About 71% Indians have low or zero trust in cryptocurrencies, according to a recent survey by LocalCircles. The survey added that 54% do not want the government to legalise cryptocurrencies but want them taxed on par with digital assets held abroad.

The community social network said the survey results were based on 56,000 citizen responses from 342 districts of India, received over the past 15 days.

The Centre plans to introduce a Bill to regulate cryptocurrency and ban all private cryptocurrencies in the winter session of Parliament that begins on November 29. The bill also seeks to create a facilitative framework for creation of an official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

As per the survey, families of 87% of the respondents do not have anyone trading or investing in cryptocurrencies and 54% do not want the government to legalise cryptocurrencies but tax them like a digital asset held abroad. About 26% say they should be legalised and then taxed in India, LocalCircles said in a release. The study also finds that 51% of the respondents support India rolling out its own digital currency which is managed by the RBI while 26% are against the same. This indicates that the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would be a more trustworthy investment, it added.

LocalCircles will be sharing the findings of this study with the senior leadership of Government of India, the RBI leadership and all Members of Parliament such that public feedback on cryptocurrencies can be given the due consideration as laws related to it are finalised, said Sachin Taparia, founder, LocalCircles.

The findings show that the Central Bank Digital Currency is seen as more trustworthy

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Banksy's Trolley Hunters Courtesy of Sotheby's

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Live bids for Banksys artworks, Trolley Hunters and Love is In The Air (2006) atSothebys evening auction in New York on Nov. 18, will be announced in real-time in Ether cryptocurrency, marking the first time that a cryptocurrency will be used as the standard currency for bidding on physical artworks.

Trolley Hunters, depicting three prehistoric figures hunting a herd of empty supermarket trolleys, is a witty critique of consumerist societys obsession with processed and packaged food. Painted more than 15 years ago, it was unveiled in Banksys seminal exhibition Barely Legal in Los Angeles in 2006. It has a presale estimate between US$5 million and US$7 million at its debut auction.

Meanwhile, Love is in the Air depicts a subject at a civic unrest posed to hurl an object towards an unseen foe. Instead of a weapon, he was holding a bunch of flowers. The painting is expected to sell for between US$4 million and US$6 million.

While bidding increments for these two works, offered during Sothebys evening sale, titled The Now, will be fielded in Ether cryptocurrency, winning bidders can choose to pay in either fiat currency or in the three cryptocurrencies accepted by Sothebys: Ether, Bitcoin, and USD Coin, the auction house said.

Sothebys was also the first auction house to accept cryptocurrency as a payment option for a physical artwork. In May, when it offered a different work by Banksy also titled Love is in the Air (2005), the auction house said it would accept Bitcoin and Ethereum. The painting sold for US$12.9 million at its contemporary art evening auction, against a presale high estimate of US$5 million.

Choosing Banksys for new payment option and new bidding format is befitting, the auction house said, given the artists history as the preeminent disruptor of the art world paired with cryptocurrency as the leading disruptor in finance.

The live auction in New York on the evening of Nov. 18 will be livestreamed globally via Sothebys social media channels. The two Banksy artworks are on view virtually at Sothebys Discord channel and via Sothebys.com.

Excerpt from:
Sothebys to Hold Live Bids for Banksys Artworks in Ether ...

Bitcoin has minted more than a few millionaires in recent years as its value has surged since its inception more than a decade ago, but an apparent display issue made investors substantially wealthier at least on paper for a time Tuesday.

Crypto sites, including digital-asset exchange Coinbase Global COIN, -1.55% and CoinMarketCap.com, were acknowledging issues with displayed quotes of some of the most popular cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin BTCUSD, +2.36% and Ether ETHUSD, +1.29% on the Ethereum blockchain.

Context: Coinbase and CoinMarketCap briefly display erratic cryptocurrency price action

Also read: The crypto market is uneasy about the Fed meeting and high inflation. Heres why.

Popular data site CoinMarketCap.com was showing a single bitcoin briefly trading at roughly $778,000,000,000, as compared with its actual price in the ballpark of $48,000.

