Bitcoin has been declared dead or dying roughly 390 times since 2010. But this year its dying much less frequently.

In 2020, bitcoin has been reported dead or dying only 11 times, per a list of these faux obituaries maintained by a Singapore-based website called 99 Bitcoins.

Bitcoins yearly obituary count hasnt been so low since 2012, three years after bitcoin launched. The team behind the website confirmed to CoinDesk the list is actively maintained to date.

The sharp decrease in obituaries correlates with bitcoins record-breaking price action this year after breaking its 2017 all-time high in November with a total year-to-date gain of over 270%.

In the past, it was in vogue to publicly dismiss or even shame those who believed in bitcoins value proposition, said Kevin Kelly, global macro strategy lead at Delphi Digital and former equity analyst at Bloomberg, in a direct message with CoinDesk.

But now the game has changed.

Mass retail speculation and viral memes have been swapped for family offices and world-class macro investors, Kelly said.

Bitcoins quickly-growing cadre of institutional buyers includes giants MassMutual and Guggenheim. And their sizable investments combined with signs of rekindled retail interest make announcing the bellwether cryptocurrencys death increasingly difficult.

In a December bitcoin report, Kellys research team wrote, Institutional investors have not only turned net long since September, but also the magnitude of their net exposure, measured in BTC, has increased relative to prior periods as well.

Curiously, authors of disingenuous bitcoin obituaries have overlooked both times when the network actually has died, according to Pierre Rochard, Krakens lead bitcoin strategist.

In 2010, an inflation bug briefly enabled anyone using the network to create an infinite amount of bitcoins, which, for many intents and purposes, caused the network to die, Rochard said. In 2013, bitcoin died a second time when a flawed version of its source code unexpectedly caused the block size limit to increase.

In both cases bitcoin was promptly resurrected by the collective will of its users, Rochard said. To save the network, bitcoin nodes reverted to an older version of the software in 2013 and rewound the blockchain back to a point before the inflation bug in 2010.

Few critics understand what happened when bitcoin actually died, twice, Rochard told CoinDesk in an email.

In the aftermath of these incidents, bitcoins robust fundamentals and rapid adoption have created market conditions with multiple parabolic revaluations, Rochard said, increasing both its adoption and the attention paid to its technical strength, leaving skeptics with little room for continued death pronouncements.

As bitcoin lives on, the career risk is no longer from embracing bitcoin, according to Kelly. Its from failing to give [bitcoin] the time and respect it deserves.

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2020 Saw the Fewest Bitcoin Obituaries in 8 Years - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

Bitcoin just wont go away. The original cryptocurrency again had commentators eating their words in 2020 -- yours truly included. Its now time to accept its here to stay.

Like Monty Pythons Black Knight, Bitcoin believers treat near-fatal volatility as mere flesh wounds. Drops of 80% are welcomed as fortuitous buying opportunities. But far from being a weakness, this is evidence of the asset class longevity. The cryptocurrency rallied 224% this year, bringing to mind the wild advances of 2017 as it soared to record highs.

While the supply side of the schedule is algorithmically defined, I was caught off guard by the ability of the demand side to withstand volatility. I went into more detail in how my thinking on this asset class evolved in this YouTube podcast:

Talking Gold and Bitcoin with Anthony Pomp Pompliano

Supply of the digital tokens are capped at a maximum of 21 million which it is expected to reach in 2140, with periodic reductions in the reward for the network of computers that certify transactions. Yet supply dynamics arent sufficient to guarantee a long-term future. Many assets have artificially limited supply: Baseball cards, limited print-run art work, and a number of historic Ponzi schemes fall into this category.

What distinguishes the successes is how investors respond to crashes. In most cases, when a vehicle designed purely around the greater-fool theory collapses, it never recovers. There has been no substantial progress made on Bitcoin as a unit of exchange. Its far from widespread adoption as a currency.

Since Bitcoins market capitalization reached $1 billion in March 2013, there have been two cycles of spikes to record highs, followed by drawdowns of more than 80%. Each of those cycles were preceded by a halving of the block reward.The first cycle could be dismissed as an anomaly, the second as a coincidence. But a halving again occurred in May, and the cycle is repeating before our eyes with the cryptocurrency coming within a whisker of the all-time peak last week. To ignore it now is to dismiss the evidence of history.

