Category Archives: Cryptocurrency

What happened this week in the crypto world.

Welcome to the first edition of Nonfungible Tidbits, where we highlight some of the most interesting things that happened this week in cryptocurrency, NFTs and related realms.

Certainly the biggest story this week was the price of bitcoin, which isn't, um, doing well. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is reportedly ending its stablecoin project. And last Friday, Twitter debuted a feature that allows subscribers to its paid Twitter Blue service to use an NFT as a profile picture. Here are a few other stories that caught our eyes this week.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission said no to a proposal on Thursday that would've allowed shares of Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust to be listed and traded. The SEC cited concerns over investor protections and public interest for the decision. Investors have been able to buy shares of an ETF that tracks bitcoin futures contracts since last year. But a spot bitcoin ETF would track the actual price of bitcoin, rather than the price of bitcoin futures, and the SEC isn't ready for that quite yet.

Crypto mining rigs.

The main thing bitcoin mining operations require is electricity --lots and lots of electricity. This is what drives the ongoing concern about Bitcoin's impact on the environment. But there's a growing presence of bitcoin miners in Texas, and Gov. Abbot wants to use them to help reinforce the state's power grid? The idea here is that mining operations use so much energy they will entice new investment in power plants in Texas. Then, when demand for electricity is high, like it was during the winter storms last year, the bitcoin miners can turn off their operations to free up electricity. We should note that there is currently no law in Texas that would require miners to do this. Maybe if the governor asks nicely?

Bud Light is the big game's official beer, so no Miller ads are allowed on America's most valued advertising slots of the year. What's the next best thing? Apparently it's a "metaverse bar." Miller Lite is partnering with Decentraland, a platform that allows people to buy and sell virtual plots of land. What's a metaverse bar? After reading this Marketing Dive story, the concept sounds like it's essentially a video game where you log in, and your avatar sits at a bar and buys NFTs. Very 2022.

The Ethereum Foundation oversees the Ethereum blockchain, which is the blockchain of ether, the No. 2 cryptocurrency after bitcoin (by market cap). The blockchain, currently in its "Eth1" phase, is scheduled for an upgrade later this year, which is supposed to make it more efficient, environmentally friendly and less expensive to conduct transactions with. Previously, the new version was to be known as Eth2, but not anymore. Why? According to an Ethereum Foundation blog post, Eth1 will be known as the "execution layer" and Eth2 will be known as the "consensus layer." This is a change in semantics, and the change reflects that the execution and consensus layers are, rather than two separate versions of Ethereum, both aspects of the same system. And that's good, right?

That's all the tidbits we have for now. Thanks for reading. We'll be back next week with plenty more to talk about. In the meantime, check out the So Money podcast featuring CNET's Farnoosh Torabi.

A direct deposit of news and advice to help you make the smartest decisions with your money.

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Nonfungible Tidbits: This week in bitcoin, cryptocurrency and NFTs - CNET

What happened

The cryptocurrency market is getting hit with another week of big sell-offs, and Cardano's (CRYPTO:ADA) ADA token has been caught up in the negative market momentum. The cryptocurrency was down 11.2% over the last week of trading as of 4 p.m. ET on Friday, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Only a handful of the top-50 largest cryptocurrencies managed to end the last week of trading in the green, and most were down double digits across the stretch. In addition to the specter of rising regulatory risks, the crypto market is also facing bearish catalysts related to potential conflict between Ukraine and Russia, shifting macroeconomic conditions, and disappointing guidance from some prominent, growth-dependent companies.

Image source: Getty Images.

The Biden administration is reportedly readying an executive order that would introduce new regulations on cryptocurrencies, and investors appear to be sweating the potential impact. The crypto market has also been impacted by a pronounced investor shift away from high-risk cryptocurrencies and stocks. Weak guidance from companies including Peloton, Netflix, and Tesla, and the threat of rising interest rates have also added to the bearish momentum, and Cardano's ADA token has been feeling the squeeze.

