Bitcoin may not be as popular as advertised, according to a new study.

More than half of the reported trading volume on 157 crypto exchange sites is misrepresented or fake, according to a study published in Forbes magazine.

Forbes estimates the global daily bitcoin volume for the industry was $128 billion on June 14. That is 51% less than the $262 billion one would get by taking the sum of self-reported volume from multiple sources, the study reads.

The study says the biggest problems come from a lack of regulation, pointing out that the least regulated exchanges account for $89 billion of bitcoin volume while claiming to make $217 billion.

Experts point to wash trading, the act of selling an asset to yourself in an attempt to inflate the value of that asset, as the culprit for the discrepancy in value.

Cryptocurrency has come under fire for rampant wash trading before. NFT tracking site Cryptoslam found in April that 95% of transactions on the NFT trading platform LooksRare were wash traded.

SEE ALSO: Morgan Stanley pays a $35M fine for exposing the data of millions of customers

In some cases trading bots execute these wash trades in tokens, increasing volume, while at the same time insiders reinforce the activity with bullish remarks, driving up the price in what is effectively a pump and dump scheme, Forbes wrote.

The less than transparent nature of cryptocurrency exchanges casts more doubt on the stability of the new financial market. Bitcoin, the most well-known and widely traded cryptocurrency, suffered a major crash in value this year. One year ago today, one bitcoin was worth more than $43,000. The price has plunged to just over $18,000.

Still, despite concerns about stability and lack of transparency, about 573 million people visit cryptocurrency exchange sites each month, the report found.

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Half of all bitcoin transactions are fake, new study finds - Washington Times

Bitcoin (BTC) falling lower to the $18,500 level has struck the market by surprise while retail and institutional investor interests are taking a peculiar turn.

Bitcoin has maintained its rangebound price movement under the psychological barrier at the $20,000 mark. As long-term trends presented a rather skewed picture of the larger cryptocurrency market certain trends pointed towards higher volatility and market skepticism in the near term.

Over the last few weeks, the anticipation of the Ethereum Merge largely overshadowed the diminishing institutional interest in the top crypto asset as significant price swings became a norm.

On Sept. 19, BTC traded at a daily low of $18,232 but managed to make a recovery above the $19,000 mark. However, a worrying sight was that the market volume of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) fund garnered very low interest from institutional investors.

GBTC is the leading player in the Bitcoin market among similar institutions. GBTCs fund market volume shows almost no interest among corporate (institutional) players. Usually, such diminishing interest trends highlight that BTCs price is prone to fall or is in a distribution phase.

On the contrary, a sudden rise in the fund market volume could lead to a parabolic price rise. For now, though, the number of large transactions, as per data from IntoTheBlock, also made a downward slope highlighting that large entities and bigger transactions were on a decline alongside the BTC price.

Fewer large transactions happening on the network further point toward lower activity from institutional investors or large market entities.

Bitcoin charted an uptick in price towards the upper $22,700 price level on Sept. 13 as investors and traders anticipated further gains. However, a quick u-turn amid lower retail volumes brought BTCs price back to the $19,000 range.

At press time, BTCs next solid resistance levels stand at the $20,000 and $21,500 mark. Bitcoins price would need a quick push from bulls to establish itself comfortably above these key resistance levels.

Nonetheless, a positive sight in investors eyes is the high trade volumes on exchanges, indicative of continued retail interest in BTC. However, for long-term price growth, BTC would need additional support from institutions which is lacking at the moment.

DisclaimerAll the information contained on our website is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. Any action the reader takes upon the information found on our website is strictly at their own risk.

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How the Bitcoin Price Might React as Institutional Interest Diminishes - BeInCrypto

The best Bitcoin casinos have blown away the traditional casinos in every way possible - with instant payouts, zero transaction fees, and unique games & promos.

After spending hours sifting through each of the most popular crypto gambling sites, we have prepared a list of the top-rated ones.

Spoiler alert: Bitstarz is the best Bitcoin casino right now. But there are as many as 17 BTC casinos worth checking out!

Lets begin.

Pros:

Cons:

If you want to play at the best online Bitcoin casino, then Bitstarz should be the first place that you check out.

It stands out in the online casino industry for having won various awards and more than 4,000 total games.

Lets see why it climbed to the top of our list.

Cryptocurrency Adoption: 5/5

Compared to typical crypto casino sites, Bitstarz has a high level of cryptocurrency adoption.

This is because you can deposit with many different cryptocurrencies. Bitstarz accepts deposits in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin, Cardano, and Tron.

We also liked that Bitstarz is 100% transparent with the casino game results. This makes it a great option if you want to play at a provably fair online casino where its impossible to manipulate results.

Welcome Bonus & Promotions:5/5

When you sign up as a new player at Bitstarz, you can play Bitcoin casino games with a bonus of up to 5 BTC. You will also get 180 free spins on top of that.