Like social networks, cryptocurrencies derive their value from the number of users. I could build a platform with the exact qualities of, and even some improvements over, Facebook, but achieving critical mass is another matter.

The cryptocurrency remains a speculative asset and more needs to happen to secure its claim to preserve wealth over time. Volatility would have to decline, and a reliable link to inflation would have to emerge. But to bet against Bitcoin recovering from the next crash is to bet against experience. And its sheer, bloody-minded survival is what gives it the best chance at eventually becoming the ultimate store of value.

(Eddie van der Walt writes for the Bloomberg Markets Live blog. The observations he makes are his own and not intended as investment advice. For more markets commentary, see the MLIV blog.)

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

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Bitcoin Crushes Doubters as 224% Rally Proves Its Here to Stay - Bloomberg

Bitcoin in Uncharted Territory. (Photo Illustration by Nik Oiko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ... [+] Images)

The bitcoin rally has seen the cryptocurrency climb to uncharted highs and this hasnt just been reflected in the markets. Away from the exchanges and OTC desks setting the price of BTC, private and institutional investor interest is growing at pace. Evidence of this can be seen in the growth of crypto venture capital funds, which have raised billions of dollars in 2020.

On December 23rd, Seoul-based blockchain investment group Hashed revealed that it has raised $120 million for its first crypto fund. The firm, led by CEO Simon Kim, intends to invest in disruptive blockchain startups including base layer protocols similar to Ethereum. According to Kim, the next wave of crypto networks will mark the start of the protocol economy, an era in which data and value is transmitted globally by crypto networks using a shared public ledger. He predicts strong government and institutional support for this new paradigm and has had no trouble selling out the groups first VC fund.

Accredited investors are limited in terms of the crypto assets they can trade, primarily consisting of BTC and ETH via regulated brokers and custodians. Blockchain funds provide an alternative way of gaining exposure to digital assets and the ecosystem they support. As bitcoin has broken new records, surging past $22,000, some investors are looking beyond the 12-year-old cryptocurrency to bootstrapping the next wave of blockchain networks.

Data from research group The Block shows a record $900 million was invested in blockchain startups in Q3 of 2020. Investors rushed to bootstrap decentralized finance projects in particular, including those focused on portfolio management, lending, and derivatives.

No one knows where Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto originated, with speculation placing him everywhere from London to LA. What can be said is that the movement he started, founded on blockchain technology, has become a borderless industry thats attracting major investment around the globe. In the U.S., Andreessen Horowitz subsidiary a16z was founded to seek out promising crypto startups, alongside firms like Pantera Capital and Galaxy Digital, led by veteran investor Mike Novogratz.

In Asia, meanwhile, Hashed is not alone in securing private investment to fund public blockchain networks. A number of cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance and BitMax, have their own VC arms, tasked with nurturing next generation crypto companies. The symbiotic relationship often results in the same exchanges listing the native token of the projects theyve incubated once they reach maturity.

Its not just VCs that have sought exposure to blockchain either. Family offices and hedge funds have also taken an interest in the space. Harvard Universitys investment arm is one endowment fund that has already jumped into the crypto market, joining two other investors in an $11.5 million investment in crypto company Blockstack. Yale University is also known to have made a significant cryptocurrency investment.

Bitcoin is going through the early stages of a new asset class, from suffering early bubbles to attracting scammers with their get-rich-quick schemes. The frothiness of the market has been tempered by robust products that cater to a professional audience. Crypto is significantly more mature now than in 2017 when BTC last approached the heights it is now trading at. Today, the industry supports a healthy futures market, while enhanced options and custody have all anchored bitcoin while making it palatable to institutional investors.

Elon Musks flirtation with bitcoin, which has largely consisted of tweeting crypto memes to his 41 million followers, hints at a deeper interest in the digital currency. In a typically Musk-ian exchange on December 20, the Tesla CEO was encouraged by MicroStrategys Michael Saylor to follow his lead and convert some of Teslas cash reserves to BTC.