In addition to the long list of factors prompting sell-offs for the broader cryptocurrency space, it also looks like some network-specific factors could be pushing Cardano's token price lower. The recent launch of the SundaeSwap decentralized trading exchange on Cardano has led to record utilization on the network, but this has also led to some concerns about its blockchain network's scalability.

Cardano's ADA now has a market capitalization of roughly $35 billion, and it ranks as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by valuation. Even after big sell-offs in recent months, the token is still up more than 200% over the last year of trading.

With Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana's respective cryptocurrency tokens also down 1%, 8.1%, and 22.5%, respectively, over the last week of trading, it's likely that market momentum is the primary driver of ADA's recent valuation slide. Cardano's unique blockchain network and features give it individual pricing catalysts, but investors should move forward with the understanding that the token will likely continue to trade in line with trends for the broader crypto market -- at least in the near term.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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Why Cardano's Cryptocurrency Is Plummeting This Week - The Motley Fool

The special agent in charge of the FBI's Portland Division said anyone asking for crypto-only payments should immediately raise a red flag.

PORTLAND, Ore. Cryptocurrency is new and exciting, but it's also complicated to understand which means it can be easy to get duped. On Wednesday, experts at the FBIs Portland Division gave some pointers on how not to get conned.

Its especially timely with so many videos and posts about cryptocurrency on social media. The videos and posts often tout the money people can make or information that could help people break into it.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that you use to invest or buy goods and in order to buy or get into cryptocurrency, you have to use your traditional fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar, said Brandon, who is an FBI forensic accountant who only went by his first name.

He said there are thousands of different types of cryptocurrencies available that are not fully regulated yet, but are generally legal to buy and use in the United States.

In fact, many companies are now accepting cryptocurrency for payments of traditional [...] retail sales or goods and services, Brandon said.

Cryptocurrency is growing fast in popularity, and as with anything involving money, there are a lot of people who want to steal it.

We are seeing a commensurate rise in fraud schemes, basically providing the fraudsters or criminals more ways to steal your money, said Kieran Ramsey, special agent in charge at the FBI Portland Field Office.

He said scammers have reinvented traditional fraud schemes. Here are the types of scams Ramsey listed:

If a seemingly credible person or retail establishment or government agency, for that matter, claims that they cannot accept any form of payment other than cryptocurrency, it's likely a scam, Ramsey said.

He said credible entities will accept payments in the form of traditional bank transfers, credit and debit card payments or cash, not just cryptocurrency.

Consumers need to do their research and not fall prey to somebody looking to exploit your eagerness to get in on the next big thing, said Ramsey.

He said anytime someone sees a demand for a crypto-only payments, that should immediately cause a red flag to go up.

It can be easy for people to get ripped off, especially because there are many opportunities for people to transfer money to scammers. Brandon said there are more than 100 cryptocurrency ATMs in the Portland metro area where people can go and transfer their physical cash electronically to someone halfway around the world. People can also acquire cash from the ATMs if they already have a cryptocurrency account. Supervisory special agent, Gabe Gundersen with Oregon's Cyber Task Force said its not the ATMs themselves that are the issue, though they can be a tool to help scammers swindle people out of their money. That leads to a huge range of losses.

It's a few hundred bucks or a few thousand. Some of the larger ones [are] well over seven figures, well over a million dollars, said Gundersen.

He estimated the FBIs Portland Division receives about a thousand reports a year from Oregonians who think they've been scammed into giving their money to a thief by way of cryptocurrency.

The FBI experts said people should look out for are unsolicited emails, texts, QR codes or other messages. They said there are plenty of legitimate cryptocurrency websites, forums, and transactions but before you take the dive, do the research.

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FBI warns of cryptocurrency scams - KGW.com

JACKSON, Tenn. In May, Jackson Mayor Scott Conger announced that the City of Jackson will possibly pay employees or contractors in cryptocurrency.

However, there are a few concerns over the legality of this potential move.

The Comptroller, Jason Mumpower, sent a letter to Mayor Conger basically advising him that this needs to be carefully reviewed. Its possible that this might actually violate certain laws, including the Fair Labor Standard Act, said John Dunn, Director of Communications at Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.

