Category Archives: Bitcoin

Visa is piloting a suite of application programming interfaces (APIs) that will allow banks to offer bitcoin services, the payments giant announced Wednesday.

The Visa Crypto APIs pilot program will let clients easily connect into the infrastructure provided by Visas partner, Anchorage, a federally chartered digital asset bank, to allow their customers to buy and sell digital assets such as bitcoin as an investment within their existing consumer experiences, Visa said in a press statement.

Visa envisions a product set that extends to other cryptocurrencies and stablecoins as well as other crypto services such as trading, Visa crypto lead Cuy Sheffield told CoinDesk in an interview. Digital bank First Boulevard is the first bank involved in the pilot; Visa has issued a wait list for other banks.

Previously, Visa had been focused on helping crypto companies issue bank cards and has partnered with 35 crypto firms to date, but this is the first time the company has offered crypto services to banks.

Last week, Visa CEO Al Kelly said during an earnings call that stablecoins could be used for global commerce, adding that to the extent a specific digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, theres no reason why we cannot add it to our network.

Next phase

This is shifting to the next phase of Visas strategy where were looking at how Visa can also be a bridge between the thousands of financial institutions and help them tap into the growing world of crypto assets and blockchain networks, Sheffield told CoinDesk in an interview. Were excited to see what early tests and consumer engagement look like for things like dollar-cost averaging to buy bitcoin or for things like earning bitcoin back as rewards.

Similarly, digital asset manager NYDIG tapped banking technology provider Moven to offer NYDIGs APIs for buying, selling and holding crypto to Movens bank customers. Both products come in the wake of several letters from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency giving banks the green light to custody crypto and the ability to conduct payments and other activities with stablecoins.

Visas news also comes after Anchorage became the first OCC-approved national crypto bank, although Sheffield said that Visa had been working on this product with Anchorage and regulators long before the custodians charter was granted.

Creating a Black crypto bank

The news also coincided with an announcement from Visa that it would be partnering with five Black banks and fintechs to offer financial and business services that cater to the Black community.

First Boulevard, the first firm to join the Visa pilot, is a digital bank that is building tools to help African Americans passively build wealth and will launch sometime in early 2021. The bank plans on using the bitcoin services and its partnership with Visa to educate its customers about bitcoin as a way to close the general wealth disparities faced by Black communities, said Donald Hawkins, president and CEO of First Boulevard.

In the future, Hawkins said he hopes his customers come to the bank rather than YouTube for information about investing in crypto.

Currently, First Boulevard offers customers 15% cash back for spending at Black-owned businesses. In the future, Hawkins plans to allow bank customers to put those rewards into crypto investments or high-yield crypto savings accounts.

First Boulevard plans to partner with Visa on financial education in addition to using the crypto services plugins.

Crypto is a gateway to financial literacy, Sheffield said. Its much easier to get people excited about money and important concepts around investing by just explaining what bitcoin is.

The bank also plans to offer resources for investing in real estate as well as micro-investing.

Normally, banks in traditional finance have to get buy-in from the board and management before making a play in the crypto space. At First Boulevard, jumping into crypto was serendipitous, Hawkins said.

Our target market is Black Gen Z and Millennial women, Hawkins said. The majority of our team is made up of exactly our target market. So cryptocurrency has been a hot topic in our company since the very beginning.

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Visa Signals Further Crypto Ambitions With API Pilot for Bank Customers to Buy Bitcoin - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