One of the founders of dogecoin DOGEUSD, +1.16%, Billy Markus, quipped on Twitter that the snafu had made him an unrealized quadrillionaire, with doges value also catapulting to a price of $194,509 from the roughly 19 cents displayed on sites including CoinDesk.

Coinbase had been displaying an error message on its site for at least some users.

Even stablecoins, which are intended to be pegged to a fiat currency such as the euro EURUSD, -0.80% or a U.S. dollar DXY, +0.66%, where showing unusual price quotes.

A single unit of the well-known stablecoin Tether was displaying a price of around $14 million, when, in reality, it is meant to hold at $1. Another stablecoin, USD Coin, was being displayed at around $12 million, CoinMarketCap and other sites were showing.

A call to Coinbase representatives wasnt immediately returned, but the platform indicated via Twitter that it had resolved the issue.

A call to CoinMarketCap also was not returned, but the glitch had been fixed on its site at the time of publication.

Some crypto buyers quipped about how they had reacted when they tried to withdraw the inflated funds. And others joked about the difference between quotes on CoinMarketCap and their actual net worths.

The display issue comes about a week after crypto faced a flash crash over the weekend that brought the value of a range of digital assets down substantially.

This time the issue appears to be almost entirely related to erroneous quotations rather than any genuine price shifts in the crypto markets.

Check out: A perfect storm as bitcoin stages weekend crash that puts it on verge of breakdown. Heres what crypto bulls are saying.

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Errant quotes made cryptocurrency investors quadrillionaires on paper today. Heres how the crypto community reacted. - MarketWatch

CRYPTOKIMM COMES TO LIFE

Kims passion for cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the metaverse and decentralized finance (DeFi) kept growing. He developed a free 90-page beginners' cryptocurrency guide, one of a few free resources on his Linktree. The Economics-Financemajorbegan using Instagram to share cryptocurrency-related news updates and his opinionson the market.His internet persona CryptoKimm became a nickname in real life, too. On any given day, students would approachCryptoKimmaround campusto ask himfor advice or more information about his posts, intrigued by his perspective oncryptocurrency and blockchain.

"Those interactions and the more than 20 messages I was receiving on Instagram every day mademerealize that other students shared my passion for learning aboutblockchain and cryptocurrency, too," Kim recalls. "SoIdecided to organize a clubthat would bring together like-minded students.Less than a month later, theBentley Blockchain Association, one of the first student-led blockchain groups in the nation, was born."

Monir Jalili, assistant professor of Management, taught Kim in her Marketing and Operations Fundamentals course. Jalili said blockchain technology is being adopted in many areas of business, including accounting, finance, marketing, supply chain, law and others. When Kim asked her to join the Bentley Blockchain Association as an adviser, Jalili said it was a "no-brainer" and quickly agreed.

"Creating a space where business students can learn about this disruptive force of technology in the business world will be a great strategic asset for Bentley," she said.

The Bentley Blockchain Association has partnered withsomeof the biggest blockchain nonprofit and academic groups,including think tank Boston Blockchain Association, The Blockchain Academy, Encode Club and Blockchain Education Network, a worldwide network of more than 500 universities.

"Partnerships between the Bentley Blockchain Association and outside groups help educate and inspire others about a technology that could impact their future, both personally and professionally," Kim says.

Last month,Kims passion for blockchain took him to London,wherehe co-hostedDeFi Live, a conference about the decentralized finance space.He organized and moderated panels on topics like working in crypto and privacy in the digital economy. Offered free to college students, the event waslive-streamedto more than 2,000 virtual attendees, including Kims fellow Bentley Blockchain Association members back home.

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Cryptocurrency? First, they scoffed. Now they call him 'CryptoKimm' - The Bentley University Newsroom

New Delhi: The global crypto market dropped in capitalisation to $2.14 trillion from $2.21 trillion over the last 24 hours. The crypto volume surged from $89.49 billion to $105.96 billion. Bitcoin, currently trading at $46,637 dropped by 1.27 percent in the last 24 hours, on the other hand, BTCs market dominance stands at 40 percent.

