All eyes were on Ark Investment Management today after the release of a report claiming [Ethereum](/coins/eth) could reach $180,000 by 2030.

Famed crypto investment fund Ark Investment Management released details today claiming that the market value of Ethereum could reach $20 trillion by 2030. Such a massive market cap would mean an individual Ethereum price of anywhere between $170,000 and $180,000.

The new report from the investment fund supports the claims, by stating that it all depends on the amount of market share Ethereum manages to capture from traditional finance through DeFi.

## $1 million [Bitcoin](/coins/btc)?
---------------------------------------------------------

Decentralised Finance, or DeFi for short, is the area of cryptocurrency that is currently creating more efficient, more transparent, and more reliable applications which aim to disrupt the legacy financial system. The total value of the DeFi market today is $108.5 billion and growing, with the Ethereum network currently accounting for around 70% of all DeFi transactions. If Ethereum can maintain or increase this market share in the next 8 years while traditional financial systems wake up to the cost benefits of DeFi protocols, then anything is possible.

The report also suggested that if Bitcoin can continue to ‘scale as nation states adopt as legal tender then the price of one Bitcoin could exceed $1 million by 2030.’ These are bold claims from Ark Invest, but as we all know are not unheard of in the cryptocurrency space. Only last month Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy, made the claim that Bitcoin would hit $1 million in the next 10 years. Microstrategy backed up their confidence with another purchase of Bitcoin taking their total holdings to 121,044 which at current prices is worth $4.4 billion.

## Ark 21 Shares ETF
-----------------

Ark Investment Management were in the news again yesterday, as the US based [SEC](https://www.sec.gov/) stated that any decision on a futures Bitcoin ETF would be delayed an extra 60 days from the beginning of February. Ark Invest together with 21 Shares had made the application to launch a futures backed Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) back in June 2021. 

The ruling from the SEC pushes the decision deadline back to April 3rd stating that it was ‘appropriate to designate a longer period’ as a proposed rule change regarding Bitcoin ETFs would impact their decision. Ark and 21 Shares will be relieved to know that April 3rd will be the final date for a decision, as the SEC will be unable to deliberate any further from this date.

## A Step in The Right Direction

With more and more investment funds looking to create Bitcoin ETF’s it can only be a positive for the continuing legitimacy and development of the cryptocurrency market. Although not quite a physically backed Bitcoin ETF, futures-based investment funds are a step in the right direction. If cryptocurrencies can continue to gain mainstream exposure and financial legitimacy, then Ark Investment’s claim of a $1 million Bitcoin by 2030 may not seem so far away.

Ark Invest Holdings: Ethereum Prediction

A sense of optimism hung in the crypto air this morning as [Bitcoin](/coins/btc) and other major cryptocurrencies bounced strongly after a week of heavy losses.

At the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin stood at $36,460 representing an increase of 8.10% in the last 24 hours while Ethereum gained 8.23% reaching a price of $2,423. The total market cap of crypto currently stands at $1.65 trillion, an increase of 7.71%. After a week of absolute carnage, it appears that investors have indeed bought the dip demonstrating continued strength in the cryptocurrency market.

## Increasing correlation to traditional markets

Bitcoin began its bounce on Monday as US east coast traders returned to their desks after lunch. Interestingly the US equity market also saw a strong surge during the same time indicating Bitcoin’s increased correlation with traditional markets. With many eyes on today’s meeting of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) which is anticipated to discuss interest rate rises and continued asset purchases, this week could be very interesting indeed.

The Relative Strength Index continues to indicate Bitcoin is heavily oversold which would suggest a turnaround is imminent as buyers seek to take advantage of the discounted prices. As we have mentioned before, historically Bitcoin often begins strong rallies after precipitous falls. Could this be the start of a rally to new all-time highs?

## Alt season on hold?

Mike McGlone, Chief Commodity Strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence however was not so optimistic for altcoins going on record to say, “Price reversion in crypto is likely to spread in 2022 after the assets were a poster child of speculative inflationary excess in 2021, but Bitcoin stands to come out ahead.”

However, as we can see above many of the major altcoins demonstrated as much resilience in Bitcoin with equally strong bounces. Solana, Polkadot, Atom, and Avalanche all posted 24-hour gains ranging between 12% and 17% respectively. The crypto market may be down, but it is certainly not out.

## ‘I'm loving it’

Finally, in a candidate for tweet of the year already the official Twitter account of McDonald’s Restaurants asked “[how are you doing people who run crypto twitter accounts?](https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1485726032967704582)” Demonstrating the humour and camaraderie that has come to be associated with what is known as ‘crypto Twitter’ McDonald’s are clearly getting their own back on all those crypto tweeters who see a job at McDonald’s as the last resort in a prolonged bear market. However, I and many others have a feeling that McDonald’s will soon be eating their own words, with extra fries.

Bitcoin and Crypto Rebound After Week of Loss

[Bitcoin](/news/category/bitcoin-news) traders woke to yet more shock Monday morning as the price of the asset tumbled to further localised lows.

At time of press, the price of the world’s number one digital asset sat at $33,728 – a fall of 5.52% in the last 24 hours. However, with the price of Bitcoin bottoming at $33,243 at 11:09 UTC this morning the current price shows that there are buyers at this level but as you may well imagine traders and investors are treading with extreme caution. 

