Category Archives: Cryptocurrency

Overview:

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that utilizes cryptography techniques to make the transactions secure and to limit the creation of additional units of currency. Cryptocurrency is decentralized and there is no third-party/central body/governing body involved in producing new currency, verifying transactions, and protecting the currency supply. The blockchain acts as a ledger that shows the transaction activities between the peers. Cryptocurrency opts as a future revenue stream in the digital finance world. Furthermore, cryptocurrency is not bound by any rules or regulations of any specific government or exchange rates, interest rates, and country to country transaction fee, which makes international transactions faster. The prime drivers of the cryptocurrency market include proper security, authentication and ease of transactions. The Cryptocurrency and Blockchain technology allows the users to send exactly what they want without involvement of third party.Globally, more than 70% of the mobile phone users prefer transactions over their phones, which is one of the major drivers for the cryptocurrency market growth.

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Market Analysis:

The Worldwide Crypto-currency and Blockchain Technology Market is estimated to witness a CAGR of 35.2% during the forecast period 20162022. The crypto-currency market is analyzed based on two segments verticals and regions. The increasing online transaction, less transaction fees, easy and faster transaction, changing consumer and business landscape have led the demand for the market growth.

Regional Analysis:

The regions covered in the report are Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa; along with the analysis of major countries in each region. The Americas is set to be the leading region for the cryptocurrency market growth followed by Europe. The Asia Pacific and MEA are set to be the emerging regions. India is set to be the most attractive destination and in Africa, the popularity and the usage of various cryptocurrencies are expected to increase in the coming years. The MEA market revenue is expected to reach $3.02 billion by 2022. The major countries covered in this report are the US, Canada, Argentina, the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Poland, China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, GCC Countries, Africa and Others.

Vertical Analysis:

Day-to-day, the consumers demands are changing and they are looking for the best and less time-consuming services to make their life easier. With these changes, the industry players have started moving towards the online business services and are adopting mobile based technology in their business units to reach their customer demands. In the current market scenario, the rise of online transactions has led the demand for the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology market. The major verticals covered are BFSI, retail, media & entertainment, gaming industry, healthcare, travel & tourism, transportation & logistics and education. Globally, the industry players are showing interest towards the blockchain and crypto-currency acceptance and making a partnership and discussing with value chain players in order to understand the benefits of blockchain technology. Additionally, few of the verticals have already started the acceptance of crypto-currencies (e.g. Bitcoin) as a payment option. Especially, the retail industry is set to be the leading vertical after BFSI for the crypto-currencies acceptance and the retail market revenue is expected to reach $10,447.2 million by 2022.

Key Players:

Zebpay, Coinsecure, Coinbase, Bitstamp Ltd., Litecoin, Poloniex Inc., Bitfury Group Limited, Unocoin, Ripple, Bitfinex, Global Area Holding Inc., BTL Group Ltd., Digital Limited, IBM Corp., Microsoft Corp. and other predominate and niche players.

Competitive Analysis:

In the current market scenario, the crypto-currency and blockchain technology market is at a nascent stage. But, a lot of new players are entering the market as it holds huge business opportunities. Especially, new start-ups are coming with new products/services in the market and they are expecting to see a double-digit growth in the upcoming years. In this space, venture funding in this market is expected to grow and collaborations, merger & acquisition activities are expected to continue.

Benefits:

The report provides complete details about the usage and adoption rate of crypto-currency and blockchain technology in various industry verticals and regions. With that, key stakeholders can know about the major trends, drivers, investments, vertical players initiatives, government initiatives towards the crypto-currency market adoption in the upcoming years. In other end, the report provides details about the major challenges that are going to impact on the market growth. Furthermore, the report gives the complete details about the key business opportunities to key stakeholders to expand their business and capture the revenue in the specific verticals. In addition, each vertical provides the key reason for the crypto-currency adoption, key opportunities, and government bodies information. This will help the key stakeholders to analyze before investing or expanding the business in this market.