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Lets talk about risk and the big picture. Its an appropriate time, as the big risk presented by the COVID-19 pandemic is finally receding thanks to the ongoing vaccination program. COVID is leaving behind an economy that was forced into shutdown one year ago while in the midst of a great expansion, boosted by the deregulation policies. While the new Biden Administration is busy reversing many Trump policies, at least for now the economy is rebounding. And this brings us to risk. A time of economic growth and rebound is a forgiving time to move toward risk investments, as general economic growth tends to lift everything. Two strategists from JPMorgan have recently chimed in, promoting the view that the markets fundamentals are still sound, and that small- to mid-cap sector is going to keep rising. First, on the general conditions, quant strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas wrote, Although the recent technical selloff and short squeeze is receiving a lot of attention, we believe the positive macro setup, improving fundamentals and COVID-19 outlook, strength of the US consumer, as well as the reflation theme remain the bigger forces at play. Not only should this drive further equity upside, but it remains favorable for continued rotation into economic reopening Building on this, Eduardo Lecubarr, chief of the Small/Mid-Cap Strategy team, sees opportunity for investors now, especially in the smaller value stocks. We stick to our view that 2021 will be a stockpickers paradise with big money-making opportunities if you are willing to go against the grain Many macro indicators did fall in January but SMid-Caps and equities in general continued to edge higher, Lecubarr noted. And if you are prone to look at high-risk, small- to mid-cap stocks, youll find yourself drawn to penny stocks. The risk involved with these plays scares off the faint hearted as very real problems like weak fundamentals or overwhelming headwinds could be masked by the low share prices. So, how should investors approach a potential penny stock investment? By taking a cue from the analyst community. These experts bring in-depth knowledge of the industries they cover and substantial experience to the table. Bearing this in mind, we used TipRanks database to find two compelling penny stocks, according to Wall Street analysts. Both tickers boast a Strong Buy consensus rating and could climb over 200% higher in the year ahead. CNS Pharmaceuticals (CNSP) We will start with CNS Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company with a focus on the treatment of glioblastomas, a class of aggressive tumors that attack the braid and spinal cord. These cancers, while rare, are almost always terminal, and CNS is working a new therapy designed to more effectively cross the blood-brain barrier to attack glioblastoma. Berubicin, CNSs flagship drug candidate, is an anthracycline, a potent class of chemotherapy drugs derived from the Streptomyces bacteria strains, and used in the treatment of a wide variety of cancers. Berubicin is the first drug in this class to show promise against glioblastoma cancers. The drug candidate has completed its Phase 1 clinical trial, in which 44% of patients showed a clinical response. This number included one patient who showed a Durable Complete Response, defined as a demonstrated lack of detectable cancer. Following the success of the Phase 1 study, CNS applied for, and received, FDA approval of its Investigational New Drug application. This gives the company the go-ahead to conduct a Phase 2 study on adult patients, an important next step in the development of the drug. CNS plans to start the mid-stage trial in 1Q21. Based on the potential of the companys asset in glioblastoma, and with its share price at $2.22, several analysts believe that now is the time to buy. Among the bulls is Brooklines 5-star analyst Kumaraguru Raja who takes a bullish stance on CNSP shares. Until now, the inability of anthracyclines to cross the blood brain barrier prevented its use for treatment of brain cancers. Berubicin is the first anthracycline to cross the blood-brain barrier in adults and access brain tumors Berubicin has promising clinical data in a Phase 1 trial in recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM) and has Orphan drug designation for treatment of malignant gliomas from the FDA. We model approval of Berubicin for treatment of recurrent glioblastoma in 2025 based on the Phase 2 data with 55% probability of success for approval. We model peak sales of $533 million in 2032, Raja opined. CNS pipeline also includes WP1244 (novel DNA binding agent) that is 500x more potent than daunorubicin in inhibiting tumor cell proliferation is expected to enter the clinic in 2021 In vivo testing in orthotopic models of brain cancer showed high uptake of WP1244 by brain and subsequent antitumor activity, the analyst added. To this end, Raja rates CNSP a Buy, and his $10 price target implies room for a stunning 350% upside potential in the next 12 months. (To watch Rajas track record, click here) What does the rest of the Street have to say? 3 Buys and 1 Hold add up to a Strong Buy consensus rating. Given the $8.33 average price target, shares could climb ~275% in the year ahead. (See CNSP stock analysis on TipRanks) aTyr Pharma (LIFE) The next stock were looking at, aTyr Pharma, has a focus on inflammatory disease. Its leading drug candidate, ATYR1923, is a Neuropilin-2 (NRP2) agonist, working through the receptor proteins expressed by the NRP2 gene. These pathways are important for cardiovascular development and disease, and play a role in the inflammatory lung disease pulmonary sarcoidosis. In December, the company reported that the drug candidate had completed enrollment of 36 patients in a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial, testing the drug in the treatment of pulmonary sarcoidosis. Results of the current study are expected in 3Q21, and will inform further trials of ATYR1923, including against other forms of inflammatory lung disease. On a more immediate note, in early January the company announced top-line results of another Phase 2 clinical involving ATRY1923 this time in the treatment of patients hospitalized with severe respiratory complications from COVID-19. The results were positive, showing that a single dose of ATYR1923 (at 3 mg/kg) resulted in a 5.5-day median recovery time. Overall, of the patients dosed in this manner, 83% saw recovery in less than one week. Covering LIFE for Roth Capital, 5-star analyst Zegbeh Jallah noted, We like the risk profile here, with two shots on goal, and updated data details from the COVID study is expected in the coming months. Also announced recently, is that data from aTyr's Pulmonary Sarcoidosis program, will be reported in 3Q21 the success of either of these studies could result in a doubling or more of the market cap as these opportunities appear to barely be accounted for by investors. In line with his optimistic approach, Jallah gives LIFE shares a Buy rating and his $15 price target suggests an impressive 277% potential upside for the coming year. (To watch Jallahs track record, click here) Other analysts are on the same page. With 2 additional Buy ratings, the word on the Street is that LIFE is a Strong Buy. On top of this, the average price target is $13.33, suggesting robust growth of ~236% from the current price of $3.97. (See LIFE stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for penny 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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Bitcoin Next Week: Levels and Patterns to Watch - Yahoo Finance