Outside of the welcome promo, Bitstarz is known to offer some of the most rewarding bonuses - including a Tesla giveaway at the time of writing.

Slot Games: 4.8/5

There are currently over 1,000 different slot games at Bitstarz.

Some of our favorites include Wild Spin, Dragon's Element, and Elvis Frog in Vegas. There are also some great exclusive titles, including Wild Crowns, Bitstarz Billion, and Book of Helios.

In addition, we found lots of great progressive jackpots on this site. At the time of writing, the top jackpot was worth over 11 BTC on Master of Starz. We found more than 50 other active jackpots when doing this review!

Table Games:4.9/5

The table games offered by this site include great options for both single-player and multiplayer live casino games such as blackjack and roulette. Note, however, that you won't be able to access the live dealer games if youre playing from certain countries.

Some of the most fun virtual games we found included Texas Hold'em, Rocket Dice, and Double Exposure. There are also some exclusive in-house titles like Dice, Plinko, Wheel, and Limbo.

Click here to get started at Bitstarz

Pros:

Cons:

Looking for the biggest variety of BTC games? Then 7Bit should be the top online crypto casino for you to check out first.

The first deposit bonus you get on this site can rack up to 1.5 BTC. There are also up to 5 BTC up for grabs throughout four deposits.

7Bit has a high level of cryptocurrency adoption, plenty of different game software providers, and high pots on their jackpot slots. It also has lightning-fast live chat support that is available 24/7.

Cryptocurrency Adoption: 5/5

Compared to most crypto casinos, we found that more users will be able to deposit using their favorite crypto on this site.

There are a total of 8 different cryptocurrencies that you can deposit and play with at 7Bit, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Tron, and USDT.

Welcome Bonus & Promotions:4.9/5

7Bit offers more generous bonuses than most Bitcoin gambling sites.

There is a potential total of 5 BTC that you can claim on this site after making your first four deposits.

Therefore, if you want to play crypto casino games with a nice boost to your bankroll, this is one of the best Bitcoin casino sites to sign up to.

Slot Games: 5/5

7Bit has the best collection of different slot games.

There are over 1000 different options, including Gold Rush with Johnny Cash, Penny Pelican, and Big Atlantis Frenzy. Our favorite game is All Ways Egypt, for having a fun theme and interface that is unique compared to other Egypt-themed slots.

At the time of writing, Book of Atem, Sherlock & Moriarty, and Wheel of Wishes had the highest pots available. There were active jackpots of over 6 BTC on each of these games ready to be won.

Table Games: 4.9/5

We found 14 different video poker variants, 17 blackjack titles, 16 roulette wheels, and 11 different baccarat games in the table casino games section of 7Bit.

Other options include Go Go Magic Dog, Sic Bo, and Wild Texas. Onetouch also provides a live lobby for games like blackjack and roulette - but they are only available in certain countries.

As a whole, 7Bit has plenty of different table casino games that will suit the needs of most gamblers.

Click here to get up to 5 BTC at 7Bit

Pros:

Cons:

Red Dog is another one of the best Bitcoin casinos for bonus hunters.

It stands out for having an extensive list of different welcome bonuses. One of our favorites will give up to $12,250 in total.

In addition, any transaction that you make here will not have any transaction fees. Since converting cryptocurrencies can already be expensive enough, this is a great bonus for those who want minimal fees when depositing onto the platform.

Cryptocurrency Adoption: 4.6/5

We think Red Dog does a suitable job accepting different cryptocurrencies, but there isn't much support for altcoins. Currently, the only options are Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and USDT.

Unlike Bitstarz and 7Bit, though, this isnt a crypto-only casino - meaning that you could also use your credit card to make a deposit if you wish to do so.

Welcome Bonus & Promotions: 5/5

As we have mentioned, the feature that stands out the most with Red Dog compared to other Bitcoin casinos is that there are over 20 different promotions that you can choose from!

Our favorite bonus can be activated using the bonus code "WAGGINGTAILS". You will get a 225% welcome bonus package up to $12,250 in total.

Outside of the welcome promo, theres a bonus whenever a new game is added to the library, and you can also get a 24/7 reload bonus offer.

Slot Games: 4.3/5

There isn't a high total number of slot games available at Red Dog, but its clear that they went for a quality-over-quantity approach.

Youll find about 120 different slots to play here. They are all made by RTG, which is one of the most trusted authorities for creating fair slot games.

Therefore, this is an excellent online casino to check out if you want to focus on unique slots and the latest titles by this provider. However, the highest jackpot at writing was only about 2.2 BTC, which is lower than most Bitcoin casinos.

Table Games:4.8/5

If you like table casino games, you will find most of your favorite casino classics at Red Dog.

Currently, some of the top options include Tri Card Poker, 21 Blackjack, and Joker Poker. The only thing that we would improve is adding some other games such as craps.