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Read more here:
Cryptocurrency And Blockchain Technology Market size Reap Excessive Revenues size COVID-19 2022 - Cole of Duty

Shopify's (NYSE:SHOP) platform allows its merchants to accept payments in bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, andover 300 other types of cryptocurrencies. It recently expanded that reach by partnering withcryptocurrency payments processor CoinPayments, which helps merchants process 1,800 types of cryptocurrencies.

Shopify claims the partnership will "make cryptocurrency transactions easier and more accessible while reducing transaction fees." CoinPayments CEO Jason Butcher declared the partnership would deliver a "seamless process for anyone looking to do business using cryptocurrencies."

CoinPayments has processed over $5 billion in cryptocurrency payments since its founding in 2013 and provides clients with various APIs, shopping cart plugins, and digital wallets. Shopify's cryptocurrency expansion isn't surprising, but will this new partnership widen its moat?

Image source: Getty Images.

Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have gained a lot of attention among speculators in recent years. However, the broad price swings -- which have ranged from about $500 to $19,000 for bitcoin over the past four years -- made them tough to accept as mainstream payments.

Last year, a survey by the Foundation for Interwallet Operability (FIO) found that only 30% of cryptocurrency owners actually used the coins forpayments. The vast majority held the coins as investments. A more recent survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit and digital payments platform Crypto.com found just 34% ofcryptocurrency usersprimarily used digital currencies for online payments.

Crypto Radar recently claimed 6.2% ofAmericans owned bitcoin, and 7.3% planned to buy some in the future. Yet the overwhelming majority (64.8%) didn't own any bitcoin and had no plans to buy any coins in the future. Another 21.8% hadn't even heard of bitcoin.

Those percentages indicate cryptocurrency payments don't appeal to mainstream shoppersyet. Nonetheless, manymajor companies -- including Microsoft, AT&T, and Expedia -- already accept bitcoin payments, though it's unclear how many customers actually choose those options.

Shopify alsorecently joined the Facebook (NASDAQ:FB)-led Libra Association, which wants to serve underbanked markets with its Libra cryptocurrency. That decision was surprising, since Libra had already lost many of its top members after regulators opposed its development.

Image source: Getty Images.

However, Libra is being developed as a "stablecoin" which is pinned to fiat currencies instead of mining algorithms. That stability could make Libra a more viable payment option than bitcoin and other volatile cryptocurrencies, and tethering them to Facebook's Calibra digital wallet, Messenger, and WhatsApp could quickly expand its reach.

CoinPayments also processes payments in other top stablecoins like TrueUSD, USD Coin, and Gemini Dollar (GUSD). These currencies could be more appealing to merchants and shoppers, who can sleep easier knowing the value of their payments won't plummet or skyrocket overnight.

Shopify's partnerships with the Libra Association and CoinPayments could pivot its merchants from bitcoin toward less volatile cryptocurrencies. That process might be glacial and won't move the needle anytime soon, but it could enhance its broader platform -- which already serves over a million businesses in more than 175 countries.

Shopify's cryptocurrency partnerships should also widen its moatagainst Adobe's (NASDAQ:ADBE) Magento, which recently partnered with cryptocurrency payments platform Utrust to provide its crypto transactions to over 250,000 merchants. Magento is arguably Shopify's toughest competitor since it's tightly integrated into Adobe's other cloud-based analytics, marketing, and advertising tools.

The cryptocurrency market remains a niche one, butit could still grow from $1.03 billion to $1.4 billion between 2019 and 2024, according to Markets and Markets. Shopify probably doesn't expect cryptocurrency payments to overtake traditional payment methods anytime soon, but it also doesn't want to be left behind a crucial tech curve. If top cryptocurrencies like bitcoin stabilize and stablecoins gain ground, Shopify's recent partnerships could widen its moat against Adobe and other rivals while planting the seeds for future growth.

Originally posted here:
Will Shopifys New Cryptocurrency Partnership Widen Its Moat? - Motley Fool

No doubt, the Blockchain technology, along with the adoption of cryptocurrencies, is getting bigger. The business end of the market is expected to reach $21 billion over the next five years.