Bitcoin wasn’t the only crypto to experience a devastating fall in value. The entire market also dropped sharply and currently stands at $1.54 trillion representing a fall of 7.01% in the last 24 hours.

## Outside factors

With market and network fundamentals at their strongest in years many investors are looking for outside factors as the reason behind the latest market crash. Tensions between Russia and NATO led allies continue to simmer over a Russian military build up at the Ukrainian border and while Russia insists it has no plans to invade, the USA and the UK have already told their embassy staff to begin making plans to leave the country. In contrast, the EU have no plans to fly diplomats out of Ukraine and is at a loss to explain why the USA and UK have given the green light adding ‘the US has not given any clear justification for its decision’.

As we reported on Friday, cryptocurrency and digital assets are still seen by many as risk-on investments which in times of uncertainty are often the first to be sacrificed, regardless of market strength.

However, there are other angles at play in this situation which many in the crypto community believe are having an impact on market activity. The US have threatened Russia with economic sanctions which will ‘bring the country to its knees’ should the country decide to stage an invasion of Ukraine. In practical terms this means deactivating Russia from the SWIFT network which has been used by every nation state to transfer capital around the world since 1972.

## ‘Alternative rails of finance’

In retaliation to the threat from Joe Biden, Russia have spoken of using ‘alternative rails of finance’ which many people believe is a nod toward distributed and decentralised networks able to move large amounts of capital such as Ripplenet or Stellar Lumens. However, with both of these firms originating in the US it is hard to believe Russia would choose to adopt their services. That being said the nature of many cryptocurrency networks is borderless and the vision they hold for the future is one of harmonious trade with drastically reduced friction in terms of policy, regulation and cost.

The last thing the world needs right now is yet another conflict and personally speaking I don’t think that is going to happen. I do believe however that a movement away from out of date and weighted legacy payment systems such as SWIFT towards the large scale use of decentralised and distributed networks that enable a fairer and balanced global economic environment is only a matter of time. However what time frame this financial transformation occurs on is anybody's guess.


Crypto Price Down as Ukraine Crisis Hits

The price of [Bitcoin](/news/category/bitcoin-news) suffered further crash losses today as the value of the world’s foremost digital currency dropped below $40,000 usd for the first time in six months. While recovering slightly since a precipitous fall to $38,250 in the early hours of this morning, the price of Bitcoin is currently trading at $39,022 usd leaving many investors to speculate what caused the drop.

The Bitcoin network has never been stronger with the hash rate at all time highs. The hash rate is the metric which illustrates the computing power needed to mine Bitcoin. A higher hash rate demonstrates confidence in the network and its long term growth. After dipping in mid 2021 the hash rate has recently rebounded to record highs.

## External influences

It is often said that positive price action usually follows higher hash rates however looking at the current market performance this is clearly not the case. As we know the cost of mining is closely tied to the price of Bitcoin. For large scale mining farms to be profitable miners need to know their break even point and calculations based on the current hash rate indicate this to be around $34,000 usd.

With the network in good health it is pertinent to look for outside factors which may have caused investors to sell off.

## $600 million ways to fry

Many people are pointing towards Friday’s options expiry of some $600 million in open interest contracts as a major factor in the price crash of Bitcoin. After almost two weeks of sideways action many investors believed that $40,000 usd represented a solid price floor. However, with speculators gambling on the value of Bitcoin through futures based ETF’s the price of an unregulated asset such as Bitcoin is always going to be open to manipulation. When you add in the fact that leveraged Bitcoin liquidations across trading platforms account for $292 million the picture of market manipulation becomes clear. Regulation has never been more needed in an industry desperate to break into the mainstream.

## Ukraine crisis

History shows us investors do not like uncertainty and when anxiety is in the air capital is often pulled from high risk assets into safe havens. Although Bitcoin is more frequently viewed as a risk free hedge to rising rates of inflation it is still considered by many to be a risk-on investment. Therefore, with the crisis in Ukraine bringing increased uncertainty to worldwide markets it is prudent to believe that a degree of long term profit is banked as significant capital leaves the market. The difficult question any serious investor should be asking right now is what and  how long will it take before Bitcoin inevitably bounces back?


Bitcoin below $40,000 for first time in 6 months

[Bitcoin](/news/category/bitcoin-news) price action remains stable but is a value surge just around the corner?

The price of Bitcoin has been steadily declining since 8th November leaving many to speculate the bull run is finally over. With a retracement close to 40% it is easy to see why this is a popular narrative. However, there are many people who believe Bitcoin has one and possibly two more bull runs left in the tank. What are the factors behind this optimism and when could this occur?

## Price volatility at record low

The current price of Bitcoin stands at $41,876 representing a fall of 2% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin has been range bound between roughly $41,000 and $43,000 since 6th January which in the volatile land of unregulated cryptocurrency is something of a rarity. Clearly retail investors have been spooked and institutional investors are buying their time.

This price stability is reflected in the volatility, which according to the Bitcoin Volatility Index is at its lowest point since November 2021 at 2.63%. Low volatility might not be attractive to traders but from an institutional adoption angle it represents maturity and stability which in turn generates interest. Therefore the ‘boring’ price action of Bitcoin may be just what is needed to encourage more large-scale investors to the crypto table.

