Decentralised finance (DeFi) is booming, with the total value locked – the overall value of assets deposited in transactions – having risen from $700 million in December 2019 to over $200 billion at the beginning of 2022, equivalent to Greece’s 2017 GDP.
Having spent 15-plus years in the FinTech sector and as CEO of AQRU, a company that offers secure platforms for users to easily access the decentralised markets, I’ve experienced both sides of the coin first-hand. This has allowed me to identify three main factors fuelling the growth of DeFi: accessibility, ease of use and yields. These drivers stem directly from the way DeFi is built which is why, before deep diving into each one of them, we must take a step back to understand the basics of DeFi.
The building blocks of DeFi
DeFi is the use of the blockchain, the technology upon which Bitcoin and Ethereum are based, to create an entire financial ecosystem that doesn’t rely on a central authority, such as a bank, to validate transactions. Instead, all activity is recorded in ledgers stored across millions of computers, each capable of verifying every transaction to ensure it matches the records.
However, there is not much point in a digital currency if there is nowhere to spend it. DeFi makes Bitcoin, Ether, stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies worth having as it enables users to gain interest from lending cryptocurrency (also known as yield farming), buy insurance, and save and send money anywhere in the world – if it can be done in traditional finance, it can be done in DeFi. Now that we’ve covered the building blocks of DeFi, we can move to the three factors driving the growth of the sector.
A system accessible to all
One of the initial goals of crypto and DeFi is to promote financial inclusion by ensuring the 1.7 billion people worldwide who don’t have a bank account and nearly half the world’s population without an active bank account can access the same benefits – paying bills, accessing insurance and creating a pension pot – as those participating in traditional finance.
To do so, blockchain technology has been designed in such a way that it is accessible to anyone with a smartphone. With 91% of people worldwide owning a smartphone, this design has opened the door to thousands of people considered ‘unbanked’. And in countries such as Venezuela where exchanging currencies is difficult, it has also allowed people to protect their savings from inflation by exchanging their fiat for crypto.
As simple as tapping on a smartphone
As well as opening the door to millions of ‘unbanked’ people, DeFi has attracted a lot of interest because of how easy it is to use. Crypto and DeFi first started as an intimidating sector, the exclusive domain of the tech-savvy. However, things have changed – we’re now seeing many platforms, such as AQRU, that allow investors to easily exchange their fiat into cryptocurrency and access the high yields available in DeFi.
While these platforms initially focused on retail investors, new solutions are also being designed to allow institutional investors to easily access the decentralised market, maintain close oversight over their investments, and remain compliant with any relevant regulatory and security requirements.
Sky-high returns
For investors, one of the most appealing parts of decentralised finance is the yields. In DeFi there are no intermediaries between transactions, all of them take place peer-to-peer. By eliminating all the steps in-between, it means the lender can take almost all of the yield.
To give an example, let’s compare it to a bank. A savings account with a bank returns 0.5% per year if people are lucky. The bank may well have made 10% on loaning customers’ money, but by the time they have covered their costs and taken their share, there’s not much left for the user. DeFi’s main cost is the upkeep of the website, which has attracted users looking to maximise their returns.
The road ahead
The building blocks of DeFi are what has made the sector so popular. However, for DeFi to become a true competitor to traditional finance, it must reassure customers that their money is just as safe in DeFi as it is in a bank.
Over the last few years, there have been some high-profile incidents where online wallets, when external companies manage customers’ cryptocurrency for them online, have been hacked. Not to be deterred, the DeFi sector has developed innovative solutions to bolster anti-hacking protections and close weaknesses in the system’s code. Indeed, some DeFi platforms are now equipped with bank-grade security software, providing reassurance to DeFi users that their money is safe.
Additionally, DeFi can improve investor and consumer confidence through regulation. This is not to say that any regulation would work – ill-thought-out rules would limit the sector and stifle innovation. Instead, governments should work closely with DeFi businesses to understand how regulation can be implemented in a way that does not compromise the system’s speed, efficiency or yields.
While the potential returns and simplicity of DeFi have enticed millions to join the sector, there is still some way before DeFi equals and exceeds traditional finance. As the sector works with regulators and develops innovative security solutions to reassure users that their money is safe in DeFi, we can expect consumers to become more confident and give DeFi a larger role – maybe 5-10% – in their investment portfolios. Traditional finance is outdated. DeFi is coming for it – it must be terrifying.
About the author: Philip Blows is the CEO of AQRU, an incubator specialising in decentralised finance. He has held management positions in FinTech and asset management for the last 15 years. At Moneycorp, he established an asset-management and trading division and established robust management systems to track business performance. He was previously the Sales Director at Wealth Wizards, which is a UK-based robo-advice platform, and his first book, ‘The Money Triangle’, was published in 2020.
This new wealth, when coupled with mass grassroots adoption, will lead to transformative social change. Bitcoin billionaires will seek to mould society along with the founding principles of Bitcoin, which include a devotion to privacy, freedom and decentralised power.
Bitcoin’s Principles
Bitcoin’s origins can be traced back to the cypherpunk movement of the late 1980s. This group advocated the use of cryptography to bring about social and political change. They deplored the widespread surrender of personal privacy to governments and corporations.
The basic principles of this movement were resumed in Eric Hughes’s Cypherpunk Manifesto. As the manifesto explains, “Privacy is necessary for an open society in the electronic age.” Privacy is to be differentiated from secrecy in that privacy is the freedom to disclose the information one wants to a counterparty.
In Hughes’s words, “privacy in an open society requires anonymous transaction systems.” In a world where the use of cash is being eroded and discouraged, cryptography becomes the principal weapon with which to restore privacy. As Hughes explains, “We must defend our own privacy if we expect to have any […] People have been defending their own privacy for centuries with whispers, darkness, envelopes, closed doors, secret handshakes, and couriers. The technologies of the past did not allow for strong privacy, but electronic technologies do.”
Bitcoin, when used with private keys and through non-custodial wallets, thus ensures privacy. Privacy, in turn, ensures freedom. When one acts through private methods, one may speak and transact freely. Speaking freely is the foundation of modern democratic society, whereas transacting freely is the basic pillar of economic and political freedom. The fruit of one’s labour should be spent as one deems best without the interference of financial intermediaries and the state.
These principles