Expectedly, professional services giants are now taking a larger role in tackling new challenges in the market, the Big Four firms and other leading brands are working with several crypto and blockchain firms on ways to combat interoperability, regulatory challenges and development of the technology.

Henri Arslanian, PwCs global crypto leader, told Cointelegraph that the Big Four firms majorly have a vital role in the advancement of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, saying:

Although Bitcoin was designed with a trustless ideology, the reality is that the industry still requires trusted entities to catalyze the development of the ecosystem.

READ ALSO: Positive outlook as Africa FinTech attracts over $100 million in investments

Arslanian added that when he first joined PwC years back, few people took crypto seriously. However, he saw an increasing demand for crypto assets, with some businesses starting to accept Bitcoin payments from clients.

Over the last couple of months, weve expanded our work. We recently closed the first-ever crypto fundraising deal at PwC, in which we led a $14 million Series A round for a Swiss-based crypto firm with Asian family offices. We are also the auditor for BC Group, a publicly listed crypto company in Hong Kong.

BC Group CEO, Hugh Madden, also said that BCs vision was to make use of crypto assets in Asias financial market. In turn, BC Group must set standards for compliance, security, and performance. Madden buttressed on the role of audits play by saying:

Auditing, like regulatory clarity, provides confidence to all stakeholders that companies are operating transparently and adhering to expected industry standards. As the business of digital assets continues to grow and mature, and compliance and regulatory standards become more robust, auditors will continue to play a pivotal role.

READ MORE: Blockchain technology expected to tackle Africas challenges across industries

KPMG United States blockchain audit leader, Erich Braun, further contributed by saying that a businesss blockchain system should be developed with the intent to meet both accounting and operational needs to meet with accounting standards:

SEC issuers will want to design blockchain technologies to support the entitys internal control over financial reporting. Being able to prove how these technologies achieve their aims in a well-controlled environment is critical to a successful blockchain strategy. If the technology is not auditable, the immense benefits it brings, such as increasing efficiencies and cutting costs, may not be realized.

Henri Arslanian, added in his closing remarks that the Big Four firms are indeed the most important players for the crypto asset space. He said:

I believe the Big Four firms will serve as the bridge between the crypto ecosystem and the institutional world. It is good for both the crypto ecosystem and for professional services firms like ours as a new source of clients that we can help.

More here:
Meet Theta Fuel, the cryptocurrency that catches world's attention - Nairametrics

The pseudonymous inventor of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, who has yet to reveal their identity, may have indicated that they are still active in the cryptocurrency market.

Bitcoin was the first decentralized cryptocurrency a digital currency generated, or mined, when a computer solves a complex mathematical problem and was invented after Nakamoto wrote a white paper on the subject.

Each cryptocurrency can be tracked online on a publicly viewable ledger called a blockchain.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

On 20 May, a tweet from a cryptocurrency transaction tracking account suggested that 40 bitcoins ($391,055) were transferred from an account that had been dormant since 2009.

The coins in this transaction were mined in the first month of Bitcoins existence, the account said.

Speculation quickly grew that the funds could belong to one of the early bitcoin miners, such as Satoshi Nakamoto.

The account, which generated the coins on 9 February 2009 when they were worth zero US dollars, moved them on 20 May 2020.

It is reportedly the first time since August 2017 that someone has spent coins from early 2009.

However, while the age of the coins suggests that it was an account owned by Satoshi, many have raised questions about whether that is the case.

Jameson Lopp, chief technology officer of bitcoin security company Casa, said: Yall need to up your analysis game, arguing that the miner does not fit the Patoshi Pattern. The Patoshi Pattern looks at the cryptographic hash (called nonces) used in the blockchain process.

A flaw in the early bitcoin code means that some blocks have different patterns to others, and so can be identified as belonging to the pattern or not. Coindesks Zack Voell also suggested that this was not Satoshi, based on the Patoshi Pattern, as did the CEO of Blockstream.com Adam Back.

The reason that detecting Satoshis movements is so attractive to the cryptocurrency community is not simply to discover the identity of bitcoins founder; 99.9 per cent of all Patoshi Pattern blocks are unspent, meaning that 1.1 million bitcoins (approximately $7bn) is out there somewhere.