The second-largest crypto coin managed to gain 0.71% and is trading at $3911 while Avalanche went on to surge by over 8 percent to $113.

Amid this pump and dump in the crypto market Christmas is almost here. Before you just go and jump right into finding the best coins to add in your Christmas investing list, you must need to understand which tokens are in the best position to take off to the moon from here and their future prospects.

Here are the best five cryptocurrencies which offer the finest future ahead:

Avalanche

Avalanche is an open, programmable smart contracts platform for decentralized applications and it claims to be the fastest smart contracts platform in the blockchain industry, as measured by time-to-finality. Avalanche has the most validators securing its activityof any proof-of-stake protocol.

As per Avalanche Technology, they offer

High Performance: finalizes transactions in about a second and clears thousands per second, enabling decentralized finance applications to reach their full potential. Secure: scale to thousands of nodes, making it a truly decentralized protocol that avoids the centralization risks of most blockchain networks to-date. Customizable: Each blockchain launched on Avalanche can define its own core logic and validator set. This means compliance and privacy by default.

Avalanche or AVAX is a capped-supply toke with a max cap of 720 million coins and the at which its max cap can reach is subject to governance.

Solana

Solana is an open-source project which claims to be the fastest blockchain in the world and the fastest-growing ecosystem in crypto, with over 400 projects spanning DeFi, NFTs, Web3.

Solana offers the lowest cost forever. Solanas scalability ensures transactions remain less than $0.01 for both developers and users. Solana also offers Fast transactions forever. Solana is all about speed, with 400 millisecond block times, as hardware gets faster, so does the network.

SOL is currently priced at $180 and it is expected to touch new heights in the future.

StakeMoon

STAKEMOON is a decentralized platform that promotes an overarching visionary to reward long-term token holders. The STAKEMOON team argues that this goal can be achieved through two fundamental routes.

As per STAKEMOON, First, all STAKEMOON transactions attract a taxation rate of 15%. In a nutshell, this is to demotivate day traders and market speculators from buying and selling the STAKEMOON token as part of a short-term investment strategy. Of this figure, 10% is distributed to existing token holders, while the remaining 5% is allocated to the STAKEMOON liquidity pool.

Second, the team at STAKEMOON are proponents of the long-term benefits of staking. Put simply, those that allocate their tokens to the STAKEMOON protocol will, in turn, receive rewards. This is because the STAKEMOON tokens in question are utilized for the purpose of confirming blockchain transactions and thus fees subsequently paid by the sender are distributed fairly to those taking part in the staking program.

StakeMoon has already raised around $1,200,000 since its launch in November.

Polkadot

Polkadot is an open-source project founded by theWeb3 Foundation. Web3 Foundation has commissioned five teams and over 100 developers to build Polkadot.

As per Polkadot, It is built to connect private and consortium chains, public and permissionless networks, oracles, and future technologies that are yet to be created. DOT facilitates an internet where independent blockchains can exchange information and transactions in a trustless way via the Polkadot relay chain.

Polkadot makes it easier than ever to create and connect decentralized applications, services, and institutions. By empowering innovators to build better solutions, we seek to free society from its reliance on a broken web where its large institutions cant violate our trust.

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Best Cryptocurrency to invest in this Christmas; Check here - Newsroompost

On the blockchain, smart contracts are codes that carry out a set of instructions

The rise of cryptocurrency has opened up the possibility for hackers to exploit loopholes in blockchain and scam millions of users worldwide. If the online crypto industry is attracting new users at an unprecedented rate, the number of hacking incidents is bound to increase in the days and weeks ahead, warn industry experts. Already some estimate that more than $650 million has been targeted in major cryptocurrency thefts, hacks, and fraud between January and July this year. Many more are yet to be reported because of a variety of reasons, including a lack of proper understanding of the technology.

Like any industry, cryptocurrency too is not immune to thefts and scams. However, experts recommend investors that they fully understand the risks involved while trading in these digital assets. The best a trader can do to protect their investments is to make themselves aware of the potential pitfalls and common mistakes others have made.

