Category Archives: Cryptocurrency

This article enlisted the top 5 different kinds of cryptocurrency airdrops

Beginning in the early 2010s, as potential trolls investigated the possibility of sending unsolicited photos to unintentional passersby, airdrops became extremely popular. Now, in the world of fintech, a marketing tactic known as crypto airdrops is used to build platform awareness and generate excitement for newly launched cryptocurrency projects.

Blockchain-based projects employ a marketing tactic known as a crypto airdrop, which entails dispersing a large number of free tokens as part of a larger promotional effort. RabbitX, a decentralized exchange, has rewarded new platform users with standard airdrops.

These airdrops with a service focus are supported by recipients doing small favors and themselves. Commonly, organizations require some low-lift limited time work, with remunerations distributed to those able to pursue a pamphlet, follow indicated web-based entertainment channels across stages, interface with a tasks new post, or sign on to a live gathering.

This is determined by a snapshot of user wallets taken by the community at a particular time-for example, on a particular day or over a predetermined period. Those who have reached or exceeded a certain amount are presented with a reward. Sudoswap, a platform for exchanging NFTs for tokens, has yet to issue its governance token, SUDO.

Developers airdrop the new coins as a crumbs trail to convert native users when a protocol branches off or hard forks from its original code, resulting in two distinct platforms. ETHPoW, a proof-of-work chain that split off from Ethereum after it switched to a proof-of-stake system in The Merge, is an example of a hard fork airdrop.

Wallet size isnt all that matters. Elite airdrops frequently reward a clients time signed on an undertaking, cash spent on non-token action, or level of commitment inside a gathering. Exclusive airdrops reach people who dont have any money but are more invested in a project outside of school.

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Top 5 Different Kinds of Cryptocurrency Airdrops - Analytics Insight

Last year, we discussed the NFT-related criminal charges filed against Nathaniel Chastain, OpenSeas former product manager. For those who are not familiar with his case, in late May 2022, the United States Department of Justice indicted and arrested Mr. Chastain, charging him with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with what the government alleged to be the first ever NFT-centered insider trading scheme. As the Department of Justice explained in its indictment, part of Mr. Chastains duties as a product manager at OpenSea included choosing which NFTs to highlight on the homepage of OpenSeas website. Typically, the price of an NFT significantly increases after being featured on OpenSeas homepage, which should come as no surprise given that featuring an NFT on OpenSeas homepage effectively amounts to an endorsement of that NFT by the largest online marketplace for NFTs. The government accused Mr. Chastain of exploit[ing] his advanced knowledge of what NFTs would be featured on OpenSeas homepage for his personal financial gain by quietly purchasing dozens of soon-to-be-featured NFTs and selling them at a significant profit after they were published on OpenSeas homepage.

Now, the government has come out on top in this case. On May 3, 2023, after a week-long trial in the Southern District of New York and two days of deliberations, the federal jury found Mr. Chastain guilty of wire fraud and money laundering. Mr. Chastain faces up to 20 years in prison at his sentencing schedule for August 22nd. Despite the flurry of pre-trial motions filed by Mr. Chastains defense team, prosecutors prevailed. Mr. Chastains defense team had argued that the charges must be dropped because insider trading charges only apply to securities and commodities and NFTs are neither securities nor commodities. However, by charging Mr. Chastain with wire fraud, rather than alleging securities fraud charges which are central to most traditional insider trading cases, prosecutors were able to skirt the issue of whether non-fungible tokens are legally classified as a security, a hotly debated topic in the world of digital assets. The door is now wide open on the heels of this successful verdict for the government to bring charges against other allegedly duplicitous NFT players in an attempt to weed out fraud in the industry.

In fact, the government has already successfully used a similar argument in what was dubbed the first ever cryptocurrency insider trading case. Just last week, Ishan Wahi, a former Coinbase Global Inc. product manager, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Mr. Wahi was one of three people charged with wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy after Mr. Wahi allegedly tipped off his brother and friend that certain crypto assets and tokens were about to be listed on Coinbases exchanges. Just like with Mr. Chastains case, the fact that the assets at issue are fairly novel digital assets for Mr. Wahi, cryptocurrency; in Mr. Chastains case, NFTs did not matter because the charges were framed wire fraud, not securities fraud. As FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll commented on Mr. Wahis indictment, Although the allegations. . . relate to transactions made in a crypto exchange rather than a more traditional financial market they still constitute insider trading. Mr. Wahis brother, Nikhil Wahi, also plead guilty, admitting to making trades based on the confidential information his brother provided to him. He was sentenced to ten months in prison earlier this year. Their friend, Sameer Ramani, who is also alleged to have made trades using the same insider information is still at large.