## Bitcoin fear and greed index

As mentioned above, the price of Bitcoin has seen a sharp pull back from record highs of November 2021. In turn, retail investment has practically disappeared as many people fear getting burnt or worse. This market sentiment is measured by the handy Fear and Greed Index which uses a handful of factors to assess how traders are likely to react given the current price. The current Fear & Greed Index score is 24% representing Extreme Fear which to the bold investor is the perfect time to buy.

## China Bitcoin ban

Many people believe the price decline of Bitcoin since November 2021 could be related to yet another Chinese Bitcoin mining and trading ban as investors in the far east sell off and take profits. This would explain the 40% drawback as a large proportion of Bitcoin mining occurred in China before the ban. The USA now accounts for the highest percentage of hashpower in the world.

Historically speaking, Bitcoin has a habit of launching a price surge just when everyone thinks the asset is dead and it is headed for zero. This could easily be the case here. The development of the Bitcoin network has come too far in the last 24 months for it to crash and burn and the adoption of nation states such as Venezuela, El Salvador and lately Tonga show just how much credibility Bitcoin still has in the tank.

## Cleaning Up Cryptocurrency

The real question is why isn't anyone buying Bitcoin, and other crypto for that matter, in large enough quantities to move the market which was evident at time throughout 2021. This could be due to many factors. As we have discussed before the market is in dire need of regulation and its absence deters many traditional investors looking to enter the space. 

Later this week US Congress is due to host a hearing of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee entitles “Cleaning Up Cryptocurrency: The energy impacts of blockchain” which is sure to make recommendations which will impact the development of the market. So, is circa $40,000 the new floor? Will it hold? And once we have regulatory clarity will investors return to the table in record numbers? Only time will tell.



Is the Bitcoin price stagnant or stable?

The largest city in Brazil is planning to invest 1% of the city’s financial reserves into [Bitcoin](/coins/btc) it was revealed yesterday.

In an attempt to rebrand the city as ‘Crypto Rio’ mayor of Rio de Janiero, Eduardo Paes, recently announced that “We are going to launch Crypto Rio and invest 1% of the treasury in cryptocurrency – the government has a role to play”.

## Property Tax Discount

The announcement came during Rio Innovation Week and was released through news agency O Globo. The revelation came as Mr Paes discussed Rio’s cryptocurrency future as he shared a stage with the mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez. The discussion also included plans to consider a 10% discount on all property tax which is paid in Bitcoin. Rio de Janeiro city Finance Secretary Pedro Paulo commented “Let us study the legal framework to do this”.

In a move that closely follows neighbours El Salvador, the Brazillian government is clearly warming to the idea of integrating cryptocurrency payments. In November last year Federal Deputy Luizão Goulart proposed a bill to legalise crypto as a payment method for both public and private sector workers in the country.

The following month leading crypto payment firm in Brazil, MercadoPago, enabled all Brazilian residents access to buy, sell and hold all major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Clearly Brazil is waking up to the economic advantages of adopting a digital framework throughout their economy.

## Inflation hedge

With inflation around the world continuing to rise, cryptocurrencies represent some of the best ways to reduce costs and increase network security and efficiency. In addition many people see Bitcoin itself as an alternative to gold and the perfect hedge against the weakening of fiat currencies.

The price of Bitcoin remains in the low $40,000’s with the price at time of press standing at $42,359 a fall of 3.72% in the last 24 hours. The overall market cap sits at $2.02 trillion, a pull back of 3.16%. Bitcoin market dominance is 39.7% which shows it is still the worlds best known and largest cryptocurrency by market cap. How long this remains the case is anyone’s guess however with major cities like Rio de Janeiro announcing their intention to invest in Bitcoin, the message to undecided or cautious investors is clear. [Buy Bitcoin](/trade).


Rio de Janeiro to invest 1% of city wealth into Bitcoin

There was fresh hope for the cryptocurrency market today as the [Bitcoin](/crypto coin news/bitcoin news) price registered the first positive action in three days.

The cryptocurrency market has been taking a hit recently with prices tumbling since many all time highs were reached in early November 2021. However, the last 7 days have seen prices stabilise in what many experts believe is the bottom of the recent price dip.

## Bitcoin price movement

At time of press, Bitcoin is currently trading at $42,029 with a 24 hour high of $42,663. Could this be the reversal that many people are hoping for? Bitcoin fell below $40,000 for the first time in 3 months yesterday (January 10th) when the price touched $39,816 across exchanges. The price bounced sharply showing strong buying support around and under $40,000. However, with global macro economic uncertainty Bitcoin is still considered by many as a speculative investment and high risk assets are often first to be sold in times of uncertainty.

## Wise decisions needed

The question cryptocurrency investors need to ask themselves at this point is what is considered high or medium risk? The future of cryptocurrency has never been so bright as many of the well established networks begin to come online and offer tangible cost and efficiency benefits to their loyal customers. However in a market saturated with meme coins, ponzi projects and rug pulls the savvy investor must choose wisely.

## Hedge against financial catastrophe

Legendary investor, Bill Miller, recently announced he has allocated 50% of his net worth into Bitcoin as an “insurance policy against financial catastrophe”. Does he know something the rest of us don’t? With over 40 years in the investment business it would be naïve to think Mt Miller is taking a speculative gamble on Bitcoin especially since he purchased his first Bitcoin in 2014. Mr Miller went on to say “the average investors should ask themselves what do they have in their portfolio which has Bitcoins track record – 1, is very, very under penetrated, 2, can provide as a hedge against financial catastrophe, 3, can increase in value 10 – 50x – the answer is nothing”.