The Fair Labor Standards Act says wages must be paid in cash or a negotiable instrument payable at par. However, Conger says he doesnt plan on paying employees directly, but will give them the option to invest.

We pay employees in U.S. dollars through a third party platform or company, then they can payroll deduct their money into an investment account, Conger said.

Conger says this is possibly the best way of a deferred compensation option for Jackson employees, if they choose to participate in it.

We wouldnt be holding. We wouldnt be paying. The RFP is pretty extensive on the education piece, of how to invest, what to offer, and letting the employees know what their options are if they choose to invest in any cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, Conger said.

Conger says cryptocurrency in Jackson can attract and open doors for new residents, businesses, people in tech, and more.

Those tech companies, those tech workers, those entrepreneurs, small business owners, we dont want to put all of our eggs in one basket. Say, Hey we want to land in Georgia Pacific. We want to diversify. Just like when you invest, you want to diversify. We want to diversify how we attract people to Jackson, Conger said.

You can find more local news through the WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News app.

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Concerns raised about paying city employees in cryptocurrency - WBBJ TV - WBBJ-TV

Coinbase, one of the largest and most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, is adding a new tax center to its app and website to help US customers work out how much they might owe to the IRS as a result of their crypto transactions, the company has announced. The section is designed to gather every taxable transaction into one place to simplify matters come tax day.

Although cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin often appear similar to the fiat money were accustomed to, in the eyes of the IRS, the digital assets are actually property, according to this FAQ from the federal agency. That means cryptocurrency transactions may need to be reported as capital gains or losses, and that means keeping track of a cryptocurrencys value as its bought and sold over time. Documenting these transactions can get complicated quickly if youre regularly buying and selling.

According to Coinbase, its new section will show a personalized summary of [a customers] taxable activity on Coinbase, broken out over time by realized gains/losses and miscellaneous income. This information can then be taken to an accountant or used with tax software like TurboTax. If youre someone whos transferred crypto to external exchanges, wallets, or other DeFi (decentralized finance) services, then Coinbase says its customers can also get tax reports for up to 3,000 of these transactions free with CoinTracker.

CNBC reported last year on suspicions that a lot of the taxes due on cryptocurrency transactions are going unpaid. Although confusion about the evolving tax rules about cryptocurrencies is one reason for this, another is that exchanges like Coinbase have historically not given as much help as traditional brokerage houses to customers when it comes to reporting their gains and losses for tax purposes.

The new Coinbase tax section is accessible from the profile icon in the top right-hand corner of the interface, where Taxes will appear as a menu item. In its app, the Taxes section is accessible from the Profile & Settings menu, accessible from the top left of the apps interface. In addition to the new tools, Coinbase is also planning to offer written guides and help videos in the coming weeks to explain cryptocurrency and digital asset taxes, but for now, this overview from CNET is a helpful place to start.

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Coinbase makes it easier to report cryptocurrency taxes - The Verge

Cryptocurrency miners in Russia may have a new ally: President Vladimir Putin.

Bloomberg today reported that Putin wants to "tax and regulate" cryptocurrency mining rather than banning the practice. "We also have certain competitive advantages here, especially in the so-called mining," Putin reportedly said. "I mean the surplus of electricity and well-trained personnel available in the country."

Putin's stance appears to be more nuanced than that assumed by Russia's central bank, which called for all cryptocurrencies to be outlawed, even as the Ministry of Finance argued in favor of regulating this digital money instead. Bloomberg said Putin has ordered the central bank and the ministry to reach an agreement.

Regulating the crypto market and cryptocurrency mining has been a hot button issue around the world for the last year. China banned mining from most of its provinces in early 2021, which prompted many of the country's mining operations to move to other countries (or try to evade detection while they continue to mine).

China's displaced mining operations mostly sent their rigs to the U.S., Canada, Kazakhstan and Russia. This migration pushed Russia's share of the Bitcoin mining industry from 7% in November 2020 to 11% in October 2021, according to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, which puts the country in third place.