Are such large transactions even possible? pondered Musk, to which bitcoin bull Saylor replied in the affirmative, before offering to show Musk how.

Bitcoins low correlation to traditional assets has compelled some investors to rebalance portfolios that were heavy on bonds and equities, allocating a tranche to BTC. Bolder investors, however, are looking beyond bitcoin to the possibilities afforded by new blockchain protocols, where the risk-reward is higher, but so is the potential for outsized returns.

While institutional investors have been buying bitcoin, and investing in the industry thats formed around it, companies have been trialling their own blockchain solutions. Hashed has publicly supported Kakao, responsible for developing the countrys Klatyn blockchain, and LINE blockchain, owned by Tokyos LVC Corporation. Big Four accountancy firm KPMG, meanwhile, has expanded its blockchain strategy, supporting Microsoft, Tomia, and R3 in developing a solution for 5G network, and filing its own blockchain patents.

Against this backdrop of corporate innovation and private investment in blockchain, VCs have seen crypto funds fill up fast. This digital gold rush has prompted a booming business in picks and shovels - the tools and apps for interacting with the next wave of decentralized protocols.

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Bitcoin Rally Attracts Wave Of Private Investment As Leading Blockchain VC Raises New $120 Million Fund - Forbes

TipRanks

Semiconductors are one of the modern worlds essential industries, making possible so much of what we rely on or take for granted: internet access, high-speed computers with high-speed memory, even the thermostats that control our air conditioning there isnt much, tech-wise, that doesnt use semiconductor chips.With the end of 2020 in sight, its time for the annual ritual of evaluating the equities for the New Year. Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers has cast his eye on the chip industry, tagging several companies as likely gainers next year.The analyst sees several factors combining to boost demand for chips in 2021, including cloud demand, new gaming consoles, and a market resolution to the future of the PC segment. Overall, however, Rakers expects that memory chips and 5G enabled chips will emerge as the drivers of the industry next year. The analyst expects that semiconductor companies, as a group, will see between 10% and 12% growth over the next 12 months.Thats an industry-wide average, however. According to Raker, some chip companies will show significantly higher growth, on the order of 30% to 40% in year ahead. We can look at those companies, along with the latest TipRanks data, to find out what makes these particular chip makers so compelling.Micron Technology (MU)Among the leading chip makers, Micron has staked out a position in the memory segment. The company has seen its market cap expand to $78 billion this year, as shares have appreciated 32% year-to-date. The surge comes on a product line heaving on computer data storage, DRAM, and flash storage.Look back at 2020, Micron has seen revenues increase each quarter, from $4.8 billion in Q1 to $5.4 billion in Q2 to $6.1 billion in Q3. Earnings came in at 87 cents per share, up from 71 cents in Q2 and 36 cents in Q1.The calendar third quarter was Microns 4QFY20, and the full fiscal year showed a decline due attributed to the COVID pandemic. Revenue came in at $21.44 billion, down 8.4% year-over-year, and operating cash flow fell to $8.31 billion from $13.19 billion in FY19. During this past quarter, Microns 1QFY21, the company announced the release of the worlds first 176-layer 3D NAND chip. The new chip promises higher density and faster performance in flash memory, and the architecture is described as a radical breakthrough. The layer count is 40% higher than competing chips.Looking ahead, Micron has updated its F1Q21 guidance, predicting total revenue of $5.7 billion to $5.75 billion. This is a 10% increase from the previous guidance.Wells Fargo's Aaron Rakers calls Micron his top semiconductor idea for 2021. He points out a deepening positive view on the memory, and in particular the DRAM industry. DRAM accounts for approximately two-thirds of Microns revenue and over 80% of the companys bottom-line profits. In addition, Rakers notes Microns technology execution 1Znm DRAM leadership; recently outlined 1nm ramp into 2021, as well as Microns move to 176-Layer 2nd -gen Replacement Gate 3D NAND to drive improved cost curve. We would also highlight Microns execution on graphics memory (e.g., GDDR6X), Multi-Chip Packages (MCPs), and High-Bandwidth Memory (e.g., HBME2) as positives.In line with these comments, Rakers rates Micron shares a Buy, along with a $100 price target. This figure suggests room for 41% growth in 2021. (To watch Rakers track record, click here)Micron has 24 recent reviews on