## Market shake down

Clearly Mr Miller is very bullish on the future of Bitcoin which is a great help to counteract the negative feeling currently surrounding Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency market. Distributed networks and blockchain technology have the power to radically change the way we do business and make for a fairer and more balanced global community. 

However, there may be many more rough seas to cross before we reach the calm economic waters we all crave. I think the key is to invest wisely and stick to medium to large cap crypto with a working product, strong customer base and a clear road map for the future. The entire cryptocurrency market is long overdue a radical shake out which will leave behind only the strongest contenders. Choose wisely and make sure you are on the right side of history.



Is Bitcoin Price Back on the Up?

[Bitcoin](/coins/btc) traders and investors continued to hold their breath today as the price of the world’s number one digital asset continued to fall.

At time of press, Bitcoin is trading at $42,406 representing a drop of 1.11% in the last 24 hours. The total market cap for the entire crypto industry stands at just over $2 trillion, a fall of just 0.85% over the previous day. Is this anything to worry about? What has caused this drawback? Lets take a closer look.

**November Bitcoin Highs**
--------------------------

To many, the cryptocurrency market has never been healthier. Many large scale companies such as Tesla have Bitcoin investments on their balances sheets while 2021 finally saw the emergence of a Bitcoin futures ETF. Rumour has it that there are many institutions poised to make significant crypto investment through 2022 yet the prices of the major cryptocurrencies have been falling since the highs of November 2021.

As the charts and figures clearly show the price of Bitcoin peaked on November 10th with a price of $68,385. Since then the price has been in free fall however many commentators believed that there was significant buying support around $50,000. Therefore the shock when Bitcoin fell firstly to $45,000 and then more recently this week to $42,000 was audible. However, on a macro scale there doesn’t appear to be anything to worry about.

**Strong Fundamentals**
-----------------------

The understanding and concept of digital assets and distributed ledger networks has never been clearer or stronger than it is going into 2022. With other digital currencies such as Ethereum, Hedera Hashgraph and Link all scheduling upgrades and developments in the first part of the year the industry has never been stronger. However, there is a large percentage of the digital asset market  cap which is made up from speculative investors more familiar with the stock market.

These kind of investors still view cryptocurrencies and digital assets as risk on investments compared to other more stable parts of their portfolio. Therefore, when there are concerning macro economic winds whipping across the financial landscape cryptocurrencies are one of the first assets to be sacrificed. The news of the Federal Reserve plans to tighten monetary policy this week provided the catalysts for much profit taking across both crypto and stocks. 

**Local Bottom for Bitcoin Price?**
-----------------------------------

The question many people are asking is where is the local bottom for Bitcoin? There are some market experts saying that Bitcoin could fall as low as $30,000 although the general consensus is that $40,000 looks like a safe bet.  As we mentioned above the fundamentals for both Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general have never been stronger so a fall into the $30,000 region seems unlikely. However as we all know anything is possible in this unregulated and burgeoning market place.



Bitcoin Price Feels the Wind of Change

A new year often means a fresh start but is this the case in the cryptocurrency industry? Lets take a closer look.

At the time of press, the cryptocurrency industry is currently worth $2.23 trillion and shows a 0.79% decrease over the last 24 hour period. In contrast the total amount of crypto traded (volume) in the last 24 hours has risen by 42.06% to $108.48 billion indicating sellers have marginal control over the market.

For extra detail DeFi makes up 21.38% of the total crypto market volume at $23.20 billion whilst stable coins represent 61.47% of the last 24 hour trading volume at $66.69 billion. This data shows the cryptocurrency market is relatively stable going in to 2022 and could be viewed as a ‘bottom’ with prices anticipated to rise in the near term.

## Bitcoin price stability
---------------------------

At the time of press the price of [Bitcoin](/coins/btc) is $46,607, a [decrease of 1.00% in the last 24 hours](https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/), whilst market dominance continues to fall and currently stands at 39.60%, a drop of 0.08% over the last day.  On Monday, January 3rd Bitcoin celebrated its 13th birthday and shows no signs of slowing down or letting other coins take the number one spot.

Although Bitcoin may never be used to buy a simple cup of coffee, many people are beginning to see Bitcoin as alternative rival to gold as a store of wealth and a solid hedge against rising inflation. Indeed, Grayscale Investment Management recorded returns of 62.2% for its Bitcoin Trust in the last 12 months easily eclipsing the 2% offered by Gold.

## $55 billion Grayscale AUM
-----------------------------

Grayscale are firm believers in the transformational power of cryptocurrencies and describe themselves as ‘the leading partner to investors who wish to navigate and deploy capital into this new asset class’. At time of press, Grayscale is the worlds largest digital currency asset manager with $55 billion worth of assets under management. However, all that being said Grayscale have actually reduced their cryptocurrency exposure in the last couple of months as prices have failed to ignite.

In early November Grayscale AUM were sitting at a comfortably $61 billion but the lack of price action since then has seen the company sell off 30% and 22% of their Bitcoin and [Ethereum](/news/category/ethereum-news-today) trusts respectively. However, recent data shows that since December 31st 2021 Grayscale have purchased $11.4 billion worth of cryptocurrency demonstrating once more their confidence in the cryptocurrency and digital asset market moving in to the new year. Long may this continue.