Swedish regulators have called for cryptocurrency mining to be banned from their country, too, and India has considered similar restrictions. But it hasn't all been doom and gloom: El Salvador has devoted itself to Bitcoin by using volcanic energy to mine the cryptocurrency, making it legal tender, and planning a full Bitcoin City.

Putin seems to be somewhere between China and El Salvador. Bloomberg reported that he wants to confine mining to regions with a surplus of electricity, so the rules wouldn't beas permissive as they are now, but he also doesn't back a ban on the practice. Now it's up to the central bank and the Ministry of Finance to walk that line.

BitCluster co-founder Vitaliy Borschenko reportedly told Bloomberg that Russia's government invited cryptocurrency miners to join a working group after the central bank published its report and that "most ministries and agencies are against radical measures."

This is largely similar to the U.S. government's approach to cryptocurrency regulation. The country doesn't seem poised to limit mining, despite concerns about its environmental impact, but it has been more strict about taxing the crypto industry. (And has considered even more stringent regulations in the past.)

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Report: Putin Wants to Tax Cryptocurrency Mining, Not Ban It - Tom's Hardware

While the cryptocurrency buzz is still unsettling, NFTs are acquiring a fast pace in the virtual ecosystem

Since Bitcoins inception in 2009, blockchain technology has evolved above and beyond. In 2022, it has reached far more than what people originally expected. Blockchain technology houses any form of digital assets and keeps them safe in an encrypted key. It has the potential to give value to everything like fiat currencies and artworks in the digital world. For example, fiat currencies are converted to stablecoins like Tether and USD Coin while artworks are called NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). While the cryptocurrency buzz is still unsettling, NFTs are acquiring a fast pace in the virtual ecosystem.

Cryptocurrencies have been stealing the stage for three straight years now. Since the Covid-19 lockdown was imposed and people started trying their hands on virtual tokens, cryptocurrencies became extremely popular. More than the popularity, they gained prominence and made many people rich over the years. However, 2022 doesnt seem to be the year for cryptocurrency. Since the beginning, even major digital assets like Bitcoin and Etheruem are experiencing a bullish trend. On the other hand, NFTs are taking the center stage. According to a report by DappRadar, consumers spend about US$100 million on NFTs in 2020. But it has drastically risen to US$22 billion, which is a 21,9100% growth in just a year. Today, interested people are buying Non-Fungible Tokens on digital platforms like OpenSea, Rarible, etc.

Both Cryptocurrency and NFTs are lucrative investments. If you think digital tokens are extremely volatile, then Non-Fungible Tokens is not your thing. Although NFTs and cryptocurrencies share the same baseline called blockchain technology, they are different in nature and carry diverse features and values. But the recent trending topic is NFTs. Big Non-Fungible Token sales like Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitters Tweet, for US$2.9 million and Beeples artwork for US$69 million is making headlines everywhere. When NFTs are gaining prominence like never before, lets explore the possibilities of these digital artworks during the cryptocurrency market upside down.

Non-Fungible Tokens represent anything that is unique like furniture, artwork, jewelry, etc. NFTs basically represents a unique object or an artwork that can be sold online. They are different from cryptocurrencies because they are not interchangeable, but fungible. However, similar to virtual tokens, they can be traded via a blockchain network and all the transactions and movement of NFTs are closely kept in context.

When a product is brought into the NFT world, it gets private ownership and tradeability. When somebody buys the Non-Fungible Token, the ownership of the product moves, which is the private key, is given to the other person. One thing that makes NFTs unique is their ability to promote the originality of the product. You can sell the same artwork on social media or any physical medium, but there are chances it might get copied by others. However, on NFTs, the owner of the artwork remains at the help and the works cant be copied. It gives owners an option to brag about the uniqueness they possess. Since there is only one original work on NFTs, its value also increases based on the demand and interest.

Recently, people are using a new method called scholarships to rent the Non-Fungible Tokens to make money. These are basically virtual tools, creatures, or skins for games that are much required to participate. They lend them to players and collect rent.

