While 2022 has been a typically roller-coaster year for cryptocurrency buyers, it's shaping up to be exceptional for one group of virtual money enthusiasts: thieves. Criminals have already stolen more than $1 billion in crypto this year.

Attacks onCrypto.com in January,Wormhole in FebruaryandRonin Networklast month each resulted in multimillion-dollar losses. Cybersecurity experts say hackers often target decentralized finance, or DeFi, platforms with weak security. DeFi services are typically built on public blockchains, allowing users to exchange crypto back and forth without the need for an established financial institution like a bank or credit union.

"We should expect these types of [sophisticated] attacks to continue to increase, as more and more criminal organizations build DeFi-hacking skills in-house," Mitchell Amador, CEO at cybersecurity auditing firm Immunefi, told Yahoo Finance earlier this month. "Furthermore, as DeFi gets bigger and bigger, these kinds of attacks become more and more lucrative."

The most recent attack came last week when an unknown hacker stole $182 million from Beanstalk Farms the fourth-largest hack on a DeFi service to date. PeckShield, a blockchain security company in China, said thieves used a "flash loan" to exploit security weaknesses in Beanstalk. A flash loan is an unsecured loan that bypasses the need for collateral from the borrower by using smart contracts requiring repayment by the the end of a transaction usually within seconds or minutes.

A large portion of the $182 million that was drained went toward fees on exchange platforms, such as Uniswap and Aave, used to carry out the attack. In the end, the culprit tookhome 24,830 in ether and 36 million BEAN tokens. Beanstalk officials said in a blogpostthat the hackers made out with roughly $76 million of users' crypto holdings. It's unclear if Beanstalk, which launched last August, has been able to recover the stolen crypto.

PeckShield said the hacker laundered the stolen cryptocurrency using Tornado Cash, a service that lets users transfer crypto tokensanonymously.

Since the attack, users have contacted Beanstalk with their suggestions on how to tighten security. Beanstalk said in its blog post that it is taking those thoughts into consideration and "is preparing a strategy to safely re-launch a more secure Beanstalk with a path forward."

Another cyber criminal stole more than $3 million worth of Bored Ape Yacht Club, a popular series of non-fungible tokens, after hacking into the brand's Instagram account. Owners of BAYC lost four Bored Apes, six Mutant Apes and three Bored Ape Kennel Club NFTs, Bloomberg News reported in late April. It's unclear if parent company Yuga Labs has been able to retrieve the stolen digital assets.

Hackers have already snatched more than $1.2 billion in crypto from DeFi platforms this year, according to Immunefi, compared $154 millionin the first quarter of 2021. In all of 2020, hackers stole a total of $162 million in crypto from DeFi platforms, according todata from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

"We've also seen significant growth in the usage of DeFi protocols for laundering illicit funds, a practice we saw scattered examples of in 2020 and that became more prevalent in 2021," Chainalysis said in a report. "DeFi protocols saw the most growth by far in usage for money laundering at 1,964%."

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Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering business, consumer and financial stories that range from economic inequality and housing issues to bankruptcies and the business of sports.

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Cryptocurrency heists are getting more ambitious and costlier to investors - CBS News

The metaverse and cryptocurrency seem to be concepts that go hand-in-hand virtual worlds and virtual money to spend in them.

Both form an integral part of what is being hyped these days as web3" the third generation of the internet, following web1 the world-wide-web, and web2 social media. The idea is that this version of the internet will be more experiential and engaging, involving virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) to create immersive 3D environments.

How The Metaverse Will Change Cryptocurrency

Metaverse and cryptocurrency are separate concepts and can happily exist without each other as weve seen with Bitcoin, which has utility in the real world as well as the virtual world. And many visions of the metaverse - including Mark Zuckerbergs only tangentially involve crypto and blockchain.

However, its clear that there is a potential synergy between the two ideas. People love spending money, and shopping very quickly established itself as a key feature of both web1 and web2, so theres no reason web3 will be any different! Its also becoming increasingly apparent that, while no one is quite sure exactly what form the metaverse will eventually take, it has the potential to significantly impact the way cryptocurrency evolves, and the impact it will eventually have on society.

Virtual world, real value

One of the big advantages of the virtual world is that there is a lot less friction than in the real world. If we want to go somewhere, we simply click a link or press a button, and we (or our avatar, at least) are there. Theres no need for costly and cumbersome transport infrastructure or passports or to pack our luggage.