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Guilty! Criminal Convictions in the First Ever NFT and ... - JD Supra

BitLux employees also physically travel to meet with the companys network operators to ensure BitLux flights operate efficiently.

Kyle Patel, executive director of BitLux, says: As far as I know we are the only people in the brokerage position that have regular structures, industry specific training on logistic handling and networking. Our guys are specifically trained on international logistics but our sweet spot is on heavy cabin international trips which is one of the big things that separates us from other companies.

BitLux suggests that the use of cryptocurrency for private jet charter ensures top tier safety and security. This includes secure, anonymous and convenient payment.

The company encountered a customer who needed to fly from the Caribbean islands to Europe and was unable to complete a bank transfer. The customer did not have a credit card that could withstand the cost and being able to make meetings was vital to his operations but he did not have a solution.

However, he had the digital cryptocurrency Bitcoin which inspired the idea that cryptocurrency could be the solution to many peoples dilemmas.

Patel says: From my position, I dont think that the use of cryptocurrency in the private jet industry is unique or philosophical.

I think that the core values of cryptocurrency align almost perfectly with private aviation in the fact of freedom, privacy, efficiency, detail and expedience. Its very difficult for anything to be wrong or impossible in the crypto space on a well-built platform.

I believe that this being raised in aviation is what aviation is about being able to provide a level of freedom, security and control over where you are at, when you are there. The concepts of crypto arent foreign or unique, they are just embodied in a name.

The company also highlights its online quoting tool which allows clients to send their requested flight details to its charter department to check availability and quotations.

Eventually, it is expected that there will be an increased presence of AI in the aviation industry. Patel suggests that AI will understand scheduling.

Patel says: Thats going to be communication between consumer and aircraft. Itll be able to understand schedules, not take the place of scheduling but understand schedules. I see this happening in the next five years. Hopefully some of our vendors and counterparts will take a step forward in the scheduling aspect.

Companies in the private jet space would be able to query their own internal systems, without having to do problem solving. They could take a number of requests that will automatically get approved through scheduling and then go through an AI supervisor for approval.

BitLux is working on consumer facing language model AI. Patel is curious about whether people will prefer working with AI or human beings on charter requests and information on upcoming flights.

Within the private aviation sector, customers are older than the typical population. There is a gap between the age group and the technology that is being used.

Ive been doing a ton of research on how these language models interpret data that isnt direct conversational language and then being able to translate that data and putting it into a readable, eloquent presentation of information.

I think theres a long way to go mostly because of regulations. I will certainly say that the last place you want to have any kind of issue or mistake is in aviation. That is not a good place for a testing ground. Closer integration with AI will come in the form of mostly language models, consistent data, analytics models and projection models for things like air traffic control, maintenance and crew scheduling.

Although there may be some who are hesitant to accept the likelihood of AIs influence on the aviation industry in the future, there are clear benefits.

However, Patel notes that it is important for regulatory agencies to be in the right place to come up with control structures to ensure accuracy of information.

The thing with aviation is that everybody, from ground crew to air traffic controllers, they need to have the most accurate and up to date information possible.

If people have reservations about utilising AI, a computer can digest, understand and regurgitate information a million times faster than humans can imagine. That is something that we can harness or it can go the other way. Someone will develop this whether we are on board or not, adds Patel.

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Digitalisation: cryptocurrency, AI and private jet chartering - Airport Technology

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), two of the most popular cryptocurrencies, failed to show notable upwards movement early Thursday. While BTC remained below $28,000, ETH dwelled within the $1,800 range. Other popular altcoins including the likes of Dogecoin (DOGE), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), and Solana (SOL) saw minor gains across the board. The Render Token (RNDR) managed to become the top gainer, with a 24-hour jump of over 16 percent. Memecoin PEPE continues to be the biggest loser, with a 24-hour loss of over 6 percent.

The global crypto market cap stood at $1.14 trillion at the time of writing, registering a 24-hour gain of 0.62 percent.

Bitcoin price stood at $27,362.33, registering a 24-hour gain of 1.13 percent, as per CoinMarketCap. According to Indian exchange WazirX, BTC price stood at Rs 23.40 lakh.

ETH price stood at $1,825.04, marking a 24-hour gain of 0.10 percent at the time of writing. As per WazirX, Ethereum price in India stood at Rs 1.58 lakh.