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly used in everyday life. Over the past couple of years, people are using digital tokens as money that can help them make transactions on a daily basis. On the other hand, even well-known brands are coming forward to accept cryptocurrency payments. However, NFTs are not this lucrative. They are unique so they cant be traded very often. Most importantly, NFTs cant be traded for each other like cryptocurrencies. Both cryptocurrency and NFTs are accessible through a digital ledger that makes transactions and ownership shifts transparent.

As mentioned earlier, an NFT cant be traded for another while we can do the same with a cryptocurrency. Yes, we can trade a Bitcoin to buy Bitcoin as they carry the same value. But we cant do the same with NFTs as the value differs.

Bitcoin marks the most remarkable success of blockchain technology implementation. Yes, BTC has emerged as the first cryptocurrency in 2009, paving the way for more digital assets to come. Today, nearly 80 million people are investing in Bitcoin and most of them are using it as a store of value or an option to trade. BTC is the best option for people who wants to avoid government regulations and tax issues. NFT is a branch of blockchain technology that puts collectibles on the network so they can be easily traded.

In 2022, Bitcoin still seems to be the winner even after losing value for three consecutive months. Although NFTs have some solid features and advancements, they are similar to altcoins. More than being a store of value, NFTs are emerging to be speculative. On the other hand, Bitcoin has actually helped many people become millionaires over the years.

According to the New York Times, Non-Fungible Tokens have been around since the mid-2010s. It is just that they gained popularity recently. The recent buzz around NFTs is solely created because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the digital evolution. Just like how we cant predict what will happen in the cryptocurrency sphere, the NFT world also remains behind the shadow. But one thing for sure is that it wont go away any time soon.

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Will NFTs Step Over the Cryptocurrency Buzz in 2022 and Beyond? - Analytics Insight

The cryptocurrency market lost momentum on Wednesday as valuations of top virtual coins slid further due to global uncertainty amid rising inflation and the ongoing Covid-19 situation.

Bitcoin, the worlds most popular cryptocurrency, traded at $41,761.80 or 1.22 per cent lower than its value 24 hours ago at 12:10 pm. Bitcoins market capitalisation fell below $800 billion and the 24-hour trade volume remained steady at $900 million.

Ether, the native token on the Ethereum platform and the second-most popular cryptocurrency, also fell over the past 24 hours. It traded just above $3,100 or 2.80 per cent lower at the time of publication.

Crypto highlights | Check yesterdays prices

The popular cryptocurrencys market capitalisation fell to $356 billion and the 24-hour trade volume was $734.10 million.

All other smaller cryptocurrencies took a hit due to the weak momentum seen across the virtual coin markets across the globe. Market watchers have asked crypto investors to proceed with caution as the situation remains volatile.

Also Read | Cryptocurrency Bill unlikely to be introduced in upcoming Budget session

Commenting on the current trend in the cryptocurrency market, Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder of Mudrex, a global algorithm-based crypto investment platform, said, The global crypto market cap dipped by 1 per cent, while the market volume has increased by 1 per cent in the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin and Ethereum continued to trade below $42,000 and $3,400. BTC's price has steadily declined since reaching its all-time highs of $69,000 on November 10. Large crypto investors seem to be accumulating BTC amid flat price action, he added.

The other cryptocurrencies are also experiencing a similar dip. Cardano, which outperformed BTC and ETH, has also been down by 7 per cent. Meanwhile, Stacks picked up nearly 13 per cent, ETC and THETA increased by 7 per cent.

Cryptocurrency

Price (US Dollar)

24-hour change

Market cap

Volume (24 Hours)

Bitcoin

41,769.73

-1.23%

$790.84 billion

$912.67 million

Ether

3,105.50

-3.06%

$365.40 billion

$734.10 million

Dogecoin

0.167027

-2.80%

$22.19 billion

$906.67 million

Litecoin

135.93

-8.14%

$9.44 billion

$58.32 million

XRP

0.742613

-2.41%

$74.25 billion

$2.17 billion

Cardano

1.40

-10.33%

$46.16 billion

$360.49 million

DISCLAIMER: The cryptocurrency prices have been updated as of 12:30 pm and will change as the day progresses. The list is intended to give a rough idea regarding popular cryptocurrency trends and will be updated daily.