The same is true of cryptocurrency. Transacting in traditional money (known as "fiat" by crypto aficionados because its value is supposedly based on government decree) requires a vast infrastructure of banks and regulators to act as custodians, intermediaries, and clearinghouses. Transacting in cryptocurrency, on the other hand, generally just requires software running on standard computers.

Of course, we shouldnt gloss over the fact the energy used by this software to crunch the cryptography that makes currencies work consumes a great deal of energy. But protocols are constantly being refined, and new technologies are being developed with the aim of reducing energy use. Newer proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies, for example, are said to be far less environmentally damaging than older proof-of-work currencies like Bitcoin.

As the metaverse becomes more popular, and more and more of our lives are spent online working in virtual offices, playing games with our friends, or even taking metaverse vacations we will need friction-free ways to pay for virtual goods and services. Perhaps we will want to spend it on virtual real estate if we want to own our own slice of digital land on which to entertain friends or build a business!

In fact, the metaverse could add significant value to the global economy to the tune of $1.5 trillion by 2030. And much of that value could be realized in cryptocurrency. This could mean cryptocurrency truly breaking into the mainstream as more and more of us become used to using them as a means of payment.

If this happens, then governments and legislators will undoubtedly feel the need to step up efforts to regulate and, to some extent, control cryptocurrencies. Although things have become more organized in recent years with a growing number of countries beginning to introduce regulatory frameworks around digital currency its still something of a wild west environment. This means that there is little protection for buyers or businesses that rely on coins like Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Dogecoin to do business and little recourse for consumers should they fall victim to the large number of scams that are out there.

As it becomes more popular, governments could also choose to regulate cryptocurrencies according to how energy-efficient or polluting they are. For example, networks that rely on more wasteful proof-of-work algorithms could attract higher tax rates on transactions, while those that use the more efficient proof-of-stake algorithms could be taxed at a lower rate.

The road to adoption

As cryptocurrency becomes the main medium of exchange for people buying and selling in the metaverse, its users will become increasingly comfortable with methods of acquiring, handling, and storing it. This means it will be more frequently used outside of the metaverse, too for sending money to friends and family, for example particularly if this involves the money crossing national borders, which, with traditional currency, can often incur heavy fees (if its even possible at all).

This, in turn, will mean that banks and other existing financial institutions are likely to step up their efforts to facilitate cryptocurrency or blockchain-derived financial models. In order to remain competitive in an age of borderless, middleman-free financial systems, they will need to streamline their own infrastructure. While some such as the head of the IMF - have foreseen that cryptocurrency could eventually spell the end of banking as we know it, in the near term, it's likely that businesses, in particular, will still want to hang on to the layer of protection and regulation that banks and central banks bring to transactional networks. But it seems likely to me that the ones that thrive in this new environment of digital currencies and peer-to-peer finance will be those that are flexible and forward-looking with their own policies when it comes to cryptocurrency adoption. Paypal and Mastercard are examples of payment systems that are now fully engaging with cryptocurrency, Bitcoin in particular and both have said it is because its clear that it will play an important role in the future of payments.

What comes next?

It's certainly true that no one even the likes of Mark Zuckerberg knows what form the metaverse will actually take, when (and if) it becomes fully integrated into our lives. But from past experience, one thing we can say for sure is that businesses will use it to make money, and consumers will use it to spend it!

When it comes to establishing the currency of the virtual world, then cryptocurrencies are clearly a natural fit and because this ground-breaking technology is also in its infancy, then its evolutionary course is likely to be influenced by changes in the way we live our lives. For better or worse, more and more of us are choosing to spend more of our time online, and that's only likely to accelerate as the online world becomes more immersive, entertaining, and engaging. This also means that cryptocurrency will play a bigger role in our lives. As a result, we are likely to see it becoming more regulated, more environmentally friendly, and useful.

To stay on top of the latest tech trends, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter and have a look at my new book, Business Trends in Practice: The 25+ Trends That are Redefining Organizations. Packed with real-world examples, it cuts through the hype to present the key trends that will shape the businesses of the future.

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How The Metaverse Will Change Cryptocurrency - Forbes

Ark Invest Chief Executive Officer Cathie Wood has never shied away from bold predictions. In 2018, she put a price target on Tesla that implied a $672 billion market cap. Of course, Tesla has since exceeded that valuation by leaps and bounds -- but at the time, the company was worth just $56 billion.