DOGE registered a 24-hour jump of 1.78 percent, as per CoinMarketCap data, currently priced at $0.07452. As per WazirX, Dogecoin price in India stood at Rs 6.40.

Litecoin saw a 24-hour gain of 1.15 percent. At the time of writing, it was trading at $93.98. LTC price in India stood at Rs 8,199.15.

XRP price stood at $0.4477, seeing a 24-hour dip of 2.39 percent. As per WazirX, Ripple price stood at Rs 38.65.

Solana price stood at $21.03, marking a 24-hour gain of 0.27 percent. As per WazirX, SOL price in India stood at Rs 1,820.15.

As per CoinMarketCap data, here are the top five crypto gainers over the past 24 hours:

Render Token (RNDR)

Price: $2.3224-hour loss: 16.10 percent

Synthetix (SNX)

Price: $2.4324-hour loss: 9.87 percent

Mask Network (MASK)

Price: $4.4124-hour loss: 7.12 percent

Axie Infinity (AXS)

Price: $7.4424-hour loss: 6.05 percent

Optimism (OP)

Price: $1.8224-hour loss: 5.50 percent

As per CoinMarketCap data, here are the top five crypto losers over the past 24 hours:

Pepe (PEPE)

Price: $0.00000157124-hour loss: 6.19 percent

Conflux (CFX)

Price: $0.300724-hour loss: 4.12 percent

Casper (CSPR)

Price: $0.0481524-hour loss: 2.22 percent

Decentraland (MANA)

Price: $0.51124-hour loss: 2.21 percent

Ripple (XRP)

Price: $0.447324-hour loss: 2.15 percent

Mudrex co-founder and CEO Edul Patel told ABP Live, Bitcoin and Ethereum showed little movement despite concerns about the US debt ceiling. Bitcoin is currently trading at approximately $27,300, with a potential upward trend if it surpasses the resistance level of $27,550. The support level is currently at $27,000, while resistance levels are at $27,420 and $27,550. Meanwhile, Ethereum experienced a decline following Chinese prosecutors' announcement of a crackdown on the NFT market, but it has since rebounded and is trading at around $1,825.

WazirX Vice President Rajagopal Menon said, Bitcoin and Ether remain resilient despite concerns over US debt ceiling negotiations. While crypto markets are generally unaffected due to tight liquidity, Tether's decision to diversify reserves into crypto indicates some impact. On WazirX, Cartesi (CTSI) and MOBOX (MBOX) have been the top gainers in the last 24 hours.

Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO and co-founder of Unocoin said, Bitcoin (BTC), the dominant cryptocurrency, is trading sideways after falling from $28,000. Currently valued at $27,300, its performance is being closely watched to see if the decline continues or if another crash is imminent. Analysts note historical patterns of temporary rallies followed by new lows, while others predict a bullish trend in 2023. Bitcoin's defence of critical support near $25,000 is crucial, and a break below could lead to lower prices. Axie Infinity's native cryptocurrency, AXS, has seen a 12 percent increase after launching its card game on the Apple App Store. Already installed more than 1.5 million times, the game is initially targeting users in Latin America and Asia, with plans to expand to Google and Apple platforms in the future.

Shivam Thakral, the CEO of BuyUCoin, said, The overall crypto market witnessed a marginal jump of 0.65 percent as BTC and ETH continue to remain in the green zone. With the US president declaring that the US will not default on its debt ceiling, there may be some liquidity crisis in the market which can restrict the momentum. Tether (USDT) announced that it will invest 15 percent of realised profits into Bitcoin to mitigate the dollar risk, this may be a good sign for BTC in the long term.

CoinDCX Research Team told ABP Live, Bitcoin experienced retracement, falling below the $27,000 mark. Last week's high volatility resulted in a price decline for Bitcoin, reaching a two-month low of $25,800.Since the introduction of the Shanghai upgrade to Ethereum about a month ago, demand for ETH staking has surged significantly. As a result, the number of staked ETH tokens has reached 21.6 million, marking an increase of approximately 3.5 million within the month following the Shanghai upgrade. With the total supply of ETH tokens standing at around 120 million, the current staking participation rate has surpassed 18 percent, according to Glassnode data. These developments demonstrate the growing interest and confidence in ETH staking as an investment strategy.

Disclaimer: Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and is subject to market risks. Readers are advised to seek expert advice and read offer document(s) along with related important literature on the subject carefully before making any kind of investment whatsoever. Cryptocurrency market predictions are speculative and any investment made shall be at the sole cost and risk of the readers.