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Cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin slides further as global crypto market dips - India Today

Special Report

The Future of Money

From blockchain and bitcoin to NFTs and the metaverse, how fintech innovation is changing the future of money.

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We are on the precipice of a new form of finance that will use a range of technologies to change the way we use and manage one of our most fundamental tools: money.

Gone are the days of taking out cash from an ATM, applying for a mortgage by visiting a bank branch, or shopping in a department store. Now, for many, conducting financial transactions of any kind is a purely online experience, escalated over the past two years by the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasingly, the future of money exists in the Ether, via phones and laptops.

But there's a bigger future for money, the early stages of which are now taking place. Cryptocurrencies and faster, more powerful financial technologies are transforming our concept of money and challenging the financial institutions that currently manage it. The year 2021 was a transformative year for finance, and 2022 is shaping up to bring more change. ZDNet looks at two categories that are diving into the future of money: blockchain and fintech innovations.

See also:What is digital transformation? Everything you need to know about how technology is reshaping business.

Cryptocurrency is a digital token that's secured and transferred cryptographically using blockchain technology. Bitcoin -- the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency, launched in 2009 -- is the biggest and most popular, with a market cap valued at $786 billion as of early January 2022. Plenty of people have heard about Bitcoin, but few know how it truly functions.

The first thing to remember: Bitcoin and blockchain are not synonymous. Blockchain -- often defined as a shared, immutable ledger that securely links blocks of encrypted data transactions in a network -- is the medium for recording and storing Bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin operates on its own blockchain network.

There are currently more than 16,000 cryptocurrencies, of which Bitcoin is the biggest, followed by Ether, which operates, along with all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, on the Ethereum blockchain. Estimates suggest the total value of cryptocurrencies is about $2 trillion.

But already this year, the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dropped after the Federal Reserve took a more hawkish stance on its monetary policy, scaling back on the amount of bonds it holds and indicating that it'll raise interest rates. Cryptocurrencies, which operate outside of central banks and government organizations, certainly aren't impervious to the shocks of the global banking system and marketplace.

In addition to their market risk, cryptocurrencies remain highly controversial because critics point out they aren't tied to a regulated central bank or a sovereign institution, which makes them much harder (or even impossible) to regulate. That means cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, in particular, have already been seized on by those who want to use them for money laundering, buying illegal goods or circumventing capital controls.

But despite such controversies, crypto's popularity and use are growing rapidly as of late, to the point that it's well on its way to becoming a significant disruptor to the world economy in the next few years.

As a result, many corporations, financial institutions and investors -- many with a big case of FOMO-- are trying to calculate the potential financial rewards of getting involved with crypto.

Currently, about 300 million people, or 4% of the world's population, are using cryptocurrencies in some form, and some industry players hope and believe that could rise significantlyby the end of the decade.

According to Gartner, by 2024, for example, at least 20% of large enterprises will use digital currencies for payment, store of value or collateral, which will disrupt current financial networks and business models. Stablecoins -- a token that's pegged to a fiat currency, such as the US dollar, and therefore more 'stable' than that of a decentralized currency -- havemore than quintupled in value from $29 billion to $163 billion in the past year. Credit their popularity to the fact that they're stable in value and that they're capable of supporting more transparent and efficient value transfers than legacy payment networks.

Avivah Litan, distinguished analyst and VP at Gartner, who also co-authored its report, Predicts 2022: Prepare for Blockchain-Based Digital Disruption, told ZDNet that you'll see cryptocurrencies being used for retail payments in about three to five years. Now and in the next couple of years, you'll see a lot of interest and adoption of cryptocurrency by investors as an investment tool, namely as a hedge against inflation and as an alternative to gold. However, it remains an extremely volatile investment. Currently, a Bitcoin is valued at around $31,187, well below its all-time high of $68,223 on November 10, 2021.

Despite this, there's little sign that investors or companies are backing down from the potential reward crypto has to offer.

That's not just down to speculating on the price of cryptocurrencies. Some investors and companies are also interested in crypto to get into decentralized finance or DeFi. "Companies want to get in on the action; even the hedge funds are putting more money into cryptocurrency," says Litan.