To figure out if youre in a bubble, you need to find the source of the hot air. Obvious for GameStop , but for bitcoin, not so much.

In July 2018, we wrote about the cryptocurrency company Tether, which issues tokens called tethers that trade under the symbol USDT and should be valued at $1making the currency a stablecoin. Tethers creators might have manipulated bitcoin, a University of Texas paper suggests, by issuing tokens willy-nilly unbacked by real dollars and then buying bitcoin to jack up its price. (The company claims the research is flawed.)

At the time, Tethers total value was some $2.7 billion, and its website claimed: Every tether is always backed 1-to-1 by traditional currency held in our reserves. So somewhere there should have been $2.7 billion in real moneythats how a stablecoin is supposed to work. In November 2018, New York state Attorney General Letitia James invoked the Martin Act to begin an investigation into iFinex, which owns Tether and the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange, in connection with ongoing activities that may have defrauded New York investors. The company has disputed the attorney generals claims, denied it misled customers, and said it will fight any action. An appellate court last year rejected its challenge to the probe.

Bitcoin peaked at the end of 2017 at $19,000 and over the next year collapsed to $3,200. Welltheyre baaack! On Friday Elon Musk was the latest to pump Bitcoin, which briefly reached almost $38,000. And there are now some $26.4 billion of USDT tokens, $18 billion of which were created since March 2020. Why the increase? No one has a good explanation.

All that glitters is not gold. In 2019 Tether subtly updated its claim to say reserves may include other assets and receivables from loans made by Tether to third parties. Tether has even admitted it only has 74% of the cash or cash equivalents to back its stablecoin. Hmmm. Basically unbacked.

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Behind the Bitcoin Bubble - The Wall Street Journal

One of the major investing themes coming out of 2020 is the soaring price of bitcoin (CCC:BTC). However, the cryptocurrency slid as much as 21% over a two-day period to as low as $32,389. Since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, its the biggest two-day drop, wiping off nearly $140 billion in total market capitalization.

Source: Shutterstock

In a nutshell, investors reacted to the stronger dollar and growing political uncertainty.

The cryptocurrency is still up roughly 89% on a trailing one-month basis. Nevertheless, the drop did send shivers down the spines of investors. Peaks and valleys will always be part and parcel of investing in bitcoin. But I believe this is just a momentary blip, and normal service will resume soon enough. Covid-19 is surging once again in Asia, and the impeachment of President Donald Trump is jolting the markets. The strengthening of the dollar and higher bond yields are also an important contributing factor in the fall in bitcoin prices.

InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

However, all these factors are temporary in nature. In the long run, bitcoin will continue to climb higher. Financial institutions are increasingly allowing users to buy, store, and sell cryptocurrencies. Thats why in a recent Bloomberg Crypto monthly report, analysts are predicting that bitcoin could more than double from its current value in 2021.

The recent surge in bitcoin prices is due to multiple factors. A weaker dollar, economic optimism, big-ticket investment banks backing the scarce digital currency against inflation, and a weakening U.S. dollar are some reasons. However, I believe the biggest contributor is higher institutional interest.

Square (NYSE:SQ), Paypal (NASDAQ:PYPL), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), and CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) all provide exposure to the cryptocurrency to their users. All of these companies are large diversified conglomerates. Therefore its hard to pinpoint how much money these companies are making through bitcoin. However, considering the surge in its price, it will be a significant contributor to the bottom line looking ahead.

Story continues

Just as an example, Squares Cash App generated $1.63 billion of bitcoin revenue and $32 million of bitcoin gross profit during the third quarter of 2020. This was up approximately 11x and 15x year-over-year, respectively.

Pantera Capital research shows PayPal and Square are securing all the new bitcoin added to the market daily. Thats great news, particularly for PayPal users. The online payments system provider allows its customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum for as little as $1.