What is Bitcoin Everything you need to know

Satoshis identity is controversially claimed by Australian tech entrepreneur Craig Wright, who in 2016 said that he would release information verifying that he is the founder of bitcoin. As of writing, such evidence has not been reliably produced, but he has said in the past that he would sue doubters of his claim for defamation. Mr Wright has also been accused of using bogus contracts and false signatures to steal $5bn worth of bitcoin from his late business partner Dave Kleiman.

With regards to this most recent transfer, Mr Wright has reportedly denied that he moved the cryptocurrency. It is reported that Mr Wright made a statement saying: These coins are not my personal coins and I did not move them and as I have mentioned before I have no intent of dumping BTC or otherwise touching trust assets.

That statement, however, has since been removed with Mr Wright also laying claims to the wallet by providing a list of bitcoin addresses to a court as part of an ongoing legal issue against the estate of Dave Kleiman. Included on the list provided was the address used in the transfer, but that does not confirm ownership. Alongside the evidence that the transfer does not fit the Patoshi Pattern, the Kleiman estate has argued that the list provided was fake. We have reached out to Mr Wright for clarification.

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Bitcoin founder may have just moved nearly $400,000 in untouched cryptocurrency - The Independent

Stemming from the confined venue of speculation and economic theory, there is much to address regarding the probability of whether Bitcoin will ever reach $100,000.

To bring light upon the query in motion, well analyze long-standing economic theories versus economists doubts while taking under due consideration deeply-rooted market variables, projections, and global acceptance that are all bound to distill a change in the value of Bitcoin in one way or another.

The Most Diverse Audience to Date at FMLS 2020 Where Finance Meets Innovation

With these truths in mind, lets begin.

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have long poised the likelihood of Bitcoin reaching $100,000.

Evidence of this can be noted from high-profile individuals such as Anthony Pompliano, Co-Founder and Partner of Morgan Creek Digital.

I still think Bitcoin will hit $100,000 by end of December 2021. Fixed supply. Increasing demand. Time will tell.

Charles Hoskinson, Ethereum Co-Founder, had tweeted in late 2019:

Then, of course, we have the more recent actionable insights rendered through The Great Monetary Inflation proclaimed by macro investor Paul Tudor Jones, who acquired Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation earlier this month.

Despite acquisitions and proclamations attesting to Bitcoins impending worth, one should also assess whether these claims are rather a publicity stunt to increase Bitcoin participation or rather a deep-rooted belief originating from a coupling between past experiences and a desperate desire of riches to prolong extravagant lifestyles.

Regardless, these speculations should be taken with a grain of salt and weighed accordingly.

While crypto enthusiasts rely upon speculation in the crypto news, investors and Bitcoin participants tend to primarily formulate their assumptions upon tangible evidence that is derived from projection models and macroeconomic theories.

Projection models such as the Bitcoin S2F Model and M2 capitalization theory project astronomical valuations for Bitcoin but as time has shown us one of these models has already been debunked.

Over the past few years, and more prominent now as a method used to combat the financial ramifications of the Coronavirus pandemic, quantitative easing has been performed by countries central banks.

Take for instance the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has been printing U.S. dollars at an exponential rate since 1970.

Perhaps the most noticeable effects of the exponential printing of U.S. dollars would be inflation, where the price of goods and services has been rising in unison to meet the money supply.

Generally, a healthy economy would be characterized through depreciation in prices due to entities finding more efficient and affordable alternatives for similar goods and services but that is not the case.

To highlight the core point of this theory, should the Federal Reserve continue to print U.S. dollars at an exponential scale then, as a result, the U.S. dollar price of Bitcoin will also continue to rise at an exponential rate until it has reached a value of $100,000 per Bitcoin.

Also known as the Bitcoin S2F model, the Bitcoin Stock-to-Flow Cross Asset Model ratio created by @100trillionUSD seeks to measure the effect of scarcity on BTC price through measuring current Bitcoin circulation and production rate.