This casino also has a complete collection of live casino games, including blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and Super 6.

Click here to claim up to $12,250 at Red Dog

Pros:

Cons:

Slots fans should head to Punt Crypto Casino. It features some of the best variety and great filtering criteria for slot games, letting users narrow down their options at an exact level.

The site itself is also very well designed and easy to navigate.

Cryptocurrency Adoption: 4/5

We would like to see Punt Casino improve its total level of cryptocurrency adoption. You can only deposit using Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.

Compared to other Bitcoin casinos, this is a somewhat low number of total cryptocurrency deposit methods, even though the major coins are still accepted.

Welcome Bonus & Promotions:4.7/5

Punt Casino offers a total welcome bonus package of up to 6 BTC and 100 free spins on top of that.

We like how this welcome bonus allows you to deposit using Bitcoin, Litecoin or Bitcoin Cash to get the total bonus amount.

It's also worth pointing out that the deposit bonuses are calculated using fiat currency instead of Bitcoin. Therefore, it can be challenging to know how much BTC you need to deposit to get your targeted bonus amount - but at least you can see the exact bonus value right away on the site.

Slot Games: 5/5

Punt Casinos library of slot games is constantly evolving and improving at a higher level than traditional online casinos.

Some of our favorite games include Plentiful Treasure, Cleopatras Gold, and Sweet 16.

You can quickly choose between slots based on jackpot, theme, reels, the most popular, by the date added, and more using the bountiful number of different filtering criteria.

Table Games:4.2/5

Since there are no online live dealer games, the table casino game section is lacking. Currently, you can play variants of video poker, blackjack, and roulette. Other casino classics are not offered here.

That being said, we do like how they have some rare specialty games like Fish Catch, Banana Jones, and keno.

To improve this score, this casino needs to consider adding its own dedicated live dealer games.

Click here to get started at Punt Casino

Pros:

Cons:

If you want to play at an online casino that lets you connect & deposit instantly using your favorite web3 wallet, BC.Game is the best overall online gambling site to check out. This casino instantly connects with MetaMask or any WalletConnect web3 wallet.

There is a nice community of users that you can chat with any time on the right-hand side of the site.

Cryptocurrency Adoption: 5/5

This online gambling site is lightyears ahead of any of the other best crypto casinos mentioned on this page regarding total crypto adoption.

Just connect your wallet, and you can play with Bitcoin and most other altcoins.

The only exception to note here is for altcoins with particularly low popularity. If you are a microcap holder, then you likely won't be able to use your favorite tokens. However, the vast majority of crypto holders will be able to play without converting any of their tokens.

Welcome Bonus & Promotions: 4/5

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Best Bitcoin Casinos: Reviewing the Top Bitcoin Casino Sites Online (2022) - KSHB 41 Kansas City News

Arman Shirinyan

Confrontation between Ethereum and Bitcoin maxis sparked once again, and topic is decentralization

One of the biggest updates on the cryptocurrency market that made PoW on Ethereum obsolete has also sparked discussions about the problematic topic: which network is more decentralized at this point?

U.Today has recently covered the distribution of staked Ethereum on the network and the worrying picture it paints as the biggest holder of the coin on the network may not be as decentralized as it seems at first.

The other large portion of staked Ethereum is held by centralized exchanges that hold around 30% if combined. However, Bitcoin maxis that paint the network as more decentralized have their own issues with the dominance of certain mining pools.

According to Van Ness, most blocks on Bitcoin have been mined by only two pools: Antpool and Foundry, which are the two biggest entities on the whole network. Seven hundred sixteen of the last Bitcoin blocks were built by four entities: Antpool, Foundry, F2 and Binance.

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While distribution among Bitcoin mining pools may seem unequal, it certainly looks healthier than Ethereum. Most of the hashrate is redistributed among five entities: Antpool, Foundry, F2, Binance and ViaBTC. First place corresponds to 24% of the network's hashrate, while the last one accounts for 9.4%.

The situation with proportions on Ethereum is different; while first place holds more than 30% of the staked Ethereum, fifth is left with only 2.2%. Technically, Lido may increase its stake on the network and reach the dangerous 50% limit, which may cause serious problems for both validators and investors.

However, new validators will most likely choose pools and exchanges with less dominance in order to avoid potential centralization issues.

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Bitcoin Is More Centralized Than Ethereum, Implies Evan Van Ness - U.Today

Voyager Digital, the now-bankrupt crypto brokerage firm, will see its approximately $200 million outstanding crypto loan to Alameda Research returned, according to a court filing published on Monday.

Alameda and Voyager came to an agreement after a New York bankruptcy court granted Voyagers request to have its loan repaid.

Alameda, the crypto quant trading firm co-founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, the billionaire owner of crypto derivatives exchange FTX, owes Voyager approximately $200 million in an outstanding crypto loan. This amount originates from a line of credit that was worth $377 million before the crypto markets crash earlier this year.