Wood is also a well-known crypto bull. In fact, a recent report from Ark Invest suggests that Ethereum(ETH 1.49%) could achieve a valuation of more than $20 trillionin the next 10 years. That implies 5,400% upside from its current price. Given Wood's bullish outlook, let's take a closer look at this cryptocurrency.

Here's what you should know.

Ethereum has pushed the limits of blockchain technology. Rather than simply securing transaction data, the Ethereum blockchain allows developers to build self-executing computer programs known as smart contracts. That utility has revolutionized the industry, giving rise to a thriving ecosystem of decentralized applications (dApps), decentralized finance (DeFi) services, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Not surprisingly, Ethereum has faced an onslaught of competition in recent years, and many rival blockchains are faster and cheaper. Even so, Ethereum still ranks as the most popular decentralized ecosystem of software and services. In fact, it powers nearly 75%of all dApps across any blockchain. Better yet, Ethereum accounted for 78% of all NFT sales last year, and it's the leading DeFi ecosystem, with $114 billioninvested on the platform.

DeFi services allow investors to lend, borrow, invest, and earn interest on money without involving banks or other financial institutions. To that end, DeFi makes financial services more efficient and more accessible. Case in point: The average U.S. savings account currently pays a 0.06% annual percentage yield (APY), but your return could be orders of magnitude higher in a DeFi protocol. For instance, the borrowing and lending platform Compoundcurrently pays 2.3%APY on USD Coin deposits, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Ark Invest sees Ethereum's leadership in DeFi services as a significant growth driver in the years ahead. That's true for two reasons: First, whenever an investor engages with a DeFi product, the transaction fees are paid in the native cryptocurrency. In the context of Ethereum, that means the ETH coin, also known as ether. Second, ether itself is the preferredcollateral in DeFi, according to Ark's research. To that end, rising adoption of DeFi should create demand for the ETH coin, pushing its price higher.

Image source: Getty Images.

NFTs are digital certificates of ownership. While the term NFT is most often associated with JPEG art like CryptoPunks, any asset can be tokenized on a programmable blockchain. For instance, healthcare records could be turned into NFTs to better protect patient privacy, and education transcripts could be turned into NFTs to streamline the college admissions process. Even physical assets like tickets, cars, real estate, and collectible items could be tokenized to simplify transactions and proof of ownership.

Given the potential, Ark sees Ethereum's leadership in NFTs as a key advantage. It costs money to mint and buy NFTs, and when those transactions take place on Ethereum, the ETH coin is used as payment. In other words, as the NFT market continues to grow, demand for ETH should drive its price higher.

As a final thought, many investors are familiar with OpenSea, the world's most popular NFT marketplace. It should come as no surprise that OpenSea is built on Ethereum (among other blockchains), but so is the recently launched Coinbase NFT marketplace. And given its position as the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, its new Coinbase NFT marketplace could strengthen Ethereum's competitive position in the coming years.

Ark makes a strong case for owning Ethereum. Yes, numerous competing blockchains are gaining ground, but Ethereum has maintained its market leadership despite soaring transaction fees. That says a lot about the platform's ability to create value for users. Better yet, a scaling solution is set to go live in 2023, supercharging Ethereum's throughput and lowering fees. That catalyst should reinforce its leadership position.

So can Ethereum soar 5,400% over the next decade? It's possible, though Ark's price target may be a little too optimistic. Regardless, Ethereum has positioned itself as a key enabler of DeFi services and NFT sales, and that advantage could create significant wealth for long-term investors. From that perspective, this cryptocurrency is worth buying.

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1 Cryptocurrency With 5,400% Upside, According to Cathie Wood - The Motley Fool

India will not rush into finalizing a policy on cryptocurrencies and virtual digital assets, but take an informed decision after due deliberations across multilateral fora, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while addressing an event at Stanford Medicine.

At a fireside chat organised by the University, Sitharaman said while blockchain had the potential to contribute positively to the economy, it could also be manipulated and used for money laundering or terror financing activities.

Blockchain is full of potential not just in the payments arena but also in many others. Our intention is in no way to hurt the ecosystem, or to even say that we dont need it, but to define for ourselves how we need them and in what ways their growth should be facilitated and how we are going to handle it (This is so) because as much potential it may have for positive contribution to the economy, it also can be manipulated for not so desirable ends whether it is money laundering or leading to financing terror," she added.