As @100trillionUSD suggested in 2019 through Modeling Bitcoin Value with Scarcity, The predicted market value for bitcoin after May 2020 halving is $1trn, which translates in a bitcoin price of $55,000. That is quite spectacular. I guess time will tell and we will probably know one or two years after the halving, in 2020 or 2021. A great out of sample test of this hypothesis and model.

While it doesnt take a mathematician to deduce how significantly short this economic model failed, up to 8 additional flaws have been reported regarding the Bitcoin scarcity valuation model.

As a result, we can no more put stock in economic theory than we can through unwarranted speculations.

The most level-headed forerunners for predicting future Bitcoin prices may be contributed to economists who have yet to be proven incorrect regarding their cynical-based projections.

Such examples include the projection laid upon us by Kenneth Rogoff, an economist and Harvard University professor, who went on to express the following during a CNBC interview:

ATFX Thanks NHS Frontline Workers with 1k Fruit Boxes DonationGo to article >>

I think bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is now if were headed out 10 years from now I would see $100 as being a lot more likely than $100,000 ten years from now.

Basically, if you take away the possibility of money laundering and tax evasion, its actual uses as a transaction vehicle are very small,

It should be noted that Rogoff isnt the only economist who feels that Bitcoin wont amount too much value in the future.

Joe Davis, a lead economist for Vanguard, a high-profile investment firm, stated, Im enthusiastic about the blockchain technology that makes bitcoin possible As for bitcoin the currency? I see a decent probability that its price goes to zero,

The bitcoin its value is based off of scarcity and an artificial scarcity thats out there, Its really tough to imagine where the long-term return comes from other than speculation. Joe Davis

If speculations regarding Bitcoins future applications are truly the driving force behind the volatility then the valuation of BTC as a whole is crippled as a result of diminished cash flow.

While speculation and debunked theories are two sides of the same coin, black swan events are an entirely different entity that has been known to characterize an era of hardship and uncertainty.

Unforeseen black swan events, such as the recent Coronavirus Stock Market Crash, have gone to illustrate that no economy is impervious to flaws while also dismantling the long-standing ideology that Bitcoin is a safe haven asset.

Given the ramifications that can materialize from the wake of black swan events, no Bitcoin valuation can be complete without the possible occurrence of these devastating events.

To expand, modern times must be taken into account.

Such as, those of us reading this have already survived one black swan event but given how countries are starting to open their borders and governing states are once again re-opening their economies, the likelihood of another black swan event occurring as the byproduct of a second outbreak of Coronavirus only increases with each easing of confinement limitations folded back.

Therefore, it would be optimistic to the point of foolishness not to weigh these truths in your mind when speculating the possibility of BTC reaching $100,000.

One variable piece of the puzzle that can significantly influence Bitcoins likelihood of $100,000 per coin would be the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin.

Should a significant surge in Bitcoin participation become present, then the generalized economic theory of supply and demand can be implemented as an increase in participation will likely be contributed to an increase in demand.

Through an increase in demand comes an appreciation of value, which given how Bitcoin supply is limited, should further strengthen the ideology that an increase in Bitcoin demand will increase the price of Bitcoin.

Lets ditch the economic theories and speculations to conduct some simple arithmetic.

The maximum sum of Bitcoins that will exist is 21 million.

Should the value of Bitcoin reach $100,000 per coin then the total potential market capitalization of Bitcoin, once all mined, would be equivalent to $21 million x $100,000 = $2,100,000,000,000 or $2.1 trillion.

According to CNBC in late 2019, the value of the global equities market surpassed $85 trillion, or $85,000,000,000,000.

It should be noted that the global value of the equities for 2019 started under $70 trillion, meaning it saw an increase of no less than $15 trillion throughout the year 2019.

To put that into perspective, should Bitcoin reach a value of $100,000 per coin (even if all were mined) that would mean that the market capitalization of Bitcoin would be more than 40xs less than what the value of the global equities market was at the end of 2019.

($85,000,000,000,000 global equities value / $2,100,000,000,000 = 40.4761904762)

Putting stock in speculations asserted by cryptocurrency advocates will get you no further than faulty economic theories that can in no way, shape, or form take under due consideration all the innumerable variables that nest their way into the ever-changing Bitcoin valuation equation.

