“Thanks to Reddit’s r/Ethereum community, I’ve had the privilege of following Vitalik Buterin’s career from early on, which is why I’ve taken a certain pride in watching his legacy grow,” Ohanian wrote of the programmer.
“Sure, we can talk about the value he’s created as the platform’s co-founder, including Ethereum’s impressive market cap of around $400 billion, the dazzling world of decentralized apps and this year’s boom in the trading of NFTs.”
“What makes Vitalik so special, though, is that he is a builder’s builder.”
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Co-founder of Ethereum named a TIME100 most influential person
One of the co-founders of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2021.
Former executive chair of Reddit Alexis Ohanian praised him in a write-up for the piece.
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El Salvador adopts Bitcoin, continued
However, those who do not have access to technologies that can carry out Bitcoin are excluded from being required to accept it.
The US dollar and Bitcoin are now the country’s official currencies.
It’s the first time Bitcoin has been adopted as a legal tender in a sovereign nation.
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El Salvador adopts Bitcoin
The nation’s president Nayib Bukele passed a bill in June that stated that from September 7, Bitcoin can be used in any transaction and all businesses must accept the e-currency as payment.
The law also states that tax contributions can be paid via Bitcoin and exchanges in the cryptocurrency will not be subject to capital gains tax.
Under the new law, El Salvador will “promote necessary training and mechanisms so that the population can access [Bitcoin] transactions.”
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Banks embrace crypto, continued
Executives at large banks are beginning to hop on the cryptocurrency train as some invest their time in learning about the new payment method.
Bank of America spokesman Mark Pipitone told the New York Times, “The bank sees potential in blockchain, and we’re currently a leading patent holder in the space with more than 160 patents. But we still haven’t found a use at scale to make the financial lives of customers and clients better.”
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Banks embrace crypto
Banks are paying for slowly catching on to the future of cryptocurrency as they struggle to benefit and profit.
As cryptocurrency start-ups explode, they are starting to offer credit cards and loans while banks are left in the dust.
According to the New York Times, “Bank of America’s chief executive, Brian Moynihan, barred the giant company’s wealth managers from putting any client money into cryptocurrency-related investments.”
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Record crypto investments, part two
The crypto industry blew up in 2021 with crypto exchanges, start-ups dealing with NFTs, and play-to-earn gaming all highlighted as factors by Fortune.
Increasing interest in the Metaverse also led to multi-million dollar investments.
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Crypto investments top $30billion
Investors contributed a record $30billion to the cryptocurrency industry in 2021, according to Fortune.
The news outlet cited data from Bloomberg News that reportedly showed $7.2billion came from investors based in the United States.
The $30billion is almost four times the $8billion that investors spent with companies in the crypto industry in 2018, Fortune reported.
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Elon Musk says Dogecoin is best for transactions
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX says Dogecoin is the best cryptocurrency for transactions.
Elon Musk told Time Magazine that the meme coin is better suited to transact with over Bitcoin for two reasons.
He said the transaction volume of Bitcoin is low and the cost per transaction is high.
Musk said he believes Bitcoin is more suitable as a store of value while Dogecoin “encourages people to spend, rather than sort of hoard.”
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Dogecoin spikes after Tesla news
Dogecoin saw a more than 20 percent jump after Elon Musk announced Tesla would start accepting it as payment.
He said in a Tweet that Tesla would allow purchases of some merchandise with Dogecoin and “see how it goes.”
Dogecoin went from a fraction of a penny in worth at the start of 2021 to a record-high price above 74 cents in May, CNBC reported.
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Risks of investing in cryptos, part five
Finally, the truth in marketing materials is a risk in investing in cryptos.
Firms may overstate the returns of products or understate the risks involved.
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Risks of investing in cryptos, part four
Another risk of investing are the charges and fees.
Consumers should consider the impact of fees and charges on their investment which may be more than those for regulated investment products.
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Risks of investing in cryptos, part three
A third risk of investing in cryptocurrencies is product complexity.
The complexity of some products and services relating to cryptoassets can make it hard for consumers to understand the risks.
There is no guarantee that cryptoassets can be converted back into cash.
Converting a cryptoasset back to cash depends on demand and supply existing in the market.
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Risks of investing in cryptos, part two
Another risk of investing is price volatility.
Significant price volatility in cryptoassets, combined with the inherent difficulties of valuing cryptoassets reliably, places consumers at a high risk of losses.
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Risks of investing in cryptocurrencies
We rounded up five risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.
The first is Consumer protection.
Some investments advertising high returns based on cryptoassets may not be subject to regulation beyond anti-money laundering requirements.
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China’s crackdown ‘big opportunity’ for US
China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency transactions “is a big opportunity for the U.S.”, according to Pat Toomey, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee.
This comes as the US Securities and Exchange Commission lobbied for more regulations when it comes to cryptocurrency.
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China’s crackdowns on crypto
While crypto creation and trading have been illegal in China since 2019, further crackdowns this year by Beijing warned banks to halt related transactions and closed much of the country’s vast network of Bitcoin miners.
The previous statement by the central bank sent the strongest yet signal that China is closed to crypto.