Here are a few tips:

1) Research thoroughly

Investors should always invest time in thoroughly researching the crypto or any other digital asset they want to invest in. They can start with the crypto project's official website. Learn about its founders, developers, and current backers. Find out where the project is available to buy. These should give an initial indication to determine whether the project is doubtful or not.

2) Imposter websites

Do not fall prey to imposter websites. There are a surprising number of imposter websites being set up regularly that resemble the official website. Amateur investors often fail to identify the fake ones from the real ones. If doubtful, ask those who have already been in the industry for some time. Beware of phishing emails.

3) Fake mobile apps

Another frontier to protect is downloading crypto trading or exchange apps from verified sources. Scammers often trick investors through fake apps. Although these apps are quickly identified and removed, this does not mean fake apps are going away anytime soon. Look for obvious spelling mistakes in the copy or in the name of the app. Ask yourself whether the branding is flimsy or has an incorrect logo.

4) Pay attention to smart contracts

On the blockchain, smart contracts are codes that carry out a set of instructions. Although they are technical, usually they help understand the overall potential of a crypto project. If there is an issue with the smart contract, there could be weaknesses within the project.

5) Keep your wallet safe

Finally, protect your wallet wisely. All wallets carry two keys private and public. Ensure the private key is not disclosed to the public under any circumstances. Despite that, there are risks with wallets and cold wallets are usually the safest option to store private keys.

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Worried About Cryptocurrency Scams? Here's How To Protect Your Investments - NDTV Profit

India is preparing to clamp down on its booming cryptocurrency trade with a new law likely to be introduced in parliament this month.

Details of the legislation remain unclear, but the government wants to ban all private digital currencies, with some exceptions.

India hopes that a ban would pave the way for the Reserve Bank of India the country's central bank to gain control over digital money, despite concerns over the lack of advanced data protection laws.

The central bank has repeatedly warned cryptocurrency could pose "serious concerns on macroeconomic and financial stability," while Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November said cryptocurrencies could "spoil our youth."

The government has also warned that unregulated crypto markets could become avenues for money laundering, fraud and terror financing.

At least eight cases of cryptocurrency-related frauds are under investigation by the Directorate of Enforcement, India's agency tasked with fighting financial crime.

But despite warnings from the government and details of the planned bill still in the shadows, many cryptocurrency investors are hoping they will still be able to trade.

"Even if there are restrictions imposed by the government, I hold multiple trading accounts in domestic, as well as foreign exchanges," Pritha Sengupta, a 25-year-old entrepreneur, told DW.

"Some of my trades have resulted in very attractive returns... almost over 500 times and bank deposits hardly give us less than 7% in a year," Pritha added.

Also unfazed by government warnings, graduate Manisha Singh insists the crypto market is a "great way to build up wealth" in India.

"The best part is that it helps us invest in small amounts. I have sold bitcoins at a profit," Singh told DW.

India has become one of the biggest markets in Asia for cryptocurrencies and one of the fastest growing in the world. The country has 15 homegrown cryptocurrency exchange platforms.

Between 15 and 20 million people in India are estimated to own cryptocurrencies, with holdings totaling approximately $6 billion (5.31 billion), industry figures indicate.

The market for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has surged significantly in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, when much of the country's population was forced to stay at home.

The localcryptomarket exploded when the Supreme Court overturned a previous ban last year, growing 641% between July 2020 and June 2021, according to cryptocurrency research firm Chainalysis.

Bitcoin saw an average return on investment of 66% in November and along with cryptocurrencies Mana, Dogecoin and Ethereum traded the most in volume during the festive season of Diwali in early November.

Film and cricket stars have also endorsed homegrown crypto exchanges by fronting advertising campaigns for platforms like CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX, both of which have upped their social media campaigns.

Indians are set to invest more than $10 billion in the cryptocurrency market by 2030, according to a report by trade association Nasscom.

But when speculation around the proposed cryptocurrency legislation began last month, prices of some of the most popular digital currencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether nosedived by as much as 25% momentarily.