Through M2 capitalization theory and the renowned principles of supply and demand, we are rendered rather convincing insights into the possibility that Bitcoin could reach $100,000 which is further strengthened when you compare the capped off Bitcoin market capitalization of $2.1 trillion to that of the $85 trillion for global equities in 2019.

While, at first, it may have seemed like a highly unrealistic projection of Bitcoin reaching $100,000, but when you stop to put it in perspective with the total value of global equities then it may appear, to some, as only a matter of time.

Regardless, and to conclude, it is impossible to accurately predict the value of Bitcoin in 10, 20, or even 40 years from now but if history has taught us one thing it would be that anything is possible.

Excerpt from:
Bitcoins $100K Probability Speculation or Economic Theory Backed? - Finance Magnates

What is hodling?According to Bitcoin analyst Phillip Swift, 60% of all the Bitcoin (BTC) available has not moved in the last one year essentially, this 60% of the cryptocurrency has not been traded at all. This is known as hodling a term that means holding but is spelled as such due to a typing error.

60% of all bitcoin has not moved on the blockchain for at least 1 year. This is an indication of significant hodling. The last time this happened was in early 2016, at the start of the bull run, said Swift.Advertisement

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Interest from institutional investors like Goldman Sachs turned Bitcoin investors bullishOne of the reasons behind the massive hodling in Bitcoin could be the interest from institutional investors like Goldman Sachs and hedge funds.Advertisement

Apart from GS, well known hedge fund manager and founder of Tudor Investment Corp., Paul Tudor Jones came out in support of Bitcoin. Bitcoin reminds me of gold when I first got into the business in 1976, he said in a market outlook note.

The best profit-maximizing strategy is to own the fastest horse. If I am forced to forecast, my bet is it will be Bitcoin, he further added.Advertisement

Bitcoin stalls at key $10,000 resistance level, but has significant upside if it can break through

Billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones says he's loading up on bitcoin (GBTC)

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Bitcoin hodl waves indicate 60% of the cryptocurrency is being hoarded analysts suggest a bull run could be - Business Insider India

Dont miss another episode of Truth In Data! Click on the red bell in the lower-left corner of your screen to receive notifications as soon as the episode publishes.

Data for todays episode is provided by Mercator Advisory Groups report Cryptocurrency: A New Growth Segment for Prepaid Debit Cards?

Everything to Know about the Emergence of Prepaid Cryptocurrency Debit Cards:

Cryptocurrency prepaid debit cards are the method of choice for spending cryptocurrency off the blockchain.

A major cryptocurrency prepaid debit card serving the U.S. market closed in 2018. Only a year later, in addition to BitPay, there are two new entrants. Should you be a part of the new Wild West of cryptocurrency prepaid debit cards?

Summary

Title

Everything to Know about the Emergence of Prepaid Cryptocurrency Debit Cards:

Description

A major cryptocurrency prepaid debit card serving the U.S. market closed in 2018. Only a year later, in addition to BitPay, there are two new entrants. Should you be a part of the new Wild West of cryptocurrency prepaid debit cards?

Excerpt from:
Everything to Know about the Emergence of Prepaid Cryptocurrency Debit Cards: - PaymentsJournal

In response to the global challenges in various financial markets, recent trends suggest that Africas youth is leaning towards cryptocurrency as an alternative. Despite the obvious attraction, a number of questions persist on how cryptocurrency will shape the future of finance.

A study conducted by Arcane Crypto a Norway-based crypto researcher in collaboration with Luno, a leading crypto exchange provider, maintains that Africa is ideal for rapid crypto adoption due to current high inflation rates, volatile currencies, and a dearth of banking infrastructure, as well as a young digital-driven population.

According to CoinMarketCaps Q1 2020 report on cryptocurrency adoption, Africa had the second-highest adoption of cryptocurrencies worldwide. The continent had a percentage youth growth of 91.47%, owing much to Nigerias 210.6% growth in young crypto users.