Similarly, a range of mid- or high-end graphics cards from Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) is selling out, leading to a shortage in the markets. Its mainly due to cryptocurrency miners purchasing them in bulk to build machines to mine bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies.

CME Group, which is the biggest largest financial derivatives exchange, also offers bitcoin futures contracts. Up until Dec 16, 2020, 8,560 CME Bitcoin futures contracts equal to roughly 42,800 bitcoin traded on average each day. Simultaneously, the institutional interest keeps increasing. The number of large open interest holders reached a record of 110 in December.

We have been here before. Dizzying highs and lows are not a new phenomenon for bitcoin. However, the cryptocurrency is now finally gaining institutional support, which eluded it for a long time. The pandemic certainly helped. During the widespread lockdowns, online commerce and payments ballooned, increasing interest in digital currencies exponentially.

Bitcoin was always volatile. But the past year has shown that every asset class can become wobbly in an uncertain environment. It was always regarded as an interesting store of value due to the ultimate ceiling of 21 million and the difficulties in mining it. But its wider acceptance is bringing a sense of credibility and stability that was hitherto missing.

For me, that is what makes it an interesting asset to hold, despite the risks that come with it. The prospect of central banks issuing their own digital currencies will always be there. However, now that financial institutions as large as BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) are warming up to it, the future looks very bright for bitcoin.

On the date of publication, Faizan Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

Faizan Farooque is a contributing author for InvestorPlace.com and numerous other financial sites. Faizan has several years of experience analyzing the stock market and was a former data journalist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. His passion is to help the average investor make more informed decisions regarding their portfolio.

The post Bitcoin Crash Is Excellent Opportunity to Buy the Dip appeared first on InvestorPlace.

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Bitcoin Crash Is Excellent Opportunity to Buy the Dip - Yahoo Finance

The virtual currency barrelled to new highs to rise more than 400 percent over the past year, before promptly sliding some 20 percent and then settling around $36,000.

When it started life in 2009 as open-source software, bitcoin was essentially worth zero -- though within a year it had reached the heady heights of eight cents.

At today's market rates, bloated by a surge in institutional demand, the digital unit's market capitalisation is worth some $670 billion with myriad other crypto coins such as ethereum lifting the sector nominally close to the trillion mark.

Although that's small potatoes compared to the $68 trillion or so swilling around world stock markets, it is nonetheless the sort of financial territory staked out by Wall Street tech royalty such as Google, Apple or Tesla.

One tech site, AssetDash.com, notes that bitcoin is currently worth around as much as Facebook and a little more than Chinese e-retail giant Alibaba.

- Curse of the forgotten password -

Although deep-pocketed investors have recently become enthusiasts, crypto was in its early days the preserve of geeky amateur investors.

It is the latter who have mainly suffered as an estimated four million of the roughly 19 million bitcoin units currently in circulation have been lost.

"Lost" does not mean the coins have fallen down the back of the sofa or through a hole in a trouser pocket: they have been electronically zapped from the record, often because their owner has forgotten a password to coins hoarded on a USB stick.

One US developer mislaid his password after storing 7,002 bitcoins on one such flash drive, forcing him to wave goodbye, on paper (or rather, the trading screen), to around $280 million.

This week, Welshman James Howells desperately offered his local authority a quarter of his fortune to dig up a landfill site where he believes a hard drive he accidentally tossed away -- and which has since soared in value to around $270 million -- is buried. The council refused, citing the cost and logistical restrictions.

According to analysts at JP Morgan, bitcoin may be highly volatile but could go as high as $146,000 per unit, putting it in competition with gold as an asset class in terms of private sector investment.

That volatility, as well as the unregulated and decentralised nature of the bitcoin beast, are key reasons why many seasoned financial observers are scared off -- as well as the risk of "losing" their stash.

"Most of the lost bitcoins were acquired in the early days," said Philip Gradwell, economist with Chainalysis.

Gradwell said that around one in five bitcoins in circulation today have not budged from their location in five years -- since days when the unit was worth not much more than $100.

"One or two million of those belong to Satoshi himself," added Gradwell, referring to the creator of the coin, whose identity remains unknown.

He added that the bulk of investors are not day-to-day traders, but people making a long-term punt -- and he estimates that the spectacular price boom of recent weeks has involved only around five millions units.

Patrick Heusser, head of trading at Swiss trader Crypto Broker, said that following the trading volumes of a variety of cryptocurrencies, rather than just bitcoin, would give a better idea of how the market is faring.

"Ethereum has a lot of activity on the chain, but on the litecoin side there is almost nothing going on," said Heusser, with the former valued at some $138 billion currently, and the latter at $10 billion.