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Cryptocurrency Price Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum Fail To Impress As Top Coins See Minor Gains - ABP Live

The crypto market is awash with excitement once more as investors look at the latest exciting crypto projects to get involved in. With speculation of a possible bull market looming, many believe this could be the alt season as people look for exciting altcoins to invest in. Apecoin (APE) and Floki Inu (FLOKI) will be among those that capture the attention of crypto enthusiasts but, as it approaches the end of its presale, could Big Eyes Coin (BIG)be the all-conquering meme coin that becomes the object of everyones fascination and interest?

Meme coins have been a lighthearted introduction to cryptocurrencies through their ability to connect with the contemporary internet culture. Big Eyes Coin has executed this superbly well. Firstly, its a coin based on the theme of a cat meme and if theres anything that embodies our internet culture, its people scrolling through endless cat videos. Its handling of the online meme culture has extended to being able to peerlessly manipulate its social media platforms better than most other tokens. It has, put simply, enchanted its followers through friendly competitions.

Why has this been helpful? Community and sustainability are the core themes of Big Eyes Coin and social media has helped both embody and promote these ideals. A larger follower base helps to solidify the platform ahead of its launch and gives it a crucial edge over its relatively blunted competitors.

Big Eyes Coin has, through this, accrued well over $30m in its presales, marking it as one of the most successful presale cryptocurrencies. This is all the more impressive when one considers that recently, investor confidence in cryptocurrencies has been somewhat shaky, rocked by the crash of FTX and multiple crypto-focused banks. Yet, somehow, defying seemingly insurmountable odds, Big Eyes Coin is the cat that has managed to keep its claws in and continued climbing.

In addition, Big Eyes Coin also allocates a portion of its earnings to charities through its charity wallet. This is used to help charities that are committed to conserving the earths endangered green resources.

With its presale set to end in the opening week of June, Big Eyes Coin has established itself as arguably the hottest crypto project in 2023. It will relish what it can do during a potential bull market run.

Floki Inu is almost synonymous with the notion of a crypto community. At the helm of its meteoric rise are its Floki Vikings, an ardent community of supporters more than 440,000 strong. They form the backbone of what is passionate support to propel FLOKI to great heights. The community has gained notoriety for its impactful social media raids and viral memes.

Floki Inu has an ecosystem that consists of many cutting-edge offers, including its Valhalla Play 2 Earn metaverse, FlokiFi its hub for DeFi projects, and Flokiplaces an NFT and merchandise marketplace. These core elements of the ecosystem sit alongside the University of Floki which is a detailed crypto education platform.

Apecoin is a cryptocurrency that emerged to provide a seamless payment solution for businesses that were operating in the Asia-Pacific region. Its integration of NFTs is what distinguishes it from other cryptocurrencies. This allows for the creation of unique digital assets that are then eligible to be bought, sold, and traded.

A significant advantage of investing in Apecoin is its high ceiling for growth. As businesses in the Asia-Pacific region continue to expand and utilise new technologies, the demand for a fast and reliable payment solution will inevitably grow too. There remains a sense of novelty to Apecoins approach to digital payments, combined with its use of NFTs, that puts it in a great position to exploit the potential of the crypto market in Asia.

For more information on Big Eyes Coin, please see below:

Website:https://bigeyes.space/

Presale:https://buy1.bigeyes.space/

Telegram:https://t.me/BIGEYESOFFICIAL

Twitter:https://twitter.com/BigEyesCoin

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As Big Eyes Coin Edges Near The End Of Its Presale, Could This Be ... - TechCabal

State election officials are fining the Democratic Party of Oregon a $15,000 late filing fee after the party changed the donor of a hefty campaign check.

The state also plans to monitor the Democratic Party of Oregons financial disclosures to ensure campaign finance laws are being followed in the future. The secretary of states office initially proposed fining the party $35,000 after a three-month investigation but lowered the amount.

While the financial penalties are significant, the most important part of the settlement are the numerous oversight requirements the DPO has agreed to, including spot checks by Elections Division investigators, to ensure compliance with all state campaign finance laws, Cheryl Myers, acting secretary of state said in a statement. In too many cases, people who violate campaign finance laws pay a fine and move on.

But if for some reason the DPO doesnt comply with the oversight requirements reached in the settlement, they could be on the hook to pay a larger fine up to $50,000.