Banks have to serve these companies, becoming digital asset custodians, and it's a global phenomenon, not just in the US. "DeFi's starting to attract institutional finance; cryptocurrency is about 0.08% of assets held, and some surveys say, for example, that hedge funds will hold 7% of their assets in cryptocurrency in five years," Litan said.

Governments throughout the world are also opening up to blockchain and crypto now. So far, 83 countries are experimenting with or implementing so-called Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs, which represent 90% of global GDP, according to the Gartner study. China, which recently banished miners from mining all forms of decentralized cryptocurrency in favor of implementing its own the 'digital yuan' has distributed more than $5 billion of digital yuan to its people as of June 2021, and India's government is scratching its head over how to tax cryptocurrencies as its central bankdevelops its own CBDC.

See also:Cryptocurrency scams pose largest threat to investors.

Clamping down on crypto scams and misuse will be key to gaining mainstream legitimacy. By 2024, Gartner predicts that successful cryptocurrency thefts and ransomware payments will actually decrease by 30% due to criminals' inability to move and spend funds off of blockchain networks. That's welcome news today as cryptocurrency-related crimes -- primarily scams and stolen funds -- hit an all-time high of $14 billion in 2021, up from $7.8 billion the previous year, according to research from Chainalysis. Among the more recent types of scams are so-called 'rug pulls' in which developers build crypto projects that appear legitimate only to then abscond with investors' money, never to be seen again. Meanwhile, cybercriminals in North Korea extracted close to $400 million of digital assets in 2021 after it issued at least seven attacks on crypto platforms, targeting investment firms and centralized exchanges.

But with the dramatic growth of cryptocurrency use in 2021, there is encouraging news: illicit activity is at its all-time low. Only 0.15% of cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2021 involved illicit addresses, down from 0.62% in 2020, Chainalysis says.

Another benefit blockchain is having with regards to the future of money is in customer loyalty rewards programs. For years, loyalty and rewards programs were met with hostility by customers for being inflexible with customers' needs. Sign up thinking you can redeem points for a product or a discount on a service, and you're met with conditions and constraints about how and when to spend those points. The frustration and disappointment ultimately lead to loss of revenue and customers. As online shopping becomes the preferred choice for consumers, retail businesses are adopting blockchain technology to help them track and manage transactions in hopes of elevating the user experience by providing more dimension, flexibility, clarity and transparency.

Perhaps the most technically innovative, financially lucrative, and most misunderstood blockchain-based crypto asset is the Non-Fungible Token, or NFT. Like a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork valued for a large amount of money, such as a painting in the analog world, NFTs are their digital counterpartand can be anything -- from a tweet to a video clip to physical property such as real estate. It all comes down to tokenizing the asset in the digital landscape, be it an algorithm or code for a video or JPEG, to the digitized paperwork of the deed to a piece of land. Whatever it is, it's unique and can be identified as such in the virtual world. (Cryptocurrencies, however, are fungible in that another cryptocurrency of equal value can replace them.)

NFTs are one of the more creative waves of the future of money. Although most people still see very little value in the existence of NFTs, by 2026, Gartner predicts that NFT gamification, or GameFi which takes video game elements such as point scoring and applies blockchain tech, so users can trade or swap game assets will have the ability to propel an enterprise into the top 10 of highest value companies. What's more, NFTs are expected to become a more powerful digital marketing tool in the coming years and that more traditional enterprises may 'auction' limited digital use rights for some of their unique intellectual digital property, according to Gartner's report. And this is not just in video games but also in sports, financial services, social media and manufacturing.

There's plenty of debate about what the 'metaverse', the next-generation virtual reality-powered version of the Web, might look like. Yet despite the uncertainty of this hybrid physical/virtual landscape, the metaverse is inevitably going to be a fully functioning marketplace among other things where users can dart around from one place to another as digital replicas of themselves, purchasing products in virtual stores.