record, breaking down to 19 Buys, 4 Holds, and 1 Sell, and giving the stock a Strong Buy from the analyst consensus. Shares are priced at $70.96, and recent appreciation has pushed them almost to the $74.30 average price target. But as Rakers outlook suggests, there may be more than just 4.5% upside available here. (See MU stock analysis on TipRanks)Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)With $6.5 billion in total sales last year, and a market cap of $110.7 billion, AMD is a giant company but it doesnt even crack the top five of the worlds largest chip makers. Still, AMD has a solid position in the industry, and its x86 processors provide stiff competition for market-leading Intel (INTC). AMD shares have shown solid growth this year, and are up 101% as 2020 comes to a close.The share growth rides on the back of steady revenue gains since the corona crisis peaked in Q1. AMDs Q3 top line came in at $2.8 billion, up 55% from the $1.8 billion recorded in the year-ago quarter and beating the forecast by 10%. Earnings, at 37 cents per share, were up 220% year-over-year. The company credited the growth to solid results in the PC, gaming, and data center product lines, and boasted that it was the fourth consecutive quarter with >25% yoy revenue growth.AMD announced last month a new product for the scientific research market, the Instinct MI100 accelerator. The new chip is billed as the worlds fasted HPC GPU, and the first such x86 server to exceed 10 teraflops performance.Covering AMD for Wells Fargo, Rakers wrote: We remain positive on AMDs competitive positioning for continued sustained gradual share gains in PCs We also believe AMDs deepening data center GPU strategy with new Instinct MI100 GPUs and the release of RoCM 4.0 software platform could become increasingly visible as we move through 2021. AMDs roadmap execution would remain an important focus 7nm+ Ryzen 4000-series, new RDNA Radeon Instinct data center GPUs (MI100 / MI120), and the 3 rd -gen 7nm+ EPYC Milan CPUsRakers stance supports his Buy rating, and his $120 price target implies a 30% one-year upside to the stock.The Moderate Buy analyst consensus view on AMD reflects some residual Wall Street caution. The stocks 20 recent reviews include 13 Buys, 6 Holds, and 1 Sell. AMD shares are selling for $91.64, and like Micron, their recent appreciation has closed the gap with the $94.71 average price target. (See AMD stock analysis on TipRanks)Western Digital Corporation (WDC)Closing out the Wells Fargo picks on this list is Western Digital, a designer and manufacturer of memory systems. The companys products include hard disk drives, solid state drives, data center platforms, embedded flash drives, and portable storage including memory cards and USB thumb drives. WDC has had a tough year in 2020, with shares down 19% year-to-date. Still, the stock has seen gains in November and December, on the heels of what was seen as a strong fiscal 1Q21 report.That earnings report showed $3.9 billion in revenue, which was down 3% year-over-year, but the EPS net loss, at 19 cents, was a tremendous yoy improvement from the 93-cent net loss in the year-ago quarter. The earnings improvement, which beat the forecast by 20%, was key for investors, and the stock is up 30% since the quarterly report. The company also generated a solid cash flow in the quarter, with cash from operations growing 111% sequentially.Wells Fargos Rakers acknowledges WDCs difficulties in 2020, but even so, he believes that this is a stock which is worth the risk.Western Digital has been our toughest constructive call of 2020 and while we believe calling a bottom in NAND Flash (mid/2H2021?) remains difficult and WDs execution in enterprise SSDs will remain choppy, our SOTP analysis leaves us to continue to believe that shares present a compelling risk / reward. We continue to believe that Western Digital can drive to a ~$7/sh.+ mid-cycle EPS story; however, we continue to think a key driver of this fundamental upside will not only be a recovery in the NAND Flash business, coupled with WDs ability to see improved execution in enterprise SSDs, but also a continued view that WDs HDD gross margin can return to a sustainable 30%+ level, Rakers opined.To this end, Rakers rates WDC a Buy along with a $65 price target. Should the target be met, investors could pocket gains of 29% over the next months Where does the rest of the Street side on this computer-storage maker? It appears mostly bullish, as TipRanks analytics demonstrate WDC as a Buy. Out of 11 analysts tracked in the last 3 months, 7 are bullish, while 4 remain sidelined. With a return potential of 9%, the stocks consensus target price stands at $54.44. (See WDC stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for tech stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Here's How Much Investing $1,000 In Bitcoin On Jan. 1, 2020 Would Be Worth Now - Yahoo Finance