At 210.6%, Nigerian youth led the rest of the world in percentage growth of cryptocurrency adoption, far ahead of Australia (+158.07%), Spain (+120.71%), Canada (+112.45%), and Mexico (+97.33%) that make up the top five.

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These numbers might seem impressive considering that the global crypto market was not spared from the pandemic in Q1 2020 when its market cap fell by 57% to $150 billion in March 2020.

However, as shown by Arcanes research, African countries lag behind others in infrastructure that will support the use of cryptocurrency. There is no meaningful mining activity, and it still has the lowest number of merchants that accept cryptos as a means of payments.

Africa also has relatively low numbers for non-P2P trading but has a higher focus on P2P trading. This means the main drive for most African users is buying cryptos when they are cheap and selling to others for a profit.

While cryptos are neither legal nor illegal, Arcane believes the hesitance of most African governments to take a stance is linked to the low adoption levels. It would then seem that several Africans are still not sure what to make of this currency.

Cryptocurrencies are the talk of the Internet these days, but you dont see where to spend them when purchasing an item because theyre not yet legal. Our best option is to buy them, sell, and make money, says Kevin* a crypto trader in Nigeria.

According to Kevin, without this option, several Nigerian youth will not see the value of cryptos or take it seriously as a possible currency for the future.

Arcane reports that the rapid adoption of cryptocurrencies is being fueled by the volatility of traditional currencies, an unstable political and economic terrain, and a large population that is underserved by banking services.

However, the cryptocurrency market is also subject to volatility which constantly shoots the price up or crashes it within a short time. Between January and May, Bitcoin has gone as high $10,000 and as low as $3,900. A difference of $6,100.

While this might be linked to the pandemic, that has always been the case for most cryptocurrencies. From December 17, 2017, to that same date in 2018, Bitcoin fell in value from $19,870 to $3,391.

An analysis by Investopedia reveals that just like the regular stock market, market forces still affect the price of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

News reports speculating that Bitcoin is about to be regulated, experts speculating the directions the price will go in, or just plain bad news regarding the sector has greatly caused a lot of volatility.

When the values of normal currencies are about to drop, governments can intervene to limit the impact, but as an unregulated market, the fluctuations are uncontrollable and subject to the activities of big influencers of the market.

For Kevin, Bitcoins represent another means to make money, but no one is certain as to what the future holds for it.

I started trading Bitcoins in 2015, and then you would hear things like Bitcoin was just $2 in 2011, if you had bought it then, you will have $504 now. Today, at roughly $9,000, the same message is still being preached, he recounts.

Rather than let their money sit in the bank where it will accumulate charges, Kevin insists most youth would prefer to brave the uncertain waters of Bitcoin like they do in the forex market or with US stocks.

No one holds a patent for cryptocurrencies, so anyone can create them. While the market is uncertain for unregulated digital currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, recent trends are showing that world governments and the corporate world are not entirely averse to cryptocurrencies.

In a rumour that was later denied, with the country stating it remains open to experiments, Tunisia was said to have issued a central bank digital currency (CBDC), Senegal has piloted an eCFA, while Ghana and Rwanda are exploring the development of their own CBDCs.

Companies like Facebook, IBM, and JPMorgan Chase are developing their own internal cryptocurrencies.

While Arcane believes that this might influence the adoption of cryptos, the creation of digital currencies by governments or corporations might change how it is used and monitored.

Cryptos developed by juggernauts like JPMorgan Chase will only be used internally within the company and will be tightly controlled and closely monitored.

Kevin believes that once governments start creating their own cryptos, they will be eerily similar to fiat money since they will be regulated and protected against the fluctuations normally seen in the unregulated and decentralised crypto market.

* not real name.

Nigerian startups raised $55.4m in Q1 2020;over 99% of which came from foreign sources. Find out more when you download the full report.

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Africa's young population and the drive for cryptocurrency - Techpoint.ng

The CEO of the US-based crypto exchange Kraken says he believes Bitcoin is on the cusp of a new long-term rally to $100,000.

In new a conference call hosted by Pantera, Jesse Powell says the masses dont yet understand the importance of Bitcoins scarcity and independence from banks and middlemen. He expects that to change in the decade ahead, if and when the value of the dollar dwindles.