The loan was initiated in September 2021 and was largely denominated in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and the stablecoin USDC.

Per the filing, Alameda will return Voyager about 6,500 BTC and about 51,000 ETH by September 30 this year.

The court documents also revealed that Voyager will return the collateral tied to the loan, including 4.65 million FTT and 63.75 million SRM tokens.

Alameda said in July that it was happy to return the Voyager loan and get its collateral back on terms that would suit Voyager.

Voyager filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the beginning of July this year, with outstanding liabilities of as much as $10 billion.

FTX announced plans to acquire Voyager later that month, but the New York-based crypto broker dismissed the offer as a low-ball bid dressed up as a white knight rescue.

Earlier this monthin a bid to repay its customersVoyager initiated the process of auctioning off its assets, with FTX rumored to be among the frontrunners to snap up the firm.

Bankman-Fried appeared on CNBCs Squawk Box last Friday to state that FTX still has at least $1 billion to deploy on further acquisitions and bailouts.

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Alameda to Repay $200M in Bitcoin and Ethereum to Bankrupt Crypto Broker Voyager - Decrypt

This is an opinion editorial by Jesse Willms, a Canadian Bitcoin reporter.

In a stunning win, Pierre Poilievre received 68% of the first ballot points to become the leader of Canadas Conservative Party, becoming the first outspoken Bitcoiner to do so.

The win not only exceeded the wildest expectation of the Poilievre campaign, but with the notable exception of the 2013 leadership race that elected Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader it ranks as one of the most commanding leadership victories among any major party in Canadian history, the National Post noted.

It was only a day after being elected leader of Canadas Conservative Party that Poilievre sustained his first attack from Canadas current prime minister, Justin Trudeau. Likely referring to Poilievres support of Bitcoin as irresponsible, Trudeau tweeted:

Weve made every effort to work with all Parliamentarians over the years, and well continue to do so. But well also call out questionable, reckless economic ideas because Canadians deserve responsible leadership. Telling people they can opt out of inflation by investing in cryptocurrencies is not responsible leadership.

Although its clear that theres a no-holds-barred, knock-down, drag-'em-out fight coming between Poilievre and Trudeau, the exact timing is unclear.

Prime Minister Trudeau is doubtlessly getting lots of advice on when to go to the polls. If he chooses to sooner rather than later exercising his power to call a federal election before the October 4, 2025 deadline, per the Canada Elections Act the stream of scandals that has followed him could come to a quicker end. And if the vote comes sooner rather than later, Trudeau could avoid having to go before a judicial inquiry on his use of the Emergencies Act to control what turned out to be a peaceful protest.

Its generally considered better for incumbents to call elections when the economy is on the mend and inflation is going down, but those trends may be hard to predict. In any case, the Liberals have a deal with the socialist NDP for support on any no-confidence votes until Spring 2025, if they need to use it.

Trudeau may decide to wait to call an election, as he may believe theres a possibility that Canadians could tire of Poilievre and his members of parliament.

No matter when the vote is called, in my opinion, the winner will likely be Poilievre.

Canadian federal politics isnt always a race for the centre, but it usually is, noted national newspaper The Globe And Mail. Mr. Poilievre got to be leader by unabashedly aiming for something other than a moderate middle. Unlike his predecessor Erin OToole, he has given every sign thats where he plans to continue to reside.

Conventional wisdom suggests that the majority of Canadians are moderate, middle of the road voters and so it only makes sense for political parties to aim for the middle. All parties reason that hugging the political center as much as possible, and thus matching opinion polling data, is the strategically smart thing to do.

With his resounding win, Poilievre has ignored the polling data and simply gone for a program, which includes bitcoin adoption, that he believes in, giving voters something to aspire to.

Poilievre ran on a campaign of freedom from government, but also on free money that people should be free to invest in and use bitcoin has been his position.

The campaign timing of the six-month campaign from March to September coincided with a slide in the price of bitcoin that opponents have used to paint Poilievre as irresponsible (in a televised debate, one leadership rival accused him of deceiving vulnerable seniors who stood to lose money from his advice).

Against advice from party members, Poilievre, to his credit, never waivered, despite taking a battering from conservatives who felt that they could easily win without complicating things with bitcoin, especially in the current bear market. (Even the most dedicated bitcoiner might say, well maybe this isn't the time or place.)

He has refused to equivocate and this may have earned him respect with potential voters who are thinking that they might not agree with him, but at least he sticks to his guns.

Conservative party organizers were more than surprised by the thousands of young people who took out memberships and voted for Poilievre.

Canadian politics, as in many countries, is typically for retirees with lots of time on their hands and is the last place youd expect to find crowds of young people.

A source close to the Poilievre campaign remains surprised to see that Poilievres social media engagement translated into real-life interactions especially with a younger age group.