Lekha Chakraborty, professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, maintains that cryptocurrency plays an important role in a globalized, post-pandemic world.

"I am not worried about the political economy of crypto, because those can be tackled through efficient monetary and fiscal coordination. However, the concern is about the regulatory framework, which needs to be strengthened, especially in the cross-border transactions," Chakraborty told DW.

"Fear of crypto is overplayed. There is no retreat of globalization in the post-pandemic world. In a globalized world, digital currency can ease the transactions," she said.

A proposed clause in the new law, which is still being debated, wouldallow forthe possession of cryptocurrency as an asset and ban its use as currency or payment.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the new law was being reworked to take into account the rapid changes in the industry, without offering details of the changes to the original draft.

Speculation continues to abound about whether the law will prohibit cyptocurrencies or merely attempt to regulate them.

"Even keeping crypto as an asset is so speculative and volatile at this point, that it could dangerously see-saw the asset ownership landscape and impact the real economy," economist Indira Rajaraman told DW.

Edited by: Sou-Jie van Brunnersum

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Why is the Indian government cracking down on cryptocurrency? - DW (English)

Interest in digital assets surged this year, with the next generation of investors at the forefront.

The value of the cryptocurrency marketbriefly surpassed $3 trillionin November, with top coins likebitcoinandetherhitting all-time highs. Other digital assets, like nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, jumped in value as well. In November, NFT marketplace OpenSea surpassed $10 billion in total volume.

Demand for NFTs of art, music and in-game assets, like digital plots of land in the metaverse, soared.

Now, during the holiday season, young investors are spending big on NFTs and other digital assets as gifts. Here's a look at what five people are planning to buy.

Cynthia Gentry plans to gift an NFT of a digital land lot for her sister and parents to share in the metaverse. It could cost thousands of dollars, depending on factors like metaverse game, demand and size.

The 23-year-old San Antonio resident sees NFTs as assets that will appreciate over time. "It's funny, I don't think I even have a budget," she says. "It doesn't feel like I'm spending money, [I'm] just storing my money in a different asset."

For her mom and sister, Gentry plans to buy collectible NFTs from projects like World of Women and Crypto Coven that aim to empower women. Though she's unsure how much she'll spend, each collection has a floor price, which is the lowestprice available.

Sisters Cynthia Gentry, 23, and Imani Gentry, 19, with their mom, Brenda Gentry.

Courtesy of Brenda Gentry

The World of Women collection, which consists of 10,000 generated works representing drawings of diverse women, has a current floor price of 1.95 ether, or $7,275. The Crypto Coven collection includes 9,999 different witches and has floor price of 0.19 ether, or about $709.

She also plans to buy NFTs from artists like Lana Denina, whose popular Mona Lana project has a floor price of 0.24 ether, or about $895.

For her dad, Gentry plans to get a Ledger Nano hardware wallet, which ranges from $59 to $119, or an NFT from a project with a "cool, interesting roadmap," Gentry says. She's also hoping to pay for an online course on blockchain coding for him, because "he likes gifts that can expand his expertise in some way."

Gentry's sister, Imani, also plans to buy everyone in her family NFTs for Christmas. She's budgeting at least 2.5 ether, or about $9,327, in total.

"Personally, I think sending digital gifts will be the norm and [part of the] future because of how accessible it is," the 19-year-old says. "I wish this was a thing sooner, honestly. It saves time and wrapping paper and it's cooler, in my opinion."

For her mom, Imani, who is also based in San Antonio, plans to buy a World of Women NFT, she says. "My mom sold hers back in January for me to attend college. I would like to return the favor."

San Francisco-based Anisha Sunkerneni is looking forward to gifting her close friends and family their first digital assets, including Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domains and NFTs.

"Even more than NFTs, I think an ENS domain has the potential to really be tied to your on-chain personality and profile," the 26-year-old says. "Getting the ones you want is pretty special."

Anisha Sunkerneni is looking forward to gifting her close friends and family their first digital assets for the holidays.