I dont think Bitcoin is even priced into Bitcoin. Most people have heard about Bitcoin but they dont own any Bitcoin. They dont know what the future of Bitcoin is. I think if everyone knew about Bitcoin and the potential of Bitcoin and how great it was, the price would be a trillion dollars a Bitcoin. We would all just be switched over to Bitcoin and not be using anything else

I think that theres a lot thats not priced in, even though its predictable, like what the future is. Ten years down the road, the US dollar is going to continue to be printed like crazy. Its going to be totally worthless. No one is going to want it. Everyone is going to want Bitcoin. But thats not priced in because of perceived risks or perceived uncertainty about the future, about regulation, about how does the government respond in different situations as Bitcoin continues to develop, or how useful does it actually become?

Kraken is already witnessing an explosion of institutional trading. According to Powell, BTC will likely hit $100,000 in about two years.

I believe that were in a completely unprecedented time in terms of the global political and economic systems. I believe that this is going to continue to drive a pretty massive shift into digital currency. I think the next couple of years well likely see 1 BTC exceed $100,000

Just anecdotally, in the last two months, weve seen a huge surge in new accounts, from institutions. I think, again, I mentioned it earlier, something thats preventing more institutions from getting in is just the uncertainty around the regulatory situation.

I think many are in a wait and see mode, many maybe trying to have their mandates changed to allow them to invest in these asset classes. But I do think its coming. I think that more LPs are going to demand that their GPs invest in crypto. I think its going to come from the bottom up. The returns are just so hard to ignore. It seems irresponsible not to have crypto be a piece of your portfolio.

Despite his optimism, Powell says that right now, cash remains king, which is a significant factor working against Bitcoin in the current macro economic climate.

In a time like this, with so much uncertainty, I think people are looking to what they know, which is cash. Ive got to pay my rent in cash. Ive got to buy my food and my toilet paper with cash.

Theyre not looking to hold a volatile asset, however a good investment it might be in the long term. People are thinking very short-term right now. I think thats one thing working against Bitcoin.

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Kraken CEO: Bitcoin (BTC) Would Be Worth $1,000,000,000,000 If the Masses Knew the Power of Cryptocurrency - The Daily Hodl

The cryptocurrency market volatility is on the rise as the market gets ready for Bitcoins futures expiration on CME. These contracts expire every two months and often lead to the sell-off on the spot market. According to the recent data, compiled by Cointelegraph and Arcane Research, BTC/USD tends to lose 2.3% of its value ahead of the expiration. The traders will be closely watching the spot prices to be ready to react to the situation.

Currently, the total capitalization of all digital assets in circulation is registered at $264 billion, while an average daily trading volume reached $110 billion. Bitcoins market share increased to 66%.

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Bitcoin (BTC) hit the intraday high above $9,600 and retreated to $9,450 by press time. At the time of writing, the first digital coin is moving within the strong bearish trend amid expanding volatility. Since the start of the day, BTC/USD has lost nearly 1.5%, though it is still 3% higher from this time on Thursday. The resistance area of $9,500-$9,600 remains unconquered so far. The support is created by $9,000.

Ethereum tested the intraday high of $224.80 during early Asian hours on Friday, but retreated to $220.30 by the time of writing. The second-largest digital asset has stayed unchanged since the start of the day, though it is still nearly 7% higher from this time on Thursday. Despite the retreat from the intraday high, the price is moving within a bullish trend amid low volatility.

XRP/USD has experienced a sharp decline below $0.2000 after a failed attempt to clear a strong resistance at $0.2030. At the time of writing, XRP/USD is changing hands at $0.1980, down 1% since the beginning of the day and mostly unchanged on a day-to-day basis.

Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) are also experiencing sharp sell-offs. Both coins has lost over 1% of their respective value in les than 5 minutes. LTC/USD is changing hands at $44.54, BCH/USD - $237.45

Excerpt from:
Cryptocurrency Market Update: Bitcoin bleeding as the market gets ready for CME futures expiration - FXStreet