2022- new beginnings for the cryptocurrency market?

After months of development, [Ethereum](/coins/eth) finally announced their Proof of Stake test net Kintsugi went live on December 20th.

Until Monday, Kintsugi had been only available to developers looking to experiment and build ahead of the much anticipated launch of Ethereum 2.0 next year. The successful launch of Kintsugi was announced by lead developer Tim Beiko on Monday in a series of tweets. 

Beiko stated “Although client development and UX continue to be refined, we encourage the community to start using Kintsugi to familiarize themselves with Ethereum in a post-merge context. For application developers, as previously explained, not much will change. Tooling which only interacts with either the consensus or execution layer is also largely unaffected.”

Testnets often launch prior to main net to enable developers to test applications in a controlled setting.

## Bad for the environment

The launch of Ethereum2.0 will finally see the complete transition to a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism. Proof of Work blockchains are seen as slow, costly and harmful to the environment and therefore adopting the Proof of Stake model is the logical approach.

The move has taken longer than many people expected however the launch of Kintsugi is a clear indication that the time of reckoning is moving closer. Many industry experts believe Ethereum 2.0 will be ready for public use sometime in Spring next year.

## Smart contract development

The calls for Ethereum 2.0 grow louder by the day. With Ethereum transactions taking anywhere between 5 minutes and four hours depending on network congestion, a Proof of Work model will bring much needed speed to the network. Current transaction costs also make the network unattractive to developers. The general feeling is that when Ethereum 2.0 is launched we will see a massive rise in network use and smart contract application development which will benefit all areas of the industry.

## Stability

Kintsugi will run until the network reaches stability along with other pre launched testnets. Beiko explained that “existing long lived testnets will run through ‘The Merge’. Once these have upgraded and are stable, next up is Ethereum mainnet transition to Proof of Stake.”



Ethereum POS Testnet Kintsugi Release 

As 2021 draws to a close, the crypto market is stronger than ever before. Bitcoin sits at around $47,000 exactly double what it was worth this time last year. As we all know, there have been many record gains alongside some serious drawbacks. In this article we will look at the current state of the market and what we can likely expect in 2022.

As mentioned above, the current price of Bitcoin is just over $47,000 representing just over a 100% gain if you had bought Bitcoin this time last year. The digital currency market as a whole is currently worth $2.1 trillion with highs of $3 trillion touched upon as little as 6 weeks ago. Bitcoin still remains the dominant crypto with just over 40% of market share with Ethereum close behind at 21%.

Without stating the obvious, 2021 has been a bumpy ride underlining the most successful cryptocurrency trading strategy is the long term buy and hold. No matter how smart people claim to be, no one can out play the market, especially an unregulated one so open to manipulation.

So, going forward what can we expect from crypto in 2022?

## Regulation needed as soon as possible

As we have discussed many times before the market desperately needs some form a comprehensive regulation that will both protect consumers, deter bad actors and encourage further investment from those less averse to high risk management.

It is my belief that this regulatory approval is closely tied to the ongoing court case between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last year or are extremely new to crypto you will understand that Ripple is currently being sued by the SEC for the apparent offering of its native token asset XRP as a security in the early days of the company’s formation. Ripple argue that the XRP is a utility token with a distinct purpose which does not constitute an investment and therefore is not a security which is regulated under SEC authority.

This case is key to the whole cryptocurrency market. If, as many people are beginning to believe, the court rules in Ripples favour the closure of the case will provide clarity on just what cryptocurrencies truly are. Indeed, the case will surely determine a completely new asset class which is somewhere between investment vehicle and utility token.

## Looking forward, looking back

The case against Ripple is close to a year old now with progress and information from both sides seemingly stagnant. However, there is optimism that there may be resolution sometime in the new year. In terms of market development cryptocurrency and blockchain are still relatively new in the product lifecycle and as the world adjusts to a post COVID reality the continued emergence of a complete digital immersion is more than inevitable. If 2021 was the year people woke up to the use case of crypto then perhaps 2022 is the year when the adoption is cleared for take off. Only time will tell.

Which Crypto: 2021-2022 Roundup

The cryptocurrency market looked shaky again today as crypto traders saw another 24 hours of drawback.

The cryptocurrency market experienced another drawback today as confidence among traders and investors seemed like a distant memory.

At time of press, the value of the entire cryptocurrency market is $2.6 trillion with a drawn down of 1.62% in the last 24 hours. The market has made a slight recovery through the day after bottoming out at $2.09 trillion at 19:40 UTC last night (December 13th). [Bitcoin](/coins/btc) dominance is at 41.4% which is a slight rise since Thursday localised low of 39.8%. The price of Bitcoin is currently $47,230 representing a loss of 1.61% over the last 24 hours and a loss of 8.30% and 26.6% for the last week and month respectively.

While a drawback of 1.61% is of no real concern to traders the fact that Bitcoin has recently lost support at $48k and $47k with a localised dip down to $45.7k is more worrying. Who is selling and why?