Heusser suggested the rises have been largely a bitcoin slipstream effect, and he cautioned against drawing parallels with gold.

"To be honest I don't believe that it is a very powerful or insightful metric inside what's going on in the crypto market," Heusser concluded.

After years of experience on traditional currency markets, he judged that it was early days for the crypto equivalent.

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After dizzying gyrations, what's bitcoin really worth? - Mint

TipRanks

Watching the markets with an eye to the main chance, Raymond James strategist Tavis McCourt sees both risk and opportunity in current market conditions. The opportunity, in his opinion, stems from the obvious factors: the Democrats won both Georgia Senate seats in the recent runoff vote, giving the incoming Biden Administration majority support in both Houses of Congress and increasing the odds of meaningful fiscal support getting signed into law in the near term. More importantly, the coronavirus vaccination program is proceeding, and reports are showing that Pfizers vaccine, one of two approved in the US, is effective against the new strain of the virus. A successful vaccination program will speed up the economic recovery, allowing states to loosen lockdown regulations and get people back to work. The risks are also coming from the political and public health realms. The House Democrats have passed articles of impeachment against President Trump, despite the imminent natural closure of his term of office, and that passage reduces the chances of political reconciliation in a heavily polarized environment. And while the COVID strain is matched by current vaccines, there is still a risk that a new strain will develop that is not covered by existing vaccinations which could restart the cycle of lockdowns and economic decline. Another risk McCourt sees, beyond those two, would be a sharp rise in inflation. He doesnt discount that, but sees it as unlikely to happen soon. product/service inflation is only really a possibility AFTER re-openings, so the market feels a bit bullet proof in the very near term, and thus the continued rally, with Dems winning the GA races just adding fuel to the stimulus fire, McCourt noted. Some of McCourts colleagues among the Raymond James analyst cadre are keeping these risks in mind, and putting their imprimatur on strong dividend stocks. Weve looked into Raymond James' recent calls, and using the TipRanks database, weve chosen two stocks with high-yield dividends. These Buy-rated tickers bring a dividend yield of 7%, a strong attraction for investors interested in using the current good times to set up a defensive firewall should the risks materialize. Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) Well start in the energy sector, a business segment long known for both high cash flows and high dividends. Enterprise Products Partners is a midstream company, part of the network that moves hydrocarbon products from the wellheads to the storage farms, refineries, and distribution points. Enterprise controls over 50,000 miles worth of pipelines, shipping terminals on Texas Gulf coast, and storage facilities for 160 million barrels oil and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The company was hurt by low prices and low demand in 1H20, but partially recovered in the second half. Revenues turned around, growing 27% sequentially to reach $6.9 billion in Q3. That number was down year-over-year, slipping 5.4%, but came in more than 6% above the Q3 forecast. Q3 earnings, at 48 cents per share, were just under the forecast, but were up 4% year-over-year and 2% sequentially. EPD has recently declared its 4Q20 dividend distribution, at 45 cents per common share. This is up from the previous payment of 44 cents, and marks the first increase in two years. At $1.80 annualized, the payment yields 7.9%. Among the bulls is Raymond James' Justin Jenkins, who rates EPD a Strong Buy. The analyst gives the stock a $26 price target, which implies a 15% upside from current levels. (To watch Jenkins track record, click here) Backing his bullish stance, Jenkins noted, "In our view, EPD's unique combination of integration, balance sheet strength, and ROIC track record remains best in class. We see EPD as arguably best positioned to withstand the volatile landscape With EPD's footprint, demand gains, project growth, and contracted ramps should more than offset supply headwinds and lower y/y marketing results" Its not often that the analysts all agree on a stock, so when it does happen, take note. EPDs Strong Buy consensus rating is based on a unanimous 9 Buys. The stocks $24.63 average price target suggests an upside of 9% from the current share price of $22.65. (See EPD stock analysis on TipRanks) AT&T, Inc. (T) AT&T is one of the markets instantly recognizable stock. The company is a member in long standing of the S&P 500, and it has reputation as one of the stock markets best dividend payers. AT&T is a true large-cap industry giant, with a market cap of $208 billion and the largest network of mobile and landline phone services in the US. Its acquisition of TimeWarner (now WarnerMedia), in a process running between 2016 and 2018, has given the company a large stake in the mobile content streaming business. AT&T saw revenues and earnings decline in 2020, under pressure from the corona pandemic but the decline was modest, as that same pandemic also put a premium on telecom and networking systems, which tended to support AT&Ts business. Revenues in 3Q20 were $42.3 billion, 5% below the year-ago quarter. On positive notes, free cash flow rose yoy from $11.4 billion to $12.1 billion, and the company reported a net gain of 5.5 million new subscribers. The subscriber growth was driven by the new 5G network rollout and by premium content services. The company held up its reputation as a dividend champ, and has made its most recent dividend declaration for payment in February 2021. The payment, at 52 per common share, is the fifth in a row at current level and annualizes to $2.08, giving a yield of 7.2%. For comparison, the average dividend among tech sector peer companies is only 0.9%. AT&T has kept its dividend strong for the past 12 years. Raymond James analyst Frank Louthan sees AT&T as a classic defensive value stock, and describes Ts current state as one with the bad news baked in. [We] believe there is more that can go right during the next 12 months than can get worse for AT&T. Throw in the fact that shares are heavily shorted, and we believe this is a recipe for upside. Large cap value names are hard to come by, and we think investors who can wait a few months for a mean reversion while locking in a 7% yield should be rewarded for buying AT&T at current levels, Louthan opined. In line with these comments, Louthan rates T an Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his $32 price target implies room for 10% growth from current levels. (To watch Louthans track record, click here) What does the rest of the Street think? Looking at the consensus breakdown, opinions from other analysts are more spread out. 7 Buy ratings, 6 Holds and 2 Sells add up to a Moderate Buy consensus. In addition, the $31.54 average price target indicates ~9% upside potential. (See AT&T stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for dividend 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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Will Bitcoin Or Ethereum Grow More By 2022? - Yahoo Finance