These are some of the concerns,not just for India, but for many other countries, Sitharaman said. It will take its time for all of us to be surewithin the given available information, we are taking a discerned decision and it cant be rushed through."

On sanctions, she said that such moves always have a collateral impact on many other countries due to global interconnectivity in the digital era, and may need to be factored in during decision making".

The US has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, impacting operations of banks and other entities. Sanctions always have an impact on the economy, of not just the country on which the sanction is levied, but a collateral impact on many others. I suppose that is the situation, much more so now because we are globally far more interconnected than ever before."

When decisions are taken to impose sanctions, these set of unintended consequences may have to be factored in the digital era."

On Indias stand on Russia, Sitharaman said its balanced stance was not only due to economic interests, but also the security aspect, due to the borders it shares with some countries. The balance that India has taken in every one of the decisions in this context has been because of the geopolitical location of Indiaas we share land borders with some of these countries. Over the decades when the situation arose India was left to defend for itself its own economic, land and border interests."

In a separate industry event, Sitharaman assured investors in the US that India was willing to understand pain points" and suitably address any bottleneck they face. Speaking at a roundtable on Investing in Indias Digital Revolution in Palo Alto, California, the minister urged the investors interested in India to engage with the startup cell of the department of promotion of industry and internal trade. FM Sitharaman encouraged constant engagement with investors to understand and address their concerns. FM said she is open to suggestions, understanding pain points, and offering necessary redressal wherever possible," the finance ministry said in a tweet.

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The popularity digital currencies enjoy has surely made investors invest in cryptocurrencies

There is no doubt that cryptocurrencies are trending worldwide. It seems like ages when only a select range of investors was keen on investing in crypto. In present times, there is hardly any person who hasnt thought about investing in cryptocurrency. With differing degrees of utility, adoption, and promise, the cryptocurrency market has managed to garner attention from every corner of the globe. The attention and popularity that the digital currencies enjoy have surely made investors decipher as to which are the best cryptocurrencies to invest in. This article lists the top 10 cryptocurrencies that are available on the Binance exchange.

Current price: US$41,888

Bitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency and is a peer-to-peer online currency. BTC runs on the blockchain, or a ledger logging transaction distributed across a network of thousands of computers. Because additions to the distributed ledger are verified through a cryptographic puzzle, Bitcoin uses the proof of work algorithm to keep the transactions safe and secure.

Current price: US$3,099

Ethereum rose to prominence after its introduction of smart contracts. The crypto is a favorite of program developers because of its potential applications, like smart contracts that automatically execute when conditions are met, along with its NFT capabilities. Ethereum experienced tremendous growth and volatility in the past couple of months, increasing more than 27,000% since its inception.

Current price: US$1.00

Tether is useful for crypto investors because it offers a way to avoid the extreme volatility of other cryptocurrencies. This creates liquidity for exchange platforms, creates no-cost exit strategies for investors, and adds flexibility and stability to investors portfolios.

Current price: US$420.60

Binance Coin is a product of the Binance exchange. Binance is one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of the trading volume. It supports more than 100 cryptocurrencies to trade. BNB coin is used to perform certain operations over the Binance exchange, such as exchange fees, withdrawal fees, and listing fees. The Binance team is providing a discount on fees if the user uses a BNB coin to pay the fees.

Current price: US$1.00

USD Coin is known as a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Cryptocurrencies like USD Coin provide confidence to crypto investors to be present in the volatile cryptocurrency market and earn profit in a slow and steady process. The tokens are ensured with ERC-20 smart contracts.

Current price: US$$0.75

XRP is one of the top cryptocurrencies to help crypto investors yield profit other than Bitcoin. It is a digital asset built for payments and can be sent directly without any central authority. It acts as the most reliable crypto with the potential to source liquidity on demand.

Current price: US$106.97

Solana is a highly functional open-source project that banks on blockchain technologys permissionless nature to provide DeFi solutions. The Solana protocol is designed to facilitate decentralized app creation. It aims to improve scalability by introducing a proof-of-history consensus, along with the underlying proof-of-stake consensus of the blockchain. Also, due to its innovative hybrid consensus model, Solana enjoys interest from small-time traders and institutional traders alike.

Current price: US$95.06

LUNA is the native token of the Terra blockchain ecosystem. LUNA is down in the last 24 hours but showing the least losses of major crypto 0.06%. LUNAs price has been rocketing up this year and at the beginning of March was showing over 80% price increase in the previous seven days.

