Currency

Ethereum’s Ether Cryptocurrency Sets New All-Time Price High Near $1,440

Posted by William Foxley

on Tuesday, 19 January 2021 8:19

The price of ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain network, soared to record levels earlier on Tuesday.

Prices hit $1,439.33 around 12:00 UTC – that’s a little over the previous all-time high of $1,432.88 registered on CoinDesk’s price index on Jan. 13, 2018. The digital asset rallied nearly 12% Tuesday to reach the new peak.

Ether first hinted at a coming rally to previously unseen levels earlier this month, but fell victim to a brief market correction triggered by bitcoin‘s pullback from $40,000 to $30,000 last week.

The cryptocurrency has topped its previous bull market peak nearly two months after bitcoin surpassed its December 2017 record price to hit a new high above $41,900 earlier this month.

While ether has trailed bitcoin in its journey to new lifetime highs, it has outpaced the top cryptocurrency on a year-to-date basis with a 92% gain. Bitcoin has risen 27% so far this year.

Ether is also up well over 1000% since the initial public sale of ETH in 2015, according to Messari.

Ethereum’s value proposition

Ethereum is a blockchain for decentralized applications (dapps) such as prediction markets or trading venues.  Dapps operate similarly to regular applications, but inherit features of blockchain-based technologies such as censorship resistance.

The Ethereum blockchain was co-founded and originally described by Russian-Canadian developer Vitalik Buterin, who remains the project’s most well-known personality.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is widely regarded as the best Ethereum use case to date. DeFi markets enable permissionless and automated lending, trading and borrowing to anyone with an internet connection. The market recently surpassed some $22 billion in total value locked (TVL) – a metric similar to assets under management (AUM).

DeFi applications typically have their own tokens as well, generally based on Ethereum. That market has enjoyed a second bull run of its own following surging popularity this past summer. CLICK for complete article

Bitcoin Whales Kept Accumulating During Monday’s Crash

Posted by Sebastian Sinclair

on Tuesday, 12 January 2021 9:18

Large bitcoin (BTC) investors, popularly known as whales, look to have bought Monday’s price dip, indicating confidence in the ongoing bull market.

The number of bitcoin (BTC, +12.79%) “whale entities” – clusters of crypto wallet addresses held by a single network participant holding at least 1,000 BTC – rose slightly to a new record high of 2,140 on Monday. The increase came even as the cryptocurrency’s price collapsed by more than 20% to hit a low of $30,305.

The violent sell-off was fueled by heavy selling in the spot market and was accompanied by record trading volumes. That, however, did not deter big players from accumulating the cryptocurrency, which rallied by 300% in 2020 and hit a record high of $41,962 over the weekend…CLICK for complete article

Investing Pros And Cons Of A Blue Washington

Posted by Wayne Duggan

on Friday, 8 January 2021 8:26

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust rallied once again on Thursday, and investors are clearly feeling optimistic about the economy’s near-term outlook after Democrats successfully gained control of the Senate earlier this week.

While a Democratic “blue wave” in Washington is certainly bullish for the market in several key ways, Commonwealth Financial Network chief investment officer Brad McMillan said Wednesday there are both pros and cons to Democrats running the show.

Blue Wave Pros: The biggest near-term pro for investors is that Democrats now have a clear path to more aggressive stimulus measures, including the possibility of $2,000 stimulus checks. McMillan said the federal government would likely also provide much-needed help for state and municipal governments.

In the longer term, McMillan said investors can expect increased infrastructure spending and more constructive trade policy following four years of isolationist policies from the Trump administration.

Blue Wave Cons: While Democratic policies could serve as a major tailwind for many companies, the impact of the blue wave is not all positive. CLICK for complete article

Bitcoin volume on CME, LMAX hits new records

Posted by Joseph Young

on Tuesday, 5 January 2021 6:56

The institutional herd has arrived to the Bitcoin market as institutional platforms see record-high volume. The daily volume of the CME Bitcoin (BTC) futures market and LMAX achieved a new all-time high on Jan. 4. The data show that the institutional demand for BTC is rapidly surging as major public funds continue to accumulate.

Institutional appetite for Bitcoin is accelerating

According to analysts at Arcane Research, the daily volume of LMAX Digital reached a record-high at $2.62 billion.

LMAX is a trading platform that tailors to institutional and accredited investors, unlike retail-focused platforms such as Coinbase and Binance

The Dollar Could Remain Weak For Years To Come

Posted by Alex Kimani

on Monday, 4 January 2021 7:26

In the past, President Trump has lambasted the Fed for its hawkish policies, repeatedly drumming up the fact that the central bank’s interest hike regime was contributing to an overly brawny dollar and a sluggish economy. Trump at one time even went as far as asking the White House to explore ways to weaken the currency in a bid to boost exports and spur economic growth. The dollar has been on an uptrend for much of the past decade and Trump’s presidency, something that has been blamed for the U.S.’ ballooning deficit.

It’s, therefore, quite ironic it’s president-elect Joe Biden who will actually get Trump’s wish–a structurally weaker greenback.

The dollar has spent much of 2020 on a downward spiral as investors wager that a post-pandemic global economic recovery post will continue to suck money into riskier assets and force the U.S. to increase its borrowing as it tries to fund its swelling twin deficits.

The Dollar Index (DXY), a measure that pits the USD against a basket of six major world currencies, declined to 89.600 on Wednesday, a level it last touched in April 2018 representing a 13.4% drop from its March peak as the euro surged to $1.2291, good for 10% gain for the year.

The dollar has also fallen sharply against the Chinese yuan, breaching 6.4900 for the first time since mid-2018 amid reports that Chinese banks have started shoring up purchases of the American currency in a bid to limit the drop.

The prospect of a brighter 2021 has lessened the need for the safe-haven dollar thanks to the ongoing rollout of Covid-19 vaccines. There are growing concerns though with the program falling behind schedule.

Investors are hardly complaining though: A weaker dolla r(up to an extent) is considered good for the U.S. economy for a number of reasons…CLICK for complete article