- 14:01, 27 Dec 2021
- Updated: 14:01, 27 Dec 2021
THE value of Bitcoin has surged, as experts are predicting that successful new crypto coins will be released next year.
While the meme coin Shiba Inu has baffled experts this year with its growth, experts predict other cryptocurrencies will perform better in 2022.
Avalanche, Stellar and Qtum are all expected to do well, according to Nasdaq.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin, Shuba Inu, and Ethereum are up at the end of Christmas week, after booming this past year.
According to Coinbase, Shiba Inu is up over 22 percent, Ethereum is up almost three percent, and Bitcoin is up over seven percent.
Read our cryptocurrency live blog for the latest news and updates…
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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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US cities embrace cryptocurrency, part two
The mayor of Miami is also working to expand cryptocurrency options in the Florida city.
Mayor Francis Suarez said he would take his paychecks in Bitcoin and wants residents to be able to pay fees and taxes in the cryptocurrency.
Miami launched a token earlier this year called MiamiCoin, which generated $30million in revenue over three months, Suarez told Bloomberg News.
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US cities embrace cryptocurrency
A Tennessee city hopes to become the first in the nation to offer its employees cryptocurrency as a payroll conversion option.
The Jackson Sun reports that a request for proposal (RFP) has been opened, allowing third party platforms to apply to be the city’s cryptocurrency converter.
“We offer our employees a deferred compensation opportunity for their retirement already. Why not add more options?” the mayor told the news outlet.
He said the move will diversify ways city employees can receive payment and allow the city to pay contractors in Bitcoin.
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Play-to-earn gaming, part two
The new play-to-earn gaming model that rewards gamers with cryptocurrency for playing isn’t technically free.
Gamers could have to spend $1,000 or more in order to start earning in the Axie Infinity universe, according to Forbes.
The popular platform for play-to-earn gaming requires beginners to have three “Axies,” which are available for purchase on the game’s Marketplace Dashboard.
Participants can then earn cryptocurrency for selling potions, breeding rare Axies, and playing various games.
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What is play-to-earn gaming?
A unique model called play-to-earn gaming is driving non-fungible token (NFT) and cryptocurrency growth, Forbes reported.
Axie Infinity is the most popular platform for play-to-earn gaming at the moment.
It allows users to build a collection of “Axies” that players can use across its universe of games.
The company then uses Blockchain to reward players for gaming, according to Forbes.
Any digital assets earned by participants can be sold on the platform or traded outside Axie Infinity’s universe.
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Robinhood prepares to launch cryptocurrency wallet
Robinhood announced a new partnership with a blockchain data analytics platform ahead of its planned cryptocurrency wallet launch.
Robinhood will use Chainalysis’ data, analytics, and software to meet compliance requirements and provide secure crypto transactions, Motley Fool reported.
The partnership comes ahead of the planned 2022 launch of Robinhood’s crypto wallet.
More than 1.6million people are on a waitlist for the new feature, according to Motley Fool.
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Risks of Robinhood, part three
In July, the platform was also ordered to pay nearly $70million in fines and compensation for misleading customers and outages.
If you are seeking a discount broker and are looking to open an IRA account, you can check out the following platforms: Vanguard, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, Merrill Edge, among others.
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Risks of Robinhood, part two
For investing individual stocks, make sure you check company reports, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, broker notes, and press releases so you can make the best decisions for your money.
Another risk when choosing Robinhood along with other brokers is that they can restrict trading when there’s unusual activity.
In fact, Robinhood faced some outrage earlier this year when it restricted trading on meme stocks including GameStop and AMC.
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Risks of Robinhood
When it comes to risks, investing alone is one because you’re not guaranteed to generate a profit and the value of your assets could fall.
If you choose Robinhood to trade stocks and cryptocurrencies – then the game gets even riskier.
Cryptocurrencies are not only difficult to understand but even tougher to predict when bearish trends in the market will take place.
For example, cryptocurrency was thriving this year up until Elon Musk said that Tesla was halting the acceptance of payments in Bitcoin.
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Can you trade crypto on Robinhood?
Unlike most of its discount rivals, Robinhood offers 24/7 crypto trading through its platform.
That means you’ll have access to trade major cryptocurrencies including, Dogecoin, Ethereum, and Bitcoin.
Its crypto investors can buy or sell with a market order, which means it’s executed at the current market price.
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What is Robinhood? Continued
Unlike many discounted brokers, the company does not offer individual retirement accounts.
The bulk of Robinhood’s revenue comes from order flow.
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What is Robinhood?
The Robinhood platform operates as a discounted brokerage that offers commission-free trading.
Specifically, users can trade exchange-traded funds (ETFs), individual stocks (including American depositary shares), and options.
You can also trade Robinhood’s stock thanks to the company recently going public at a $1.2billion valuation.
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Russia considers crypto ban, part two
The proposed ban on cryptocurrency investments comes as Russia was said to be working on its own ruble-backed digital currency.
Roughly $5billion in crypto transactions take place in the country annually, and nearly 12 percent of the population may already own crypto, according to Fortune.
That was compared with a little more than 8 percent of the US population that owns crypto.
Russia also reportedly invested in crypto in 2019 to limit the impact of sanctions over meddling in the 2016 US Election, Fortune reported.
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Russia considers crypto investing ban
Russia’s central bank is reportedly looking to ban cryptocurrency investments amid its longtime skepticism of digital currency.
The ban by the country’s financial authority would prevent future transactions, Fortune reported, but it wouldn’t require current holders to divest their portfolio.
The central bank gave digital currencies legal status in 2020 but did not authorize their use as a means of payment, according to Fortune.
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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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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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Melania Trump launches NFT platform
Former First Lady Melania Trump got in on the NFT craze in December.
She launched a platform for fans to purchase NFTs, including a drawing of her eyes, with a portion of proceeds said to be going to children in foster care.
Mrs Trump plans on releasing NFTs in intervals on her website titled “Melania’s Vision” with the project backed by the free-speech social network Parler.
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Gifting NFTs and digital assets, part two
Some young investors are looking forward to gifting friends their first digital asset this year.
A San Francisco-based 26-year-old told CNBC that she plans to gift close friends and family digital assets like Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domains and NFTs.
A domain for the Ethereum blockchain represents an investor’s cryptocurrency address, appearing like “YourName.eth”.
It’s personalized rather than the random string of letters and numbers that typically signifies a user’s wallet.
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Gifting NFTs and other digital assets
Young investors told CNBC that they plan to gift cryptocurrency, NFTs and other digital assets this holiday season.
A 23-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, said she will get her sister and parents an NFT of a digital land lot to share in the metaverse.
She also plans to buy collectible NFTs from projects that aim to empower women, like World of Women and Crypto Coven.
The digital gifts could cost thousands of dollars depending on factors like metaverse game, demand, and size, CNBC reported.
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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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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.”