Current price: US$0.95

Cardano is one of the top competitors of Ethereum, like Bitcoin, in this highly volatile cryptocurrency market as a proof-of-stake blockchain platform. This cryptocurrency combines cutting-edge technologies to offer unparalleled security and sustainability to DAapps. The token is designed to ensure crypto investors can participate in the network operation.

Current price: US$78.58

Avalanche is one of the popular cryptocurrencies that is emerging as the crypto with potential in 2022 and beyond. It helps to create a unified global financial market to trade digital currency in a seamless way. This crypto with potential is known for the proof-of-stake consensus algorithm in the development of Dapps.

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With gambling deals on the wane, cryptocurrency companies are the latest wave of controversial cash to flood into football, with many top European clubs having deals with companies in the sector.

The latest and perhaps most significant yet may be Liverpool who, at the same time as attempting to win a quadruple on the field, are in talks off it with a number of companies from different areas, including cryptocurrency firms, to replace Standard Chartered on the front of the iconic red shirts next year as revealed by David Ornstein.

Were they to strike a deal they would be the first Premier League club to have a cryptocurrency firm as their front of shirt sponsor.

Here The Athletic explains what cryptocurrencies are, the deals firms have already signed with clubs and whether there should be any concerns about partnering with them.

What are cryptocurrencies and who is in the mix for Liverpools shirt sponsorship deal?

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets based on blockchain technology, the computer networks which underpin the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The firms in the race for Liverpools shirt include a crypto exchange firm a platform to buy and sell digital currency and a blockchain platform, a decentralised computer network that underpins cryptocurrencies.

These sorts of firms are increasing their presence in sport but are controversial for reasons including the environmental impact of their products and an association with volatile financial speculation.

Which other major crypto sponsorship deals have there been in sport?

In football, many top European clubs including Manchester City, Arsenal, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus have big money sponsorship deals with Socios.

This fan engagement company creates cryptocurrency tokens that grant access to polls and rewards, but an investigation by The Athletic revealed the companys products are subject to frantic pumping and dumping by people who see the volatile tokens as financial investments.

The Italian top flights technology sponsor is cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, meaning VAR announcements on Italian TV come with a shout-out for crypto punto com. The website will also sponsor this years FIFA World Cup.

In the USA, big-money crypto sponsors are even more established. Crypto.com recently signed a massive 20-year, $700 million sponsorship deal with the Los Angeles arena, previously known as the Staples Centre, home to multiple sports teams including the LA Lakers and LA Clippers of the NBA.

The firm also has deals with Formula 1 and UFC (the Ultimate Fighting Championship).

FTX, another big exchange, has a deal with Major League Baseball, and has given its name to Miami Heats basketball arena in Florida.

There are many more cryptocurrency firms in different sports around the world appearing on jerseys and renaming stadiums.

Why is a crypto sponsor controversial?

First, carrying out cryptocurrency transactions using blockchain technology requires extensive computing power, which is directly associated with guzzling energy and therefore environmental destruction.

This is particularly true for the original Bitcoin blockchain. Later versions such as the Tezos blockchain which sponsors Manchester Uniteds training kit, and the Polygon blockchain which underpin Liverpools collection of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) say they are more environmentally friendly.

Second, and more fundamentally, critics argue that cryptocurrencies have no real purpose beyond financial speculation. The word cryptocurrency is a bit of misnomer because few people use this technology for buying goods or services. Far more common is using them as digital assets to try to make money. But unlike conventional assets like company stocks or commodities like gold or oil, cryptocurrencies are not linked to any tangible entity.

This means some go so far as likening the entire industry to a Ponzi scheme, where cash is transferred from late investors to early investors, who make money simply by buying low and selling high, with no product of tangible value being generated at any point.

Many cryptocurrencies, most famously Bitcoin, have ballooned in value since their creation, making some people very rich. But over the past year or two as the industry has become more established, these sorts of gains have become harder to come by and lots of people have lost money.

Another concern about cryptocurrency exchanges is that being such a new form of technology, the laws and regulations dont always apply to them.

Furthermore, some cryptocurrency exchanges offer many products, some of which, though legal in the exchanges home country are illegal in the country where the product is being marketed.

For example, during Liverpools recent thrilling draw with Manchester City, OKX, a cryptocurrency exchange, was prominently advertised at the Etihad Stadium.