There is no enforceable regulatory mechanism or backstop available in its current form.

Investing in bitcoins is convenient and cheapthe minimum ticket size is as little as Rs 100. However, investors should be aware of multiple red flags before considering this as an investment option.

ET Wealth reached out to experts to know how investors can safeguard their finances from the volatility that raged in 2020 and the uncertainty that looms in the horizon. This weeks cover story explains 11 steps that one should take now to improve ones finances in the New Year.Here are the smart money moves for those looking to invest in bitcoin.Dont get tempted by bitcoin frenzyBitcoin prices have surged more than 200% this year, taking it

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Bitcoin prices sky-rocketed 200% in 2020 but small investors should stay away: Here's why - Economic Times

While Bitcoin's dramatic rise has dominated the crypto conversation in 2020, the coming year could see more developments from the industry's lesser-known digital currencies

While the biggest story in the crypto and blockchain space across 2020 has undoubtedly been the meteoric rise in the price of Bitcoin, which has seen its value balloon by over 220% since early January.

However, investors may want to keep an eye on a selection of other, cheaper, digital currencies and tokens that have the potential to break new ground in the space in the coming year as the industry moves into the mainstream.

Ripple is a coin attached to XRP, a blockchain that markets itself as a payments platform that allows faster and decentralised currency exchange and remittances compared to ordinary wire transfers.

While Ripple is not mineable, with the tokens instead issued by human operators rather than awarded to computers resolving transactions through algorithms like Bitcoins are, it is touted by some in the industry as a viable alternative to the wire transfer payments system, particularly for transactions in very small quantities that are normally not handled by traditional exchanges.

Ripple has also seen a sharp increase in value over the last month, rising around 107% since late November to US$0.60 each.

While Litecoin has lost some lustre following its emergence as the first altcoin in the early 2010s, the crypto has consistently attracted users to its platform as a faster transaction method compared to the more time-consuming nature of the Bitcoin blockchain.

Litecoin also offers a cheaper entry point for new crypto investors than the pricier Bitcoin, as despite rising 167% this year it is still trading at around US$108, less than a tenth of Bitcoins current price tag.

The crypto does not occupy the dominant position it used to, however, investors may want to take a second look, at the very least as a cheaper method of riding the bullish coattails of Bitcoins rally as institutions pour cash into the industry.

As blockchain technology continues to expand in popularity, more and more projects are springing up to take advantage of the system, one of which is Cosmos.

However, unlike other altcoins on the market, Cosmos aims to resolve some of the issues surrounding the scalability of different blockchain platforms and their ability to interoperate. In short, Cosmos is aiming to create an internet of blockchains allowing them to connect and interact in a similar manner to devices on the Internet of Things.

While the token is currently on the cheaper side at around US$5 apiece, Cosmos could experience a wave of investor interest should it manage to pull of its end goal of linking blockchains together, potentially opening up whole new methods for how the technology operates and interacts with itself.

Despite the name being closely related with the original crypto, Bitcoin Cash is not correlated with Bitcoin itself, rather the crypto is an offshoot of the original as a result of debates between members of the crypto community on how to resolve some of the more pressing issues in the Bitcoin blockchain, namely a spike in transaction volumes slowing down their resolution speed.

Bitcoin Cash is the product of one of these solutions, known as a hard fork, where the original blockchain architecture is used to build a new blockchain, and by extension, a new cryptocurrency.