Courtesy of Anisha Sunkerneni

The ENS creates a domain, like ".com," for the Ethereum blockchain that represents an investor's cryptocurrency address. An ENS domain name appears as something like "YourName.eth," rather than the random string of letters and numbers that typically signifies your wallet.

Prices for ENS domains vary. One with five characters or more costs $5 in ether per year, while a four-character one costs $160 in ether per year and a three-character one costs $640 in ether per year, according to the ENS domains website. Three- and four-character ENS domain names cost more due to the smaller number available.

Sunkerneni got into crypto just this year, but "I see how important and big of a space it's transforming into, and I want to bring those I care about into the fold," she says. "Giving crypto and NFTs as gifts sounded like a natural option."

Allison Reichel is planning to send her family and friends the equivalent amount she'd usually spend on gifts or gift cards in cryptocurrency, but only if they are interested in receiving it.

"I believe that digital assets like bitcoin are something extremely valuable and represent many elements of both free markets and free choice, which means it's important that individuals choose to participate in these markets and don't feel pressured to," the 24-year-old says.

Reichel, who is based in Austin, Texas, plans to gift a mix of bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana. Currently, bitcoin is trading at around $46,953, according to Coin Metrics, but it's possible to buy fractional units called satoshis. Ether is trading at around $3,731, and SOL at $160.

"I like to try to stick with assets that I believe will be around for a while and hold their value, so while meme coins are fun, not really looking there," says Reichel.

Allison Reichel, 24, plans to give digital assets like bitcoin as a holiday gift for her friends and family.

Courtesy of Allison Reichel

Los Angeles-based Cooper Turley plans to spend about $10,000 on NFTs as gifts. The 26-year-old is also excited to gift ENS domains as a way to "welcome them into Web3," which is the decentralized iteration of the internet that powers blockchain-based applications like NFTs.

"I've bought a few music NFTs and have been going shopping on [platform] Nifty Gateway for old NFTs from prominent creators that could make as good gifts," he says.

Cooper Turley, 26, plans to spend about $10,000 on NFTs as holiday gifts this year.

Courtesy of Cooper Turley

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Millennials and Gen Z are planning to spend thousands on cryptocurrency, NFTs and metaverse land as holiday gifts - CNBC

According to predictions, Ripple could even touch US$2 by the end of 2022

Blockchain technology acts as the underlying power behind many famous cryptocurrencies. It stores transaction data in blocks and loops it for security. Unlike the top cryptocurrencies that are powered by blockchain technology, Ripple functions on a disruptive model called hash tree. Similar to blockchain technology, XRP uses this futuristic method to record transactions. However, Ripple has been on a downward trend since last month. After hitting a record high of US$1.33 in November, XRP has encountered a steady slide. Therefore, we explore if Ripple has the potential to emerge as the best cryptocurrency investment in 2022.

In the modern digital ecosystem, cryptocurrencies have evolved to become the epicenter of financial dealings. As digital tokens gain popularity, more people are initiating to try their hand at the decentralized model. While blockchain is the biggest player in the ground, do investors take a moment to look at other underlying models? Yes, they did. That is how Ripple became the best cryptocurrency investment in the digital sphere. Ripple runs its platform, RippleNet, which allows anyone to send and exchange cryptocurrencies or make cross-border transactions. Since its inception, RippleNet has emerged as a direct competitor to the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) banking system. At the time of writing, XRP was at US$0.8195 with a market capitalization of US$38.72 billion. With an annual growth of 256%, Ripple has managed to occupy the eighth position in the market. However, its price is expected to grow further in 2022 as enthusiasts predict that the Ripple vs SEC case will come to an end next year.

Ripple is a fintech company that generally offers global payment solutions through its patented payment network known as RippleNet. RippleNet is built on a consensus XRP ledger that is both futuristic and open source. Ripple platform promotes the best cryptocurrency called XRP. Although Ripple uses both XRP ledger and XRP coins, they run independently off the company. Besides, XRP doesnt use the famous Proof of Work or Proof of Stake models. Instead, it functions solely on a protocol consensus algorithm that validates accounts and transfers payments through independent nodes.