A look at this companys website shows that the company deals heavily in crypto derivatives, which are banned from sale to UK consumers because they are deemed too risky for retail investors. There is no suggestion club or company is breaking UK law and the company itself is free to advertise here.

The financial structures of some of these companies are poorly understood, meaning we dont know if they are borrowing huge sums to fund these sports sponsorships, with the road to future profitability less clear.

What are the upsides?

Put simply, there is lots of money in this. The cryptocurrency industry is booming around the world and the sums being funnelled into sport are vast.

Maintaining a football club at the very top tier of international competition is increasingly expensive, with wages endlessly on the rise, and no cost controls like in American sports which implement salary caps.

While some clubs enjoy the luxury of financing from a state-linked entity, or, until recently, an oligarch willing to stomach huge personal losses for sporting glory, Liverpool are not in that position and Fenway Sports Group try to operate in a fairly sustainable way.

The clubs achievements have been exceptional over the past few years, but it will be difficult to sustain those levels without going toe-to-toe with rivals financially.

Cryptocurrency advocates also claim there are lots of positives about the technology itself, such as enabling payments across borders and across jurisdictions, such as in warzones or countries with poor banking systems.

Do Liverpool have any history with crypto?

The club recently launched a collection of NFTs, a sort of digital asset based on blockchain technology in the form of cartoon images of Liverpool players, which can be traded online.

The sale was not a success, with the club selling only around 10 per cent of the NFTs available, raising only around $1 million, less than 0.5 per cent of the clubs commercial revenue last year. There was also a backlash from fans.

The club also has a sponsorship deal with Think Markets, a trading app which offers cryptocurrency trading as a product.

What are the risks of a cryptocurrency deal?

Given the sector is growing so quickly despite almost no regulation, perhaps the biggest risk aside from a gigantic crypto crash that causes investors to desert the sector is not something that is obvious right now.

These firms are involved in moving money around the globe in ways that is barely understood, let alone regulated, meaning cryptocurrency exchanges are constantly working to steer on the right side of the law and not fall foul of prohibitions on money laundering or being used to fund illegal activities.

The biggest risk is that a club will sign a deal with a company that one day explodes spectacularly, or is embroiled in scandal and controversy in a way that is perhaps barely even conceivable at the moment the deal is signed, while the cryptocurrency hype is raging and while the values of digital assets are generally going up.

Although partnering with one of these controversial companies may be the best way for a club like Liverpool to help bankroll footballing glory, before they swap Standard Chartered for a new logo, they may want to make sure they are getting paid for the privilege in dollars or pounds, not crypto.

(Top photo: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

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The best time to invest is yesterday.

Greta Good

April 27, 2022Updated: April 27, 2022 12:34p.m.

StackCommerce

So you've been putting off investing in cryptocurrency. We're at the point at which cryptocurrency has proved itself to be very much legitimate, but you probably already know that from the millions of friends who regularly remind you how much money they've made investing in it. But it really isn't a super simple process. It's nothing like any investment you've ever done before, so you'd be forgiven if you need a little guidance. Though as many will say, the best time to invest is yesterday.

But you'd really rather not inquire with your very techy, long-winded friends to get started. The best way to learn how to invest some money in cryptocurrency is through The 2022 Advanced Cryptocurrency Trading Bundle. With 232 lessons divided into seven courses, this bundle is jam-packed with premium content that will leave no stone unturned. This program also happens to be on sale right now, so you'd be wise to get it while it's hot.

You'll get your feet wet with the Professional Cryptocurrency Trading Masterclass, which is designed to take you from an absolute beginner in the world of cryptocurrency to becoming a successful trader. It covers trading psychology, risk management, chart patterns, and more.

Other incredible courses in this bundle include The Advanced Cryptocurrency Trading Course, which has earned a 4.6 out of 5-star rating, partially because it includes some little-known methods to enable rapid growth among your investments. Some of the courses in this bundle are incredibly unique, such as the Professional Bollinger Band Trading Masterclass, which will help make 80% of your trades more profitable. With all these courses in your toolkit, you'll be helping your wealth grow for the modern world in no time.

The 2022 Advanced Cryptocurrency Trading Bundlenormally costs $1400, but for a limited time, you can get it for only $35.

Price subject to change.