The state was prompted to take a closer look at $500,000 contribution in question after The Oregonian/OregonLive reported the contribution was not actually from Prime Trust, which is how Democratic Party officials reported it on their campaign finance filings. Instead, Prime Trust was merely a pass-through and the donation really came from Nishad Singh, a former executive at the disgraced cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

The fine concludes the investigation into the state Democratic party, but officials are still looking into whether Singhs actions were a violation of the law.

We have closed the investigation into whether DPO reported a contribution under a false name, and we are focusing that investigation on Nishad Singh. This settlement allows the possibility of reopening an investigation into the DPO if new information comes to light, Myers said.

DPO Executive Director Brad Martin said in an email that the party chose to move forward with the settlement in order to eliminate distractions from its primary goal: electing Democrats.

The DPO accepts this settlement and welcomes todays closure of a case that boiled down to an individual lying about a donation and the DPO making the correct information available as soon as it learned about the donors lie, the statement read.

FTX, the exchange Singh worked for, has come under intense scrutiny amid charges its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, defrauded investors.

Bankman-Fried and his associates are also face accusations they violated campaign finance laws by routing money through straw donors people who made contributions at FTX officials behest in order to avoid federal giving limits.

Its a felony to make a campaign contribution under a false name. Oregon has no campaign finance limits for state political races and causes, and Singh could have given the $500,000 to the state party in his own name.

State election officials are still conducting a preliminary investigation into whether the contribution was made using a false name.

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State election officials fine Democratic Party of Oregon for cryptocurrency donation flap - Oregon Public Broadcasting

Bitcoin and Ethereum take a hit as cryptocurrency market drops over 3% in 24 hours  India TV News

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Bitcoin and Ethereum take a hit as cryptocurrency market drops over 3% in 24 hours - India TV News

Logan Paul, five other sued over involvement in cryptocurrency and NFT platform CryptoZoo  WFAA.com

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Logan Paul, five other sued over involvement in cryptocurrency and NFT platform CryptoZoo - WFAA.com

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

How much will bitcoin or any altcoin cost in 2023? Great question. Even professional traders cannot foresee the price of crypto due to multiple impact factors. But as an investor, I want to reflect on something else. Are those who have already buried the crypt right, or is last year's market crash not the end?

Related: Now that Crypto Has Crashed, What's Next for The Metaverse?

In February 2021, the capitalization of bitcoin exceeded $1 trillion for the first time. The first cryptocurrency grew by 900% in a year and traded for $54,000 per coin.

Despite the record price, there was no release from investors. For example, the Square payment service, owned by Jack Dorsey, then bought over three thousand bitcoins.

Amid the rising bitcoin price, in March 2021, the founder of the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, Jesse Powell, made a sensational forecast: by the end of 2022, one bitcoin can buy a Lamborghini, and in 2023, a Bugatti.

The forecast failed: today, you can only buy a Kia Rio or a Mitsubishi Mirage for a bitcoin. And this is after the boom of ETFs, NFTs, DeFi and stablecoins. So what went wrong?

Related: Everything You Need to Know About NFTs and Cryptocurrency

In 2022, the growth rates of blockchain technology remained high. For example, we witnessed the Ethereum protocol modernization: now, instead of the Proof-of-work algorithm, the blockchain uses Proof-of-stake. After the change, the network will consume 99.95% less energy.

However, this event was overshadowed by others the bankruptcies of the Terra project, Voyager Digital and Celsius Network crypto banks, Three Arrows Capital hedge fund, BlockFi and FTX exchanges.

Also, inflation in the US reached 7% in 2022, just as in the early 1980s. To curb inflation, the Federal Reserve raised rates seven times a year. The base rate is between 4.25% and 4.5%, the highest mark in 15 years.

The Fed's policy affected the value of risky assets, namely stocks and crypto. The dollar strengthens as interest rates rise, but risky assets fall. Due to this and the bankruptcy of key crypto projects, the cryptocurrency market collapsed. The media again started talking about the onset of crypto winter a decrease in the cost of all coins and a long bearish trend.

But I disagree that due to the fall (over the past year, according to the Coinmarketcap charts, market capitalization has more than halved - from $2 trillion to $800 billion), this segment can be put to rest.

Regarding crypto, price fluctuations are the last thing you should focus on. I look at less obvious factors to understand the market prospects.

The activity of venture capitalists decreased significantly in late 2022. This information can make beginners panic, but let's read the news more carefully.

How did the timing of entry into projects change the enthusiasm of investors? Seed and early-stage crypto startups received larger checks in 2022. Investors are buying up young startups, meaning the game is not over, and funds will be poured into the sector.