TipRanks

Watching the markets with an eye to the main chance, Raymond James strategist Tavis McCourt sees both risk and opportunity in current market conditions. The opportunity, in his opinion, stems from the obvious factors: the Democrats won both Georgia Senate seats in the recent runoff vote, giving the incoming Biden Administration majority support in both Houses of Congress and increasing the odds of meaningful fiscal support getting signed into law in the near term. More importantly, the coronavirus vaccination program is proceeding, and reports are showing that Pfizers vaccine, one of two approved in the US, is effective against the new strain of the virus. A successful vaccination program will speed up the economic recovery, allowing states to loosen lockdown regulations and get people back to work. The risks are also coming from the political and public health realms. The House Democrats have passed articles of impeachment against President Trump, despite the imminent natural closure of his term of office, and that passage reduces the chances of political reconciliation in a heavily polarized environment. And while the COVID strain is matched by current vaccines, there is still a risk that a new strain will develop that is not covered by existing vaccinations which could restart the cycle of lockdowns and economic decline. Another risk McCourt sees, beyond those two, would be a sharp rise in inflation. He doesnt discount that, but sees it as unlikely to happen soon. product/service inflation is only really a possibility AFTER re-openings, so the market feels a bit bullet proof in the very near term, and thus the continued rally, with Dems winning the GA races just adding fuel to the stimulus fire, McCourt noted. Some of McCourts colleagues among the Raymond James analyst cadre are keeping these risks in mind, and putting their imprimatur on strong dividend stocks. Weve looked into Raymond James' recent calls, and using the TipRanks database, weve chosen two stocks with high-yield dividends. These Buy-rated tickers bring a dividend yield of 7%, a strong attraction for investors interested in using the current good times to set up a defensive firewall should the risks materialize. Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) Well start in the energy sector, a business segment long known for both high cash flows and high dividends. Enterprise Products Partners is a midstream company, part of the network that moves hydrocarbon products from the wellheads to the storage farms, refineries, and distribution points. Enterprise controls over 50,000 miles worth of pipelines, shipping terminals on Texas Gulf coast, and storage facilities for 160 million barrels oil and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The company was hurt by low prices and low demand in 1H20, but partially recovered in the second half. Revenues turned around, growing 27% sequentially to reach $6.9 billion in Q3. That number was down year-over-year, slipping 5.4%, but came in more than 6% above the Q3 forecast. Q3 earnings, at 48 cents per share, were just under the forecast, but were up 4% year-over-year and 2% sequentially. EPD has recently declared its 4Q20 dividend distribution, at 45 cents per common share. This is up from the previous payment of 44 cents, and marks the first increase in two years. At $1.80 annualized, the payment yields 7.9%. Among the bulls is Raymond James' Justin Jenkins, who rates EPD a Strong Buy. The analyst gives the stock a $26 price target, which implies a 15% upside from current levels. (To watch Jenkins track record, click here) Backing his bullish stance, Jenkins noted, "In our view, EPD's unique combination of integration, balance sheet strength, and ROIC track record remains best in class. We see EPD as arguably best positioned to withstand the volatile landscape With EPD's footprint, demand gains, project growth, and contracted ramps should more than offset supply headwinds and lower y/y marketing results" Its not often that the analysts all agree on a stock, so when it does happen, take note. EPDs Strong Buy consensus rating is based on a unanimous 9 Buys. The stocks $24.63 average price target suggests an upside of 9% from the current share price of $22.65. (See EPD stock analysis on TipRanks) AT&T, Inc. (T) AT&T is one of the markets instantly recognizable stock. The company is a member in long standing of the S&P 500, and it has reputation as one of the stock markets best dividend payers. AT&T is a true large-cap industry giant, with a market cap of $208 billion and the largest network of mobile and landline phone services in the US. Its acquisition of TimeWarner (now WarnerMedia), in a process running between 2016 and 2018, has given the company a large stake in the mobile content streaming business. AT&T saw revenues and earnings decline in 2020, under pressure from the corona pandemic but the decline was modest, as that same pandemic also put a premium on telecom and networking systems, which tended to support AT&Ts business. Revenues in 3Q20 were $42.3 billion, 5% below the year-ago quarter. On positive notes, free cash flow rose yoy from $11.4 billion to $12.1 billion, and the company reported a net gain of 5.5 million new subscribers. The subscriber growth was driven by the new 5G network rollout and by premium content services. The company held up its reputation as a dividend champ, and has made its most recent dividend declaration for payment in February 2021. The payment, at 52 per common share, is the fifth in a row at current level and annualizes to $2.08, giving a yield of 7.2%. For comparison, the average dividend among tech sector peer companies is only 0.9%. AT&T has kept its dividend strong for the past 12 years. Raymond James analyst Frank Louthan sees AT&T as a classic defensive value stock, and describes Ts current state as one with the bad news baked in. [We] believe there is more that can go right during the next 12 months than can get worse for AT&T. Throw in the fact that shares are heavily shorted, and we believe this is a recipe for upside. Large cap value names are hard to come by, and we think investors who can wait a few months for a mean reversion while locking in a 7% yield should be rewarded for buying AT&T at current levels, Louthan opined. In line with these comments, Louthan rates T an Outperform (i.e. Buy), and his $32 price target implies room for 10% growth from current levels. (To watch Louthans track record, click here) What does the rest of the Street think? Looking at the consensus breakdown, opinions from other analysts are more spread out. 7 Buy ratings, 6 Holds and 2 Sells add up to a Moderate Buy consensus. In addition, the $31.54 average price target indicates ~9% upside potential. (See AT&T stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for dividend 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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PayPals Bitcoin revenue expected to top $2 billion by 2023 - Yahoo Finance