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Start investing in cryptocurrency with this $35 bundle - SF Gate

The Bank of Spain has issued a new report that touches on the subject of the popularity of cryptocurrency usage and the possible effects it might have on the financial stability of the nation. In the document, the bank explains that these assets which ostensibly dont have any kind of support behind them can introduce systemic risks via their adoption by traditional institutions and the lack of regulation over them.

The Bank of Spain has issued a new report where it warns about the growth of the cryptocurrency economy and its possible effects on the traditional economic system. According to the report, while the cryptocurrency market is still considered limited, its exponential growth and the fact that most of the value of the market comes from cryptocurrency assets without support, could pose risks for the global economy.

This systemic risk is explained by the growing links between crypto and the traditional economy. On this, the Bank of Spain identifies two possible vectors. The first one has to do with the elevated volatility of these assets and their correlation with traditional markets. On this, the document informs:

The high volatility of crypto assets may contribute to these dynamics, with corrections in these assets favoring a more general correction in financial asset prices.

The second risk vector has to do with the elevated market cap of traditional stablecoins like USDT and USDC, which forces their issuers to maintain a high number of support assets. This might affect the prices of these safe assets in the case of an accelerated run caused by market conditions.

The report continues to explain that, while these cryptocurrency assets pose significant risks for the global economy, regulation is still being established and has failed to address these concerns comprehensively. Spain does not have the ability to regulate cryptocurrencies and has just recently issued a set of rules and recommendations when it comes to advertising campaigns related to these elements.

The document clarifies that:

In this context of lack of its own national regulation on crypto assets, the Bank of Spain does not currently have the capacity to regulate, authorize or supervise the operation of crypto asset markets or their participants.

Spain and others in the E.U. are waiting for the approval of MiCA, the Markets in Crypto Assets law framework, which according to recent reports, will designate supranational entities to oversee cryptocurrency operations in Europe.

What do you think about the latest report on the risks that cryptocurrencies present to the global economy issued by the Bank of Spain? 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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Microsoft confirms its Xbox division is currently investigating new fledgling tech like NFTs and cryptocurrency.

After microtransactions and live services, NFTs are gaming's latest craze. In fact, it's possible NFTs could radically change the video games business. Major publishers like Square Enix and SEGA are interested in NFTs, whereas Ubisoft and Konami have already released NFTs (to varying success).

Now Microsoft could be experimenting with NFTs and crypto at its Xbox R&D teams. An Xbox representative recently told Bloomberg that the division is "aware and looking into NFTs, cryptocurrency and other emerging technologies, but don't yet have anything to share."

Microsoft will be very careful with any potential NFT rollout.

Xbox gaming president Phil Spencer had commented on NFTs back in 2021, saying that he believes the current landscape more exploitative than it is innovative.

"What I'd say today on NFT, all up, is I think there's a lot of speculation and experimentation that's happening, and that some of the creative that I see today feels more exploitive than about entertainment," Spencer told Axios at the time.

"I don't think it necessitates that every NFT game is exploitive. I just think we're kind of in that journey of people figuring it out.

"And I can understand that early on you see a lot of things that probably are not things you want to have in your store."

"I think anything that we looked at in our storefront that we said is exploitive would be something that we would, you know, take action on. We don't want that kind of content."

Microsoft has also confirmed it will bring Xbox to the metaverse. Although details were very sparse, the announcement suggests that Microsoft may create an all-in-one ecosystem/platform for its wide breadth of wholly-owned IPs including Halo, Minecraft, and Flight Simulator.

"Yeah, absolutely, you should expect to see [the metaverse] expand into gaming]," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in 2021.

"The way I think of it...we're a platform company and we always build the core intrinsics first and then build it into our first-party applications. So you absolutely can expect us to do things in gaming."

"If you take Halo as a game, it is a metaverse. Minecraft is a metaverse and so is Flight Sim. In some sense they are 2D today, but the question is 'can you now take that to a full 3D world?' We absolutely plan to do so."

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Microsoft says it is 'looking into NFTs and cryptocurrency' - TweakTown

Death isnt a happy topic to discuss, but its important to plan every scenario in advance, especially inheritance planning, also known as Estate planning to ensure that all your assets physical, financial and online are inherited and transferred to your loved ones, after your demise.

Whether it is gold, cash or a house, typically someone inherits it after it was put somewhere in a will by the deceased. But, what happens to crypto-assets after a person dies? The answer to that is not as simple.