Polls in recent months have been showing that younger voters have been increasingly abandoning the Liberals for the Conservatives for the first time, even before Poilievre became the Conservative leader.

I think were just scratching the surface on how his ability to access young people ultimately contributed to his victory, said Michael Solberg, partner at Canadian public relations firm New West Public Affairs, per the National Post. His digital media game is stronger than even the prime ministers and the government of Canada, with all of their resources and their money.

Canadian federal politics is complicated by the fact that many votes come from francophones living in Quebec, meaning that it's not impossible, but is unlikely, that a unilingual candidate could win in that province.

Although he grew up in Alberta, Poilievre, with a francophone name, is fluent in French, almost a requirement to win a nationwide vote in Canada.

Despite not being from Quebec, Poilievre won the majority of votes in Quebec and stands to win big in any future election.

Its hard to picture a scenario where the Liberal party can recover its previous lead in the polls. Even without the acrimony around the truckers convoy and questions about the use of the Emergencies Act, the upcoming campaign will be the fourth in a row for Trudeau.

The next campaign will almost certainly be Trudeaus last. History suggests it will be an uphill battle. Sir Wilfrid Laurier was the last incumbent prime minister to secure a fourth consecutive term (in 1917), said one observer.

The NDP is generally seen as the party of the working class but fundraising is suggesting a shift in support among some working Canadians.

According to some observers, by making a deal with Trudeau to keep the government in power until 2025, the NDP leader has sealed his own and likely his partys fate in any upcoming vote.

Alienation from Central Canada has been growing in Canadas Western provinces, particularly in Alberta, which has its own political party running for independence from Canada.

Because of Poilievres support for the truckers convoy and the perception that the Trudeau Liberals are a party of Eastern Canada, there was probably more than the usual amount of interest from Western Canada in the recent campaign.

Western voters showed an almost unprecedented interest in the recent vote and that will likely continue into the next federal election.

In politics, as in life, the obvious strategy isnt necessarily the winning one.

By taking the high road instead of the middle of the road and running on what he believes in, Poilievre is upending the normal in Canadian politics.

How will this affect the outcome of the upcoming federal election?

In my opinion, it would be safe to bet your bitcoin on Poilievre.

This is a guest post by Jesse Willms. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

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Pierre Poilievre Will Be Canadas First Bitcoin Prime Minister - Bitcoin Magazine

While Bitcoin (BTC -2.20%) is still the No. 1 cryptocurrency in the world as measured by market capitalization, there are plenty of reasons to think other cryptocurrencies could eventually surpass it. Before this year's crypto market retreat, the conventional wisdom was that Bitcoin was a hedge against inflation and a long-term store of value. Some even called it "digital gold." But those assumptions are now very much in doubt.

So which cryptos could might displace Bitcoin at the top of the crypto heap? Right now, the two best prospects are Ethereum (ETH -1.81%) and Solana (SOL -1.70%). Both cryptos offer more utility than Bitcoin, and both are innovation leaders in the blockchain industry, with promising growth prospects.

Ethereum stands out as an innovation leader. The most recognizable developments of the past few years -- including smart contracts, decentralized applications (dApps), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) -- originated on the Ethereum blockchain.

By nearly any metric, Ethereum is the dominant force in the blockchain industry. For example, Ethereum is the No. 1 player in the NFT market, with an estimated 80% share. In areas such as decentralized finance (DeFi), blockchain gaming, and the metaverse, Ethereum dwarfs every other blockchain in the world.

Image source: Getty Images.

And with The Merge, a broad system upgrade, Ethereum will only become stronger. The current complaint about Ethereum is that it is too slow and too expensive. That is largely because it has been based on a proof-of-work consensus mechanism. With The Merge, Ethereum will transition to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, reducing transaction fees and boosting transaction processing speeds. Eventually, when Ethereum 2.0 is complete, it should be able to handle 100,000 transactions per second. In contrast, Bitcoin for now can only process five to 10 transactions per second.

The path to market dominance is more complicated for Solana because it is a direct rival to Ethereum. Both are Layer 1 blockchains offering users the same functionality and utility. Ethereum has smart contracts, and so does Solana. Ethereum enables the creation of NFTs, and so does Solana. The key selling point is that Solana can do everything Ethereum can do, only faster and cheaper. Solana already offers the capability to process 65,000 transactions per second, and transaction fees are near zero.

While Ethereum has been bogged down in all the technical steps needed to become a proof-of-stake blockchain, Solana has been on an innovation tear. Solana has launched everything from a new merchant payment network (Solana Pay) to an entirely new mobile crypto platform (Solana Mobile). In 2023, Solana plans to debut Saga, the first-ever "crypto phone."