XRP coins hit mainstream adoption in 2017 and 2018. While Bitcoin reached new highs in 2017, it eventually shed some light on the next aligned altcoins. Fortunately, Ripple happened to be one of them. However, after the bull run in 2017, XRP price plummeted dramatically and almost hit a 97% loss from its all-time high. Fortunately, over time, the cryptocurrency gained its ground and managed to enter the top 10 list.

Ripple Labs, the parent organization of XRP, is in the middle of a major battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SEC has claimed that the sale of XRP tokens was of unregistered securities. Ripple objected to the claim saying that they do not consider XRP to be securities. This judicial battle has caused XRP prices to fall drastically in the past year.

However, experts suggest that the case is nearing an end. They opine that despite the slow-moving of the judicial process, the case seems to have made progress. Therefore, there are high chances that it will come to an end in 2022. Moreover, this Ripple vs SEC case goes beyond the concern of Ripple Labs. Many see it as the first case a government has wedged against the cryptocurrency market. Even the result of the case is anticipated to have a major impact on the whole sphere.

Over the past few years, Ripple has evolved to be a high-performing money transfer network that allows transactions to be faster and cheaper. It has come a long way to reach where it is here today. But what the cryptocurrency has in the bag for 2022 is quite a mystery. With Sec vs Ripple case expected to come to an end next year, experts predict that XRP price will drastically go up if the result is in the companys favor.

Besides, general price predictions suggest that XRP will touch US$1.62 in 2022, which would mean a doubling of its value compared to now. The graphs further impose that Ripple could even reach US$2 if everything goes well.

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Will Ripple Emerge as the Best Cryptocurrency Investment in 2022? - Analytics Insight

A young man in a suit walks past a luxury watch shop on 5th Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

The jump in cryptocurrency prices is helping to cultivate a new crop of young, American buyers of luxury goods, with their spending on NFT artwork and high-priced apparel set to further propel sales in the luxury market beyond pre-pandemic levels, according to a report from Jefferies.

Chinese consumers remain the dominant force in global luxury spending. But a "surprise package" since the first quarter has been strong growth in the US year-over-year, the investment bank said in a research note Wednesday. The note outlined findings from visits to 48 stores in New York and Florida where shoppers can find high-end brands including Louis Vuitton and Gucci, whose parent company is Kering.

"Beyond the natural impact of so-called 'pent-up demand' we flag the significant surge in asset values (from stock market to real estate to contemporary art) and, above all, the significant impact from cryptocurrency wealth which has increased the total of cash transactions again," equity analysts Flavio Cereda and Kathryn Parker wrote.

They said conversations with store managers and assistants appear to flag a significant role played by people under 35 years old cashing in cryptocurrency profits to buy art - including in the form of non-fungible tokens - expensive jewelry, apparel, and accessories.

"Our conversations would indicate as much as 20%-25% of [last 12-month] sales may have been generated by this phenomenon," the analysts said.

The crypto market in 2021 swelled beyond a $3 trillion valuation for the first time, largely as more institutional and retail investors have pushed money into digital assets ranging from coins to NFT art. Bitcoin's price this year has climbed by 62% through mid-Wednesday, with the most traded cryptocurrency above $47,200. But with the crypto market subject to violent price swings, its market cap has eased down to $2.3 trillion.

Channel checks conducted by Jefferies coincided with both the Art Basel international art fair in Miami and a number of important crypto-trading events - "which meant almost the perfect pool of interlocutors," it said.

The firm said US luxury spending in fiscal year 2021 has returned to levels logged in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic. It said by fiscal year 2023, such spending could be 45% more than in the same period in 2019.

"This is highly dependent on the resilience of the underlying assets which allow monetisation and is therefore implicitly volatile but is at least not subject to the risk of growing government pressure as is the case in China," it said.

Jefferies recommended investors be buyers of shares of LVMH, Kering, retailer Mytheresa, and Watches of Switzerland.

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Crypto wealth is creating new US luxury consumers, Jefferies says - Markets Insider