With cryptocurrencies, the risk of losing assets or misplacing them is higher than with traditional assets. In this weeks column, we explain what happens to your crypto and non-fungible-tokens (NFTs) when you die, and how to set up your digital wallets so your loved ones can access them securely.

About 4 million Bitcoins have been out of circulation forever, as a result of people dying and not revealing their private keys. A private key is like a password. It is a string of letters and numbers that give you access to your crypto walletwhere your crypto coins and NFTs are stored securely.

Billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies have been lost forever, due to the owners dying and their family members or close ones not being able to retrieve the crypto assets from their wallets.

In 2018, Matthew Mellon, a Ripple investor who held $1 billion worth of XRP died and it was lost forever. In 2019, Gerald cotton, the CEO of a Canadian exchange QuadrigaCX, died and he was the only one that had access to $190 million worth of Aetherium.

The bottom line is, in both of these cases, only the deceased had access to the cryptocurrency, and with them, their assets are lost forever.

Cryptocurrencies are stored in your crypto wallets built on blockchain technology that stores digital assets cryptographically, making it impossible for someone to hack your private keys.

Without the private keys, you cannot claim ownership to any crypto assets. Court orders or any other legal document wont be worth it, if you dont have private keys.

Before we delve into the details of securing your crypto assets, its important to plan whom you give access to your digital assets.

Remember, choosing the right person to give access to your crypto wallet is not just about trust, its about choosing someone who is technologically savvy and understands how to retrieve a crypto wallet.

For instance, say Raj has 2 Bitcoins that he wishes to leave for his brother Sham, in the unfortunate event he dies. However, Sham has no idea how to use a cryptocurrency wallet or an exchange. In this scenario, Sham would most likely employ someone to help him access the cryptocurrency and then liquidate it. This can pose a significant risk. The employed person could transfer all the funds in their walletand we are familiar that such crypto scams are quite prevalent in the crypto universe.

This is only one such scenario. Even if Sham learns how to use crypto-wallets, there are other risks associated: sending crypto to the wrong address, getting locked out of devices or withdrawing assets using the wrong token standards.

Another factor to consider is how much information should you give out? Obviously, youd have to give out your private keys, but can you trust only one person with your crypto assets or could you divide the information among several people.

It is a safe bet to divide your bets across a group of people, although it has its pros and cons. An individual would not be able to withdraw your assets or steal your assets, but the drawback of listing multiple parties is that the whole system collapses if one person mislays any piece of the information.

The first thing to do before making a will is to transfer all your crypto assets to a hardware wallet. While online wallets are the easiest to set up and use but are also the most susceptible to cyber-attacks. One way to secure your cryptocurrency is to use a hardware wallet instead of an online wallet.

A hardware wallet stores private keys in a secure physical device, it is one of the best ways to protect your cryptocurrency. Moreover, they are immune to computer viruses, making it virtually impossible for hackers to steal your coins.

Make it easier for your loved ones to find and gain access to your crypto wallet. Write a step-by-step guide that explains how to access your cryptocurrency. Ensure that the provided information is stored somewhere on a password encrypted hard disk so that it doesnt go in the wrong hands.

When writing the instructions, assume that your beneficiary knows nothing about cryptocurrency. Here is a sample of the instructions that could be given.

#Name of the exchange that hosts your cryptocurrency. (WazirX, Binance, etc)

#Steps to log in: Username and password

#For physical wallets: Private wallet keys

#For account recovery a 12- or 24-word secret seed phrase

#In case you have two-factor authentication (2FA) switched on, provide either the location and password of the device where the Authenticator app is stored.

#If your accounts are set up to receive OTP on mobile phones, include details of the location and password of your current mobile device.

#Password or pin to your hard-disk.

After finalising the list, a complete walkthrough of these instructions will ensure that you included all the information your loved ones need to access your cryptocurrency.

Now that you have secured your crypto assets for your descendants, call up a lawyer and draft a will clearly stating who owns the access to your crypto assets, after you pass away.

In case you dont list crypto in your will, it falls into the residue of your will. Residue or remainder is a list of everything you own that isnt accounted for in your will. This includes your clothing, subscriptions, any personal items, etc.

Lastly, in the will, make sure to mention where to find your cryptocurrency. Bequeathing cryptocurrency to your loved ones requires way more planning and effort than any other traditional assets. It is better to start off as early as possible, before its too late.

Original post:
What happens to your cryptocurrency and NFTs when you die? Preplan or lose it forever - The Indian Express