At the same time, Solana is making serious forays into both blockchain gaming and Web3. More than any other crypto, Solana is taking steps to build a recognizable brand for crypto early adopters.When you can layer this brand experience on top of a super-fast, super-inexpensive blockchain, that is a very powerful value proposition.

This might be an imprecise analogy, but you can think of what is happening in the crypto industry as similar to what happened in the tech industry a generation ago. Until the 1980s, IBMwas the biggest name in the tech industry, and then along came Microsoftand Apple. The rest, as they say, is history.

In many ways, Bitcoin is today's crypto IBM, Ethereum is the new Microsoft, and Solana is the new Apple. There is definitely room for all three to co-exist. The only real question is who gets to sit on top. Big institutional investors may prefer Bitcoin, while everyday investors might prefer Ethereum and Solana.

Right now, Ethereum is about half as big as Bitcoin based on market cap and Solana's is equal to just 3%. So a lot would have to change for either of them to overtake Bitcoin. But again, look at what happened with IBM, Microsoft, and Apple in the tech industry. Microsoft launched in 1975, and it took nearly two decades for Microsoft to pass IBM in market capitalization. Then, after that happened, it took nearly another two decades for Apple to pass Microsoft in market capitalization. So obviously, this is not going to happen overnight, and there will be many twists along the way.

But Ethereum and Solana now offer too much utility to ignore. And they are both innovation leaders, making them both long-term plays if you believe in the future of the crypto industry. If you can handle crypto's volatility, you can put these two cryptos in your portfolio and hold onto them forever.

Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Microsoft, and Solana. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Originally posted here:
2 Cryptocurrencies That Could Overtake Bitcoin - The Motley Fool

A new survey conducted by Harris Poll has found that most cryptocurrency investors in America feel they have the necessary tools to become billionaires in the future. The survey, which inquired about how Americans see billionaires, also revealed that this sentiment is higher amongst millennials and Gen Zers, with other groups falling behind

While the recent downturn in the global economy and the subsequent price deceleration in traditional stock and crypto markets has made some investors lose confidence, many cryptocurrency investors are still optimistic. A survey conducted by Harris Poll in July has revealed that cryptocurrency investors are very hopeful about the future of the industry.

Harris Poll contacted close to 2,000 Americans to inquire about their views on billionaires and how society sees them. 71% of the cryptocurrency investors polled stated that they believed they had the available tools to become a billionaire in the future. This percentage was high compared to the percentage of all the groups combined, which only reached 44%.

In the same way, 60% of the polled stated that they want to become billionaires and that they look up to the men and women part of this select group.

The survey results also reveal that Gen Zers and millennials rank high when it comes to being confident about the possibilities of becoming billionaires. These groups are also commonly associated with new financial technologies such as crypto and fintech.

In 2020, a survey conducted by the Devere group indicated that two thirds of millennials prefer bitcoin to gold as a safe haven asset. At that time, Nigel Green, CEO and founder of Devere group, stated:

In-line with the findings that show that millennials have a preference for bitcoin over gold, the cryptocurrency is set up for growing prominence as a serious safe-haven asset class.

Green also linked the interest and preference of these younger generations for crypto with the level of inflation in devaluation that global economies are facing due to the high issuance of unbacked fiat money. The edge that bitcoin could have over gold and other traditional fiat currencies depends on its unique characteristics, which allow it to be non-sovereign, decentralized, scarce, and a store of value, according to Green.

What do you think about the confidence that crypto investors have in becoming billionaires? Tell us in the comments section below.

Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. He describes himself as late to the game, entering the cryptosphere when the price rise happened during December 2017. Having a computer engineering background, living in Venezuela, and being impacted by the cryptocurrency boom at a social level, he offers a different point of view about crypto success and how it helps the unbanked and underserved.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Harris Poll Report Finds That 71% of Crypto Investors Are Confident They Will Become Billionaires Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

About 145 million American adults say that they own or have owned cryptocurrency. Statistically, thats more than half of your co-workers, neighbors and friends.

Its also about the number of Americans who own stocks.

Even though its not regulated by a government agency, cryptocurrency is becoming mainstream. However, President Biden recently signed an executive order to address cryptocurrency risks with a whole-of-government approach that could make cryptocurrency even more attractive to investors as well as traditional banks and credit unions.

For the near term though, cryptocurrency remains a volatile, speculative asset that will likely continue its gut-wrenching booms and busts. Thats not to say that cryptocurrency doesnt belong in a well-diversified portfolio, but I recommend that my clients first educate themselves about cryptocurrency before deciding whether or not to invest.

As Warren Buffet said about investing in cryptocurrency: I get into enough trouble with the things I think I know something about. Why in the world should I take a long or short position in something I dont know about?

Here are some important concepts to get comfortable with.

Say you order a new set of patio furniture online. A credit card company or payment processor like PayPal acts as a middleman between you and the seller.