Of the existing 18.5 million Bitcoin, around 20 percent currently worth around $140 billion appear to be in lost or otherwise stranded wallets, according to the cryptocurrency data firm Chainalysis. Wallet Recovery Services, a business that helps find lost digital keys, said it had received 70 requests a day from people who wanted help recovering their riches, three times the number of a month ago.

The cryptocurrencys unusual nature has meant that many people are locked out of their Bitcoin fortunes as a result of lost or forgotten keys. They have been forced to watch, helpless, as the price has risen and fallen sharply, unable to cash in on their digital wealth.

Bitcoin owners who are locked out of their wallets speak of endless days and nights of frustration as they have tried to get access to their fortunes. Many have owned the coins since Bitcoins early days a decade ago, when no one had confidence that the tokens would be worth anything.

The quandary is a stark reminder of Bitcoins unusual technological underpinnings, which set it apart from normal money and give it some of its most vaunted and riskiest qualities. With traditional bank accounts and online wallets, banks like Wells Fargo and other financial companies like PayPal can provide people the passwords to their accounts or reset lost passwords.

Bitcoin has no company to provide or store passwords. But the structure of this system did not account for just how bad people can be at remembering and securing their passwords.

Even sophisticated investors have been completely incapable of doing any kind of management of private keys, said Diogo Monica, a co-founder of a start-up called Anchorage, which helps companies handle cryptocurrency security. Mr. Monica started the company in 2017 after helping a hedge fund regain access to one of its Bitcoin wallets.