Besides, the cryptocurrency market is only developing. You can fail in school but enter college on the first try. So the failure of 2022 is not a sentence, but only growing pains.

Related: Decentralized Venture Capital Will Transform Startup Investing Forever

Web3 is a new blockchain-based decentralized and tokenized incarnation of the internet. It is both financial applications and NFTs. But the most dynamic segment of Web3 is blockchain games.

The crypto winter did not affect the growth of gaming programs based on distributed ledger technology: in 2022, the number of transactions in gaming blockchains increased by 94%.

It is such a strong trend that only full-on electricity cuts across the planet can bring it down. So the entire blockchain sector will become less speculative and more practice-oriented.

After COVID-19, even people far from business learned that the most affected sectors actively recovered after the crisis. This is precisely what should happen with the NFT segment.

Over 2022, it decreased by 97%. But the fall is not a trend unlike the arrival of big players in this market. NFTs were launched as part of a loyalty program by the giant Starbucks. By year's end, the list of majors that launched NFTs was replenished with Reddit, Meta, Nike, Disney and Coca-Cola.

All these companies invested in developing their own projects based on Web3 and will continue to develop them in 2023. My guess, other companies will pick up the trend, so the NFT market revival is only a matter of time.

Related: 5 Ways to Maintain and Expand Your Wealth During the Cryptocurrency Dip

In December 2013, on the Bitcointalk forum, a user, GameKyuubi wrote a post with a typo in the title - "I AM HODLING." He criticized traders who use bitcoin to get rich, contrasting their position with his own to keep the crypto even when market signals indicate a need to get rid of the asset.

The term HODL became a meme, and the change in the number of hodlers became the data for analytical platforms to evaluate the development of the industry.

New statistics from Glassnode demonstrate a sharp increase in the accumulation addresses in the Bitcoin blockchain. These hodler wallets have received at least two transfers in the past seven years. Yet, funds were never withdrawn from these addresses.

The number of such wallets reached almost 800,000 increasing by 18% during the year. The figures show that the number of committed users of the service is growing.

Hodlers don't make money off bitcoin. They believe in its potential as a universal means of payment. And user growth is a significant factor in the global adoption of bitcoin. I am sure that while some faithfully accumulate crypto and those who develop the blockchain and projects based on it, seasonal and annual jumps are just ripples in a pond. The most exciting things happen in the depths.

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Is Cryptocurrency a Good Investment in 2023? - entrepreneur.com

Charlie Munger at the Berkshire Hathaway press conference, April 30, 2022.

CNBC

Berkshire HathawayVice Chairman Charlie Munger urged the U.S. government to ban cryptocurrencies,as China has done,arguing that a lack of regulation enabled wretched excess and a gambling mentality.

"A cryptocurrency is not a currency, not a commodity, and not a security," the 99-year-old Munger said in an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal Thursday.

"Instead, it's a gambling contract with a nearly 100% edge for the house, entered into in a country where gambling contracts are traditionally regulated only by states that compete in laxity," Munger said. "Obviously the U.S. should now enact a new federal law that prevents this from happening."

Munger and his business partner Warren Buffett are longtime cryptocurrency skeptics, contending they are not tangible or productive assets. Munger's latest comments came as the crypto industry was plagued with problems from failed projects to a liquidity crunch, exacerbated by the fall of FTX, once one of the world's largest exchanges.

The cryptocurrency market lost more than $2 trillion in value last year. The price ofbitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, plunged 65% in 2022 and it has rebounded about 40% to trade around $23,824, according to Coin Metrics.

The renowned investor said in recent years privately owned companies have issued thousands of new cryptocurrencies, and they have become publicly traded without any governmental preapproval of disclosures. Some have been sold to a promoter for almost nothing, after which the public buys in at much higher prices without fully understanding the "pre-dilution in favor of the promoter," Munger said.

He listed two "interesting precedents" that may guide the U.S. into sound action. First, China has strictly prohibited services offering trading, order matching, token issuance and derivatives for virtual currencies. Second, from the early 1700s, the English Parliament banned all public trading in new common stocks and kept this ban in place for about 100 years, Munger said.

"What should the U.S. do after a ban of cryptocurrencies is in place? Well, one more action might make sense: Thank the Chinese communist leader for his splendid example of uncommon sense," Munger said.

(Read the full piece in the Journal here.)

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U.S. should ban cryptocurrencies, says Berkshire's Munger