However, if you want to buy that patio set with cryptocurrency, theres no middleman. You conduct transactions directly with the merchant. The cryptocurrency network assigns a public and a private key that becomes your unique address. You then use your private key to digitally sign the transaction.

Theres no bank or third-party fees. You store your cryptocurrency in either a hot or a cold digital wallet. You can get a software-based hot wallet from an exchange like Coinbase or a provider like Electrum or Mycelium. A cold wallet is a small, encrypted portable device from providers such as Trezor and Ledger Nano.

Its unclear which cryptocurrency names will survive, but the true value is likely in the underlying blockchain technology. Initially created to power Bitcoin, the granddaddy of cryptocurrencies, today theres thousands of blockchains for digital currencies like Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Tether and many others.

(As a side note, Dogecoin began as a joke referring to 2013 meme with a Shiba Innu dubbed Doge.)

The blockchain uses a digital ledger to duplicate and distribute your patio furniture transaction to computers across the blockchain. Peer-to-peer computer networks verify and time-stamp each transaction. Instead of a central authority like a bank with the associated costs and infrastructure, a network of users verifies the data.

The growing list of records, called blocks, are linked together using cryptography. Crypto mining verifies the next block on the blockchain. Miners are rewarded with cryptocurrency tokens plus any fees paid by the exchanging parties.

Because the transaction appears across the entire network of computers on the blockchain, its extremely difficult to change, hack or cheat the system. For countries with poor or corrupt financial institutions, cryptocurrencies based on blockchain protect against criminal activity. Theres also an element of integrity since users can rate each other, weeding out unscrupulous users.

That doesnt mean that blockchain is totally hack-proof. Hypothetically, if a group of miners was able to take control of more than 51% of the blockchains mining hash rate or computing power, they could halt payments, reverse transactions, or double-spend coins.

Blockchain does have a few negatives. All those computers and the processes involved in mining cryptocurrency are energy hogs, making it environmentally unfriendly. Cambridge University found that Bitcoin mining takes more electricity annually than it takes to run Argentina.

And because blockchains require huge amounts of computing power over a distributed network, they are slower than centralized databases. The Bitcoin blockchain can only process 4.6 transactions per second, so it takes about 10 minutes to process a Bitcoin transaction. In contrast, the Visa network can process more than 1,700 transactions per second.

Blockchain is a transformative technology and has applications outside of cryptocurrency in healthcare, art, travel, legal, insurance and countless others. Think of any transaction that requires a central clearing authority, such as wire transfers or settling trades.

Here are just three possible uses of blockchain:

The IRS classifies crypto as a type of property rather than a currency. If you use digital currencies to buy or sell goods and services, you have to pay taxes. Using cryptocurrency can leave you with an unexpected tax bill.

For example, the patio furniture seller that receives your Bitcoin as payment has to pay taxes on its current value. You may owe capital gains taxes if the realized value of the sales transaction is greater than the price you paid for the cryptocurrency.

Buying crypto with cash and holding it isnt a taxable event, but if you acquire digital currency from mining, you have to pay tax on the value immediately. Getting paid in crypto also triggers tax liability. Transferring crypto from one digital wallet to another isnt taxable, but converting from one cryptocurrency to another is.

Investing in crypto also has tax implications. If you sell crypto at a profit, you have to pay tax on the difference between what you bought it for and the sale price.

If this sounds like a lot of recordkeeping it is. The IRS requires you to maintain records sufficient to establish the positions taken on tax returns. That means documenting receipts, sales, exchanges and the fair market value of your crypto assets. But unlike stocks, you dont receive a Form 1099-B that shows you the cost basis of your transaction. If you use cryptocurrency for day trading, transactions could total in the thousands.

One bit of good news tax-wise is that it is possible to use tax loss harvesting to write off some losses. Like equity losses, you can deduct up to $3,000 of crypto losses against ordinary income per tax year and carry losses beyond $3,000 forward until death.

The value of cryptocurrency is largely driven by supply and demand. Unlike government-backed (fiat) currencies, in which governments have the option of printing more money to increase supply, the majority of cryptocurrencies have published supply limits according to their token minting and burning plan. There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins. When demand outpaces supply, cryptocurrencies rise in value, sometimes dramatically.

Stablecoins aim to provide a less volatile type of cryptocurrency by pegging the coins value to another currency, commodity or financial instrument. For instance, the USDF Consortium, a membership-based association of FDIC-insured financial institutions, is trying to further the adoption of a bank-minted tokenized deposit (USDF) that is pegged to the U.S. dollar and will be insured for up to $250,000 by the FDIC.

A stablecoin that turned out to not be stable at all rattled the markets. TerraUSD, which relies on algorithmic coin supply management, lost its peg to the U.S. dollar, and its Terra cryptocurrency lost 98% of its value in just 24 hours.