**Different strokes for different folks**
-----------------------------------------

With conflicting narratives across the world, it is difficult to determine just what is happening in the market. On one hand we have seen recent large scale investment from the likes of Michael Saylor of Microstrategy whilst on the other hand there is news coming out of Russia that the Central Bank of Russia is banning mutual funds in the country from making investments into Bitcoin.

Meanwhile, the German Savings Banks Association have announced details regarding a pilot project aimed at providing and exchange and private wallets to their 50 million customers allowing each and everyone to purchase cryptocurrencies directly.

Clearly each country has its own approach.

There is cause for optimism on the immediate horizon however as recent data from crypto exchange Bitfinex show there is increasingly strong buying support for Bitcoin from $44,500 to $46,000.

**FOMC report imminent**
------------------------

Many investors believe this is in response to anticipated findings resulting from the FOMC meeting scheduled for Wednesday 15th December. The FOMC or Federal Open Market Committee is a group of 12 members which decide on monetary policy for the US Federal Reserve and the results of tomorrows key meeting are eagerly awaited by the cryptocurrency community. If, like many people are expecting, the FOMC meeting announces continuing rates of inflation then many investors will continue to see Bitcoin as a solid hedge. The previous FOMC meeting at the beginning of November announced the largest rise in inflation in 40 years leading to a surge in the price of Bitcoin from $60,500 to $68,700. The data from Bitfinex appear to confirm confident traders looking to buy at the bottom of this pull back before making the most from a 10% surge in price.

**Buy the dip?**
----------------

As Omnicron continues to develop across all corners many financial markets look like they are on shaky ground and Bitcoin is no exception. Cryptocurrencies are seen by many as a speculative investment and although the market is more mature than it was 5 years ago there is still a large portion of investors who do not share the confidence of others.

For many, investing in crypto has always been a long term project with objectives set 5 and 10 years into the future. Once the underlying technology and the context in which it can help society is understood many more people will be drawn to making their first cryptocurrency investment. Until then the wise investor will be making the most of this short term dip.



Bitcoin Price Falls Further While Buyers Remain Patient

The price of Bitcoin was struggling for momentum today as the price hovered just below $49,000 on major indices across the market representing a fall of just 0.31%

The price of [Bitcoin](/coins) has remained range bound between $48-$51,000 since last weekends price fall from $58,000 down to $46,000. It seems as if this weak price action is keeping buyers at bay who are likely waiting for the surge in price. That being said, Bitcoin still represents just over 40% of the total cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin also has an individual market capitalisation of $1.03 trillion – the largest cryptocurrency in the market.

## More buys from Michael Saylor

This malaise seems to be affecting the broader crypto market with no clear break out gainers or losers across the last 24 hours. As we mentioned previously, without regulation the market is wide open to manipulation. This puts many investors and traders off making an entry and building a position – except Michael Saylor that is. The founder and CEO of [Microstrategy](https://www.microstrategy.com/en), the US based business software and business intelligence organisation, announced the purchase of an extra 1,434 Bitcoin on Twitter yesterday at an average price of $54,477 bringing the companies total holdings to 122,478 Bitcoin. Clearly Mr Saylor has more confidence in the future price of Bitcoin that the rest of the market. Microstrategy’s Bitcoin stack is now worth a coll $3.66 billion with an average buy in price of $29,861 meaning Saylor is still clearly in profit.

## Inflation hedge


Saylor, along with many others, see Bitcoin as the perfect hedge for inflation and a stagnating gold price. In fact, Michael Saylor believes that Bitcoin has the potential to replace gold as the number one store of value. In a recent tweet, Saylor made the bold claim that the cryptocurrency revolution will be lead through inflation, technology and adoption with Bitcoin leading the way.

The caution from investors may be due to the US Consumer Price Index report, due to be released this Friday at 13:30 hours UTC. This report is set to show that the cost of living in the world’s largest economy has risen by 6.8% in November with 7% just around the corner. If this predicted data proves to be correct then an injection of volatility into the crypto market is to be expected. With inflation reaching a 30 year high many believe this is helping to create the perfect storm for the rapid advancement and adoption of digital currencies to help relieve the pressure.

## XRP shows strength amid uncertainty

Cross border remittance coin XRP saw strong growth this week leaving many to speculate that somebody somewhere has inside knowledge that the case with the SEC could be coming to a close and the adoption of Ripple Net could be close at hand. Fans of XRP and Ripple have experienced a long and arduous three years after many false dawns and broken promises. It seems as if the court case was the final nail in the coffin for the much maligned XRP. However, with the current economic climate continuing to experience choppy water the time is perfect for a multinational organisation such as the World Economic Fund or the International Monetary Fund to approve the use of a new approach to international finance. Could this involve XRP and Ripple? Only time will tell.

BTC price Struggles to Make Headway

It was all eyes on the price of [Ethereum](/coins/eth) at the end of the week as many industry experts predicted a sharp breakout is on the immediate horizon.

Twitter and the internet were yesterday alight with rumours that Ethereum was about to break out to the upside in a strong move reminiscent of late 2017.

The price of Ethereum against Bitcoin at the time of writing sat at 0.08btc with many technical experts expecting a surge to at least 0.2btc which, given the present price of Bitcoin hovering around the $56,500 mark, would bring Ethereum into the $11,000 territory.

With the long-awaited launch of Ethereum 2.0 due to be finally revealed sometime during Q1 of 2022, an increase in Ethereum’s price would seem like a sure-fire bet.