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Tens of billions worth of Bitcoin have been locked by people who forgot their key. - The New York Times

A Russian company is leveraging the Siberian city of Norilsk located above the Arctic Circle in order to mine bitcoins. Bitcluster, the owner of the crypto mining operation, plans to expand the firms activities after launching the facility in late 2020. According to the companys website, the datacenter is getting electricity rates as low as $0.03 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

This week the Russian mining operation Bitcluster was featured in a Bloomberg video-report that highlights the companys Norilsk bitcoin mine. The city of Norilsk is considered one of the worlds most northerly settlements and it is known for hosting the metal mining company MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC. MMC Norilsk Nickel is the worlds largest palladium producer and it also produces colossal amounts of nickel, copper, and platinum.

Now Bitcluster is bringing the polar region a new type of precious-asset mining by setting up shop mining cryptocurrency in Norilsk.

Bitclusters cofounder Vitaly Borschenko detailed in an interview that the Norilsk bitcoin mine is being contracted by international interests located all around the world. Despite the fact that the arctic region of Norilsk is extremely cold, the temperatures benefit the bitcoin mining operations according to Bitcluster as it helps the cooling aspect of the process.

Bitclusters webpage details that the company uses a special canopy in order to protect the facility from the cold corridor. The warm air from the miners is mixed to prevent the snow from falling, Bitcluster notes.

The Russian firm says it also leverages Antminer S19s and they constructed modular data centers in order to accommodate the ASIC devices. The Bloomberg video-report also shows that the company is getting very cheap electricity by mining in Norilsk.

According to the recent report, Electric is 25% cheaper than anywhere else in Russia, as Norilsk creates its own electricity. Natural gas and hydropower is the most dominant source of electricity in the Arctic Circle territory. Bitclusters site notes that the firm is obtaining electricity for as low as 2.75 rubles or $0.039 per kWh.

The report also indicates that the bitcoin mining operation is using an abandoned Norilsk Nickel plant that was closed in 2016. The place is perfect for crypto mining: its cold and the area has [a] power supply thats not linked to any of Russias power grids, Borschenko detailed.

Bitcluster also claims, that next to the metal mining firm Norilsk Nickel, the bitcoin mining operation will be the Norilsk regions second-largest power consumer. The company uses repurposed shipping containers to house the Antminers dedicating hashpower to the Bitcoin network. At current exchange rates, the networks difficulty, and $0.039 per kWh, an Antminer S19 (110 Th/s) will produce $25 per day in bitcoin.

What do you think about the bitcoin mining operation in the Arctic Circle region of Norilsk? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Bitcluster website,

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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A Russian Operation Is Mining Bitcoin in the Arctic Circle for Cheap Electricity - Bitcoin News

Indian police have seized $1.2 million in bitcoin from a hacker who allegedly hacked a government website, online game portals, and cryptocurrency exchanges. He was previously arrested for stealing $1.5 million from an Indian state government.

The Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) Police have revealed that bitcoins worth Rs 9 crore ($1.23 million) have been seized from a 25-year-old hacker, local media reported Friday.

The hacker known as Shri Krishna is a software engineer and resident of Jayanagar in south Bengaluru. He was arrested on Nov. 18 for sourcing drugs through the darknet using bitcoins. Bengaluru Joint Police Commissioner (Crime) Sandeep Patil explained that during the investigation:

We have recovered 31 bitcoins from Krishna, which is worth Rs 9 crore.

Besides buying drugs, Patil said that the hacker and his friends were also using these bitcoins to lead lavish lives and stayed in star hotels and resorts.

Krishna also hacked the Karnataka governments e-procurement portal in August 2019 and was booked for stealing Rs 11 crore from the site.

In addition, a senior officer detailed that Krishna deployed ransomware to force the owners of the websites he hacked to pay ransoms. He also used to create mirror sites and get information on credit or debit cards used by people who accessed sites to steal money, the official said. The Indian Express described that according to the police:

Further investigation has revealed that Krishna, along with five friends, hacked into three bitcoin exchanges and ten poker websites by pushing three types of malware into them.

The police added that they also hacked into YFI coin (Yearn Finance) Ethereum sites in various countries using a similar modus operandi.

Patil noted that the accused hacked into various international poker sites and stole data, adding that his team has shared all the relevant information on the case with the concerned companies through Interpol.

After hacking websites and stealing data and money, the accused converted funds into bitcoin and cashed out through an alleged financing partner, Patil described. He added: The bitcoins were traded for money through another accused, identified as Robin Khandelwal. He deposited the money in Krishnas bank account after trading the bitcoins through hawala channels.

What do you think about India seizing bitcoins from the hacker? Let us know in the comments section below.

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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India Seizes Bitcoins Worth $1.2 Million From Hacker of Government Website and Crypto Exchanges | Regulation - Bitcoin News