This means that Bitcoin Cash cannot be used for transactions on the original Bitcoin blockchain and vice versa. However, the offspring of Bitcoin may find itself in a similar position to Litecoin, able to piggyback off of the bullish sentiment in the industry as well as the added benefit of being able to steal some name recognition of its parent crypto.

Bitcoin Cash is also offering a cheaper option to Bitcoin, with the digital currency trading at around US$324 apiece.

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Four non-Bitcoin cryptos to watch in 2021 - Proactive Investors UK

approached $20,000 in 2017 and finally topped the mark in 2020. What drove the rallies, and what happened in the days following the peaks, show how much the market has changed in three years.

The digital currency, which has more than tripled in price this year, hit its first record of the year 24 days ago and has continued climbing, trading as high as $24,273 on Sunday. On Wednesday, it closed at $23,299. In previous rallies, such gains have quickly reversed course.

Bitcoin bulls say the money fueling this years rally is coming from more reliable sources than past rallies. Since September, big new investors have collectively bought about half a million bitcoins, worth about $11.5 billion, according to analytics firm Chainalysis, which tracked the holdings of investors with at least 1,000 bitcoins in wallets that are less than a year old.

Notable buyers this year include billionaire investors Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller, and companies like Square Inc., Microstrategy Inc. and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.

There are more smaller buyers, too. There have been more than 38 million transfers this year of less than $1,000 of bitcoin into personal wallets, according to Chainalysis. That is nearly double the 20 million in 2017.

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Bitcoins Rally Has Already Outlasted 2017s Epic Run - The Wall Street Journal

Here are five things you must know for Monday, Dec. 28:

Stock futures rose Monday after President Donald Trump signed a combined $2.3 trillion coronavirus relief and government funding package, backing down fromdemands for larger, $2,000 aid checks and averting a government shutdown.

Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 153 points, S&P 500 futures rose 26 points and Nasdaq futures were up 107 points.

Trump had delayed signing the bill, suggesting he would block it if stimulus checks weren't raised to $2,000 from the $600 that Congress approved last week, and if spending wasn't scaled back.

But by delaying the signing, as many as 14 million Americans lost one week of expanded unemployment benefits.

The massive bill includes$900 billion in pandemic relief and $1.4 trillion in government spending to fund federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year next September

The stimulus could be supportive of the market, supportive of the U.S. economy, Suresh Tantia, strategist at Credit Suisse, told Bloomberg. Next year all the building blocks are there for markets to continue this rally.

The S&P 500 has risen nearly 15% in 2020. On Thursday, the last trading session before Christmas, theS&P 500 rose 0.36%, the Dow added 0.23% and the Nasdaq gained 0.26%.

The number of confirmed global deaths from Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, rose to almost1.77million, according to Johns Hopkins University. Confirmed cases of the virus across the world have risen to80.83 million.

The U.S. death toll is333,129, the most in the world. The number of infected people in the U.S. was19,136,158.

There were226,274new coronavirus cases in the U.S. as of Sunday and1,663deaths, according to data from the university.

Californias hospitalizations rose to a record high after the state added 50,141 cases, one of the highest levels since a record two weeks ago, Bloomberg reported. Totalfatalities in California rose to 24,220.

The Covid-19 vaccine made byAstraZeneca (AZN) - Get Reportand the University of Oxford could be approved by the United Kingdom as early as this week, Bloomberg reported, citinga person familiar with the matter.

The approvalwould come about three weeks after theU.K. became the first Western country to begin immunizing its citizens with a Covid-19 vaccine, the shot made by Pfizer PFE and BioNTech BNTX.

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said Sunday that researchers believe the shot from the British drugmaker will be effective against a new variant of the virus that has rapidly pushed infection rates higher inBritain.

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba (BABA) - Get Reportdeclined more than 1% in premarket trading Monday after Chinese regulators ordered Ant Groupto overhaul its lending and other consumer finance operations.

Alibaba owns a 33% stake in Ant Group, the worlds largest financial technology company.

The announcement from the Peoples Bank of China came just days afterregulators began an anti-monopoly investigation of Alibaba, the e-commerce giant. It also followed the Shanghai Stock Exchange suspension last month of the pending $37 billion listing of Ant Group, which would have been the world's biggest initial public offering.