Although not owned by any one company Google, Microsoft, and Samsung are also participating with Facebook with their involvement in the XR Association Facebook has placed the biggest stake in this virtual land with an elaborate marketing campaign, which included renaming itself,Meta. It claims that its concept of this digital marketplace will be "a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren't in the same physical space as you." Hang out with friends, work, play, learn, shop, create, and much more.

See also: CIO priorities: 10 challenges to tackle in 2022.

Where there is plenty of skepticism, fear and downright hostility toward the metaverse concept, many argue that it will be the place where retail shopping and cryptocurrency converge. Gartner's Litan believes that while businesses start making money in DeFi, consumers in a few years will notice the effects of spending digital currencies through the metaverse. "Facebook is taking us there, NFTs are there, so we're going to have to start paying for things with virtual, digital cryptocurrency. I think consumers will start feeling the crypto world through Facebook, the metaverse and play-to-earn games," Litan said.

"I think what we'll see in the metaverse in the next couple of years is going to be confusing to a lot of people because there's going to be a lot of talk, a lot of hype and initially very little to see," says Tal Elyashiv, founder and managing partner of blockchain-focused venture capital firm SPiCE VC. Elyashiv equates the metaverse of today with where we were with the Web in the 1990s when it took seemingly forever to download an email attachment. Elyashiv believes the issue with the metaverse is that a lot of technology needs to evolve to make it smooth and accessible for everybody, and it will evolve exponentially so that the early years will feel very slow. "I think we'll look back then years from now and will not understand how we lived before it," he says.

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The future of money: Where blockchain and cryptocurrency will take us next - ZDNet

Cryptocurrency is all the rage today, but in 2022 there's a big debate surrounding two of the most popular Shiba Inu and Dogecoin. Both are based on internet meme dogs so their popularity skyrocketed, and even Elon Musk tweeted at some point that Dogecoin would be the currency on the Moon.

But, before you throw your life savings into a "meme coin," make sure you know what you're buying. Learn more about the difference between Dogecoin and Shiba Inu below.

Dogecoin is essentially the same technology as Bitcoin. Both Dogecoin and Bitcoin use a proof-of-work consensus protocol to verify transactions on their networks. However, Dogecoin is possibly a better option for making everyday payments, as its transactions are processed faster and at a lower cost than Bitcoin transactions.

However, Dogecoin is not an exact clone of Bitcoin. Dogecoin has a much larger circulation supply than Bitcoin, and there is no maximum supply for the dog-themed cryptocurrency. With over 129 billion DOGE in circulation, the supply is far more plentiful than Bitcoin's 21 million maximum supply. In addition, 10,000 Dogecoin are minted every minute.

Dogecoin is a proof-of-work cryptocurrency, so it uses computing power to secure its blockchain in a similar way to Bitcoin. DOGE is mined with Litecoin, which means that anyone who mines Litecoin or Dogecoin can choose to mine the other coin. This allows your network power to be more stable.

Shiba Inu is a token on the Ethereum network. Fungible tokens like Shiba Inu are ERC-20 tokens, (as opposed to non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, which use the ERC-721 token standard). Since the token is powered by Ethereum, the Shiba Inu can leverage smart contracts to create decentralized finance (DeFi) products.

The DeFi sector has picked up steam this year with tokens like Uniswap, yearn.finance, and Aave skyrocketing in both price and adoption. These cryptocurrencies use smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain to create decentralized exchanges (DEX), lending protocols, and even interest-bearing accounts.

The Shiba Inu has also entered the NFT space with Shiboshis, a collection of 10,000 NFTs themed after their pet Shiba Inu. The decentralized program uses the Ethereum network that allows NFTs to be auctioned, substituting a third party for smart contracts for transactions.

ShibaSwap allows you to deposit your Shiba Inu tokens for high returns in a variety of ways. However, this will cause an inflation of the token which can drive the price down. The platform has no clear benefits over its competitors in the space.

Both Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are highly speculative investments. Both cryptocurrencies have market caps well above $1 billion.

Both Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are highly speculative investments. Both cryptocurrencies have market caps well above $1 billion

Original post:
Shiba Inu vs Dogecoin: Which is the best cryptocurrency to buy in 2022? - MARCA.com