## The Future of Finance

However, in typical Murphy’s Law fashion, as Ethereum came within 2% of its all-time high of $4,845, the United States Lower House announced details of a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 8th to discuss Digital Assets and the Future of Finance, leading to uncertainty and a cooling of the optimistic price action.

That being said, if the current price trajectory through 2021 continues, 2022 looks like it could be a very promising year for Ethereum.

In late 2017 the price of Ethereum against Bitcoin hit an all-time high of 0.15btc before cooling considerably through 2018 and 2019. In May this year, as the crypto market pumped in unison, we saw Ethereum reach 0.085btc leading to a price of $4,300. Since then, the price of Ethereum/Bitcoin has been consolidating just below 0.08btc although a significant break out above the trend line this week has created many new calls for optimism.

## More turkey or time for something new?

While a 550% increase in the price of Ethereum through 2021 may sound like a cause for celebration, when compared against the 14,800% gains made by rival smart contract platform Solana it is clear Ethereum has a lot of catching up to do.

The major hindrance for Ethereum so far has been the low speeds and high transaction fees to conduct business across the network.

While it is still the number one place to go to for smart contract and decentralised applications (dApps) development, the high costs and slow speeds have made many of Ethereum’s competitors a much more attractive proposition. However, the general feeling is that the launch of Ethereum 2.0 will solve these issues and then significant building on the platform can begin in earnest.

Ethereum is thought of as the ‘home’ of DeFi with many of the industry’s latest finance protocols using Ethereum as their basis for their application. The same goes for the world of NFTs with many projects using the ERC-20 token to mint and launch their latest creations.

Both factors show the use of the Ethereum network is already strong and grew at an exponential rate throughout 2022.

The real question around the dinner table this Christmas is what impact will lower fees and faster speeds have on an already massively popular and trusted network? And what impact will this have on the Ethereum price.

Will it be turkey curry for days or can we afford something a little more extravagant in 2022? Only time will tell.


Ethereum Latest News: Showing Strength

David Marcus will leave [Meta](https://about.facebook.com/meta/) (formerly Facebook) at the end of the year, with the company’s stablecoin project – Diem, formerly Libra, still not fully launched.

He confirmed he was stepping down as Meta’s crypto lead on Twitter.

The former president of PayPal joined Facebook as the vice president of the company’s Messenger division and took over the firm’s blockchain work in 2018.

Libra has faced regulatory scrutiny since its announcement in 2019, with Marcus becoming the face of the project in front of the US authorities.

## New Head for Novi

The project appeared to undergo cutbacks, with key staff leaving, before it was rebranded Diem. Recently, the Meta-owned cryptocurrency wallet subsidiary Novi launched a pilot that used the Paxos-administered USDP stablecoin instead of Diem.

Stephane Kasriel, also ex-PayPal, will be the new head of Novi

Confirming his departure on Twitter, Marcus said: ‘Personal news: after a fulfilling seven years at Meta, I’ve made the difficult decision to step down and leave the company at the end of this year.

‘While there’s still so much to do right on the heels of launching Novi — and I remain as passionate as ever about the need for change in our payments and financial systems — my entrepreneurial DNA has been nudging me for too many mornings in a row to continue ignoring it.

‘The one thing I’m the proudest of during my time here is the amazing kickass team we’ve assembled over the last three years. This is the most resilient, passionate, determined and talented group of humans I’ve ever worked with.

## Greatness Ahead 

‘I find comfort and confidence in knowing that they will continue to execute our important mission well under @skasriel’s leadership, and I can’t wait to witness this from the outside. I know there’s greatness ahead.

‘I’ll keep a special place in my heart for some of the most fun and stimulating years of my life building Messenger with so many talented people. In turn, the Novi years were the most mission-driven and intellectually stimulating ones.

‘I’m incredibly grateful to Mark for the opportunity and privilege to share a bit of the journey over the years. I’ll keep lifelong memories and friendships from my time at the company, and I wish it well in the years to come.

‘I now look forward to having more free time in the months to come before I start building something new and exciting again. Onward!’

Facebook Stablecoin Project Manager Quits

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) stalled at a key level today as the recovery from the Thanksgiving sell off continued.

At the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin stood at $56,613 with a slight drop of 0.67% in the last 24 hours. The price of Bitcoin saw a significant drop over the weekend falling from a high of $59,400 on Thursday, November 25th, to $53,757 by Sunday, November 28th, demonstrating that the price of Bitcoin is far from stable.

With the end of November just hours away the general synopsis of the Plan B stock to flow model appears to be in serious doubt. In recent months the well-known scarcity and demand curve has shown to be eerily accurate by correctly predicting both August and September monthly close and just 3% out in October.

However, the model shows November with a predicted closing price of $98,000 which would require a massive daily close in the next 24 hours. Watch this space.

Regardless of the weak price action of Bitcoin in the last few days, professional traders remain bullish on the long-term price. Yesterday, infamous investment group MicroStrategy announced they had recently purchased 7,002 Bitcoins at an average price of $59,187 clearly demonstrating their confidence in the long-term price stability of Bitcoin. The $414 million purchase was achieved through the sale of company shares through October and November.