Regulators said in a statement Sunday they have ordered Ant Group toformulate a rectification plan and implement a timetable for the overhaul of its businesses, including its credit, insurance and wealth management services.

American depositary receipts of Alibaba fell 1.24% in premarket trading to $219.25. The ADRs slumped more than 13% on Thursday following news of theanti-monopoly investigation.

Bitcoin rose to a record above $28,000 early Sunday, and has been propelled higher in recent days as institutional investors and speculators have jumped aboard the world's largest cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin crossed $25,000 on Friday night, and then raced past $26,000 and $27,000 over the weekend, according to CoinDesk. At last check, bitcoin traded at $26,989.

Bloomberg noted that bitcoin's outsized returns over October, November and December so far is its longest such stretch since mid-2019.

Bitcoin crossed$20,000 for the first timeon Dec. 16.

Many experts believe that more gains lie ahead for bitcoin - some expect it to trade above $30,000. But if investors and speculators lose faith in the digital currency, it can easily plunge as it did in February and March, and from December 2017 to December 2018.

The U.S. economic calendar Monday is light but data on home sales, jobless claims and trade will be released later in the week.

Very few companies will be issuing earnings reports this week. Those that will be include SINA (SINA) - Get Report, Weibo (WB) - Get Reportand CSP Inc. (CSPI) - Get Report.

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Covid-19 Relief Bill, AstraZeneca, Alibaba, Bitcoin - 5 Things You Must Know Monday - TheStreet

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SALT LAKE CITY, December 28, 2020 -- CleanSpark, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLSK), (CleanSpark, or the Company), an advanced software and controls technology solutions company focused on solving modern energy challenges, will be participating in the Water Tower Research Fireside Chat Series on Tuesday, December 29, 2020, at 3:00 pm ET. Topics covered will include insight into the companys Bitcoin mining operation and newly-revised 2021 guidance including the ATL Data Center acquisition.

The chat will feature Zachary Bradford, CleanSparks Chief Executive Officer. The host and moderator will be Shawn Severson, Head of Sustainable Investing at Water Tower Research. A brief question and answer session focusing on the Companys year-end 2020 filing will follow.

Investors interested in participating in this event must register using the link below. As a reminder, registration for the live event is limited but may be accessed at any time for replay.

REGISTER HERE: https://globalmeet.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1417925&tp_key=a01739ed15

Parties interested in learning more about CleanSpark products and services are encouraged to inquire by contacting the Company directly at info@cleanspark.com or visiting the Companys website at http://www.cleanspark.com.

Investors are encouraged to contact the Company atir@cleanspark.com, or visiting the Companys website at https://ir.cleanspark.com/

CleanSpark periodically speaks at virtual conferences and events, if the event was recorded the recordings can be found on the events page at https://ir.cleanspark.com.

About CleanSpark:

CleanSpark, Inc., a Nevada corporation, is in the business of providing advanced software and controls technology solutions to solve modern energy challenges. We have a suite of software solutions that provide end-to-end microgrid energy modeling, energy market communications, and energy management solutions. Our offerings consist of intelligent energy monitoring and controls, intelligent microgrid design software, middleware communications protocols for the energy industry, energy system engineering, and software consulting services.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary ATL Data Centers LLC, CleanSpark owns and operates a data center that provides customers with traditional on-site and cloud-based data center services. The Company also owns and operates a fleet of over 3,400 ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) Bitcoin miners producing over 200 PH/s in mining capacity. Capacity is expected to increase to over 5,900 ASIC and 300 PH/s in mining capacity by early 2021. CleanSpark plans to apply its technologies with a goal of mining bitcoins at the lowest energy prices in the United States. For more information, visit https://ATL-DATA.com

Forward-Looking Statements:

CleanSpark cautions you that statements in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on CleanSpark's current beliefs and expectations. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by CleanSpark that any of our plans will be achieved. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this press release due to the risk and uncertainties inherent in our business, including, without limitation: the successful integration of ATL into CleanSpark, the closing of the transaction, the fitness of our energy software and solutions for this particular application or market, the expectations of future revenue growth may not be realized, ongoing demand for our software products and related services, the impact of global pandemics (including COVID-19) on the demand for our products and services; and other risks described in our prior press releases and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including under the heading "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to revise or update this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, which is made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