Unlike other assets that have built-in protections like FDIC-insurance, you are responsible for protecting your crypto assets. Youll want to use two-factor authentication with a strong password and additional verification, such as fingerprint or facial recognition. Dont buy crypto at the local coffee shop; use a secured internet connection.

Your digital key a 256-bit long string of alphanumeric characters is the only way to access your crypto assets. Hopefully, you wont ever lose your private key. If you lose the key or throw away your cold wallet, the crypto is lost forever.

Seems unlikely? Tell that to James Howells, who accidentally threw an old hard drive into the trash, which was taken to the local landfill. He was never able to recover about $181 million in Bitcoin. Or Mark Frauenfelder, who wrote down his key for his hardware wallet on a piece of paper which the cleaning people threw in the trash. Or Stefan Thomas who would have over $100 in cryptocurrency if he could remember his password.

James, Mark, and Stefan are not alone: One analysis found that of the 18.9 million Bitcoins in circulation, 3.7 million have been lost by owners.

If you die, your cryptocurrency is treated as a probatable asset. But because its decentralized, your beneficiaries may not be able to access it unless you include your cryptocurrency assets in your estate plan with instructions on how to access them.

In 2009, when Satoshi Nakamoto (a pseudonym for an individual or group of individuals) released a white paper detailing Bitcoin, the coin had no value. By February 2011, it hit $1. A decade later, it hit $68,000. A few months after that, it lost half its value.

Lots of investors panicked and sold. Historically, a bear market is the best time to invest since you are buying low with the hope of eventually selling the asset for more than you bought it for. Should you employ the same strategy with cryptocurrency?

Possibly. But first, think long and hard about your risk tolerance. Do bear markets give you angst? Do you feel compelled to sell equities and turn to the perceived safe haven of fixed income when economic news is bad? If yes, then investing in cryptocurrencies may not be right for you.

However, if you are willing to ride the highs and lows and already have a healthy emergency savings fund, have paid off all your high-interest debt, and are on track with your retirement savings and other financial goals, you can consider adding cryptocurrency as an alternative asset to a diversified portfolio.

If you are interested in investing in cryptocurrencies or even the underlying blockchain technology and dont want to invest directly, companies are beginning to offer ETFs and mutual funds that offer exposure to companies involved in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. This certainly makes investing much easier, but if the value skyrockets, youll have to share in the spoils.

Also understand that the SEC does not insure cryptocurrency against exchange failures or theft. Some exchanges offer insurance, but it doesnt protect against breaches or someone stealing your private key.

It can be easy to get caught up in crypto excitement especially when you hear about overnight millionaires and day traders making incredible profits but the lows can be excruciating. Just as you would with any speculative asset, set a maximum threshold for cryptocurrency in your portfolio and stick to it.

Senior Vice President, Financial Planning, Carson Group

ErinWoodistheSenior Vice President of Financial Planningat Carson Group, where she develops strategies to help families achieve their financial goals. She holds Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor andCertified Financial Behavior Specialistdesignations.

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Should I Invest in Bitcoin or Other Cryptocurrency? - Kiplinger's Personal Finance

The crypto market continued its bearish trend right after the merge ended. Bitcoin prices suffered heavy losses as they breached the psychological price of $20,000. They even breached the support price of $18,500 for a brief while before retracing higher towards the current price $19,000. Now that the support was breached, can we conclude that Bitcoin price reach 10000 $ soon? Lets analyze in this Bitcoin price prediction article and assess whether the psychological price of $10,000 will be reached or not.

The year 2022 was a bad one for the entire cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin specifically lost more than 55% to date. Its prices dropped from the high price of $47,000 to the current price of around $19,000. Some hope was portrayed in the crypto scene right before the merge, as crypto prices started to rise in anticipation of a general increase in the crypto market. However, as prices did not move significantly as anticipated, many traders started to sell their newly opened positions. This led to a heavy liquidation in crypto positions, thus why Bitcoin took a heavy toll.

It is clear that Bitcoin has a strong support of around $18,500. The current price is hovering around this price area, although it managed to breach it on multiple occasions previously. Bitcoin prices can easily fall towards the psychological price of $10,000, if BTC breached $18,000 as a first step. This would lead to a total collapse in crypto prices, especially since Bitcoins dominance currently stands around 40%.

Traders and investors should watch the below prices if they are breached lower, and follow the price action of Bitcoin closely. Once any breach of the below happens, it should trigger the next price:

Trading Bitcoin can follow many strategies. Do you use FA or TA? Are you a day trader, swing trader, scalper,

Will Bitcoin price recover? In this Bitcoin price prediction article, we're going to analyze BTC prices from a technical standpoint.

What's next for Bitcoin? Will Bitcoin reach 30000 $? Let's analyze in this Bitcoin price prediction article

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Will Bitcoin Price reach $10000? Maybe, if THIS Happens! - CryptoTicker.io - Bitcoin Price, Ethereum Price & Crypto News