**Average Transaction Fee Continues to Fall**

Away from price action and technical analysis, the Bitcoin network continues to grow and appears to be in great shape. Recent reports and data show that for every $95,000 processed by the network the average fee comes to just $1. The calculation was achieved by dividing the mean transaction volume by the fees over a selected period of time (in this case seven days) and was provided by on-chain analyst Dylan LeClair using data provided by Glasnode.

Bitcoin fees have continued to fall since the successful adoption of the layer 2 payment protocol ‘Lightning Network’ in 2020 whose sole aim is to increase speed and reduce cost. Indeed, the decision by the government of El Salvador to make Bitcoin legal tender was based on the integration of a Lightning Network protocol into its official wallet.

Bitcoin Price Stalls but Recovery Continues

Bitcoin holders woke up with a severe case of digital cold turkey less than 24 hours after Thanksgiving. The price of the number one digital asset slipped by 2.85% to $55,493 at time of writing.

While this pull-back is nothing compared to recent drawdowns it has left many Bitcoin holders frustrated with the lack of positive price action in recent weeks. Many altcoins have witnessed astronomical gains while Bitcoin has stuck range bound between $56k and $58k for what seems like an eternity.

Yesterday’s push to $59,500 led many to believe that it was Bitcoin’s time to take centre stage once again with $58,000 looking like it offered solid support. However, as in previous years immediately following Thanksgiving, Bitcoin holders woke up this morning to the grim reality of yet more negative price action.

## Inflation concerns

All this being said, the broader stage continues to be set for Bitcoin to bloom. As more and more international governments begin to realise the value of digital currencies and the benefits they bring, legislation for the integration of cryptocurrency into everyday society is beginning to take shape.

Furthermore, with rising inflation across the globe the need for a stable hedge has never been greater. With gold prices stagnating in recent years the lure of a digital alternative makes Bitcoin a very attractive proposition indeed.

## Bitcoin eclipses [Paypal](https://www.paypal.com/us/home) with sights set on Visa

In yet another cause for crypto celebration the value transferred over the Bitcoin network has exceeded that of Paypal by more than 60%. Recent figures from Blockdata show that the Bitcoin network processed over $489 billion per quarter in 2021 compared with Paypal’s $302 billion. And now many crypto speculators are starting to believe that the next milestones to fall will be those of Mastercard and Visa.

To date, Bitcoin is processing just under 27% of Mastercard’s $1.8 trillion and around 15% of Visa’s mighty £3.2 trillion each quarter. If Bitcoin were to continue along its current trajectory of growth it could outpace the total capital transferred by Mastercard as early as 2026.

## Clinton calls for clarity

Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stepped into the crypto debate this week with calls for stronger regulation in order to prevent market manipulation by Russia, China and ‘others’.

As part of a larger debate on social media manipulation Clinton warned of ‘technology of all kinds’ which has the potential to destabilise countries and the world reserve currency status of the dollar.

Clinton said: ‘There is one thing on the horizon which people are beginning to pay attention to and that is the need to regulate the cryptocurrency market. Imagine the combination of social media amassing even larger sums of money through the control of certain cryptocurrency chains.’

Her comments come as many countries begin to understand the notion of using digital currencies to circumnavigate financial sanctions put in place by the leading nations and [SWIFT](https://www.swift.com/) (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) - the world’s current leading system of transferring capital worldwide.

Bitcoin Holders Frustration as Price Down

M,Cryptocurrency exchange platform [Gemini](https://www.gemini.com/) has raised $400 million in outside funding with the intention of developing increased access to ‘the metaverse’ for its of users.

The announcement highlights Gemini’s continued commitment to providing access to a variety of metaverses directly via its platform. The significant capital outlay has been raised from a variety of sources, including Morgan Creek Digital, Parafi Capital, 10T, Newflow Partners and Marcy Ventures.

Additionally, in a first of its kind, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia has also made a significant investment.

## Who are Gemini?

Gemini was formed in June 2013 by American twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and quickly became the first licensed Ethereum exchange in the USA.

The Winklevoss twins are perhaps best known for bringing a lawsuit against Facebook ‘founder’ Mark Zuckerberg for stealing intellectual property related to the social media concept. The case was settled by Zuckerberg in an out of court settlement for $65 million in 2011.

### Gemini $7.1 Billion Valuation

The $400 million ‘growth equity funding’ investment brings the value of the Gemini group to roughly $7.1 billion and is the first time the platform has sought outside investment.

The Winklevoss twins are set to retain 75% ownership of the company with Morgan Creek Digital partner Sachin Jailty joining the board of directors as part of the $75 million investment from the firm.

## Crypto Market Sentiment

The cryptocurrency market reflected the increased confidence in metaverse development this week with massive price gains for Sandbox, Decentraland and Enjin among others. Indeed, Gemini released details earlier this week of a significant purchase of Sandbox which may have led to the 60% price rally witnessed in the last seven days.

## Decentralisation is a Spectrum

Cameron Winklevoss was keen to emphasise Gemini’s decentralised approach to the metaverse in stark contrast to centralised ownership from firms ‘like Facebook or Fortnite’.

Winklevoss went on to say: ‘There is another path, which is the decentralised metaverse and that is the metaverse where we believe there’s greater choice, independence and opportunity, and there is technology that protects the rights and dignity of the individuals. Decentralisation is a spectrum. We want to continue to move down the spectrum towards empowerment.’ 

  More [Metaverse news](/news/category/metaverse-news).


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