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CleanSpark to Discuss Bitcoin Mining Acquisition and Related Growth Opportunities - GlobeNewswire

Last years backlash against Facebook Inc.s planned digital currency Libra would have been most CEOs worst nightmare. Governments and regulators linked arms to repel a perceived threat to monetary sovereignty, financial stability and data privacy. The more Mark Zuckerberg tried to reassure politicians by talking up financial inclusion and innovation, the more he came across like a tobacco boss denying cigarettes are addictive. He even acknowledged the problem: I get that Im not the ideal messenger for this.

That hasnt deterred him. Given Zuckerbergs tendency to issue half-hearted apologies before going back to breaking things, its not surprising that hes gearing up for a second attempt to launch Libra next year.

There have been a few changes: Libra is now called Diem as in Carpe and its membership council is headed by Stuart Levey, whose stints at the U.S. Treasury and HSBC Holdings Plc make him a blend of Beltway and banking. Theres no more talk of rewards for members in the form of investment tokens.

The biggest concession to regulators is that Facebook will no longer create a single global currency. Rather than craft a synthetic Libra out of a basket of euros, dollars and yen like the IMFs Special Drawing Rights Diem will be made up of multiple single-currency stablecoins, pegged to each one. Converting a dollar or euro into a digital Diem would be a one-to-one transaction, with little chance of wild Bitcoin-level volatility or an overnight disruption of fiat currencies. Facebook is even proposing that central banks one day use the Diem blockchain to issue digital currencies, similar to Chinas testing of a digital yuan.

This plea for legitimacy suggests Facebook is leaning more toward the kind of electronic cash offered by PayPal Holdings Inc. or Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., than the revolutionary crypto dreams of Bitcoiners. A digital dollar thats transferable anywhere and at any time could in theory be a draw for consumers (even if in practice its regulation, rather than technology, thats the cause of transaction slowness). Teunis Brosens, a senior economist at ING, reckons Diem may end up like a plain-vanilla e-money wallet. Blockchain expert David Gerard has called it Paypal-but-its-Facebook.

Its the its-Facebook part that should keep governments on their guard. E-money firms are often start-ups with Visa cards. Facebook, together with its WhatsApp and Instagram platforms, boasts three billion monthly users. If they each generate $6 in sales, Diem would represent an $18 billion revenue stream overnight. After U.S. regulators this month accused Facebook of unfairly abusing its market power to monopolize social media, will it compete fairly in this new arena or squash the competition? Imagine if Facebooks ad contracts were one day tied to Diem, or if it abused its access to customers financial data. Trustbusters will be glad Libra didnt lift off earlier.

Its likely more regulation is needed. As German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz put it, referring to Libras name change, a wolf in sheeps clothing is still a wolf.

The noose is already tightening around such stablecoins with Europe imposing more bank-like capital requirements, says Simon Polrot, head of crypto-development nonprofit ADAN. If it takes off, regulators might also want an inside peek into how Diem manages its cash reserves. As for money-laundering risks, Zuckerberg will no doubt sign up to know-your-customer rules, but how effective will Facebook be in tackling bad actors? And will it enforce the U.S.s extraterritorial sanctions?

Lawmakers may very well wonder if Facebook needs a banking license, something it really doesnt want. Zuckerberg will no doubt argue Diem is an association, independent of his empire. But it resembles a Potemkin village populated by payments firms, nonprofits and venture capital funds. There are no banks, and none of the other FAANGs. Those who left Libra, such as PayPal, havent returned.

No one should underestimate Zuckerbergs determination to launch this product. In the face of widespread criticism, not only is he coming back for more, but his top financial-services executive David Marcus is asking for the benefit of the doubt from regulators. That line wouldnt work in a car-repair shop, let alone a bank. Still, Facebook deserves a fair hearing, given Zuckerberg has changed Libras message. If it falls on deaf ears, maybe the problem is the messenger.

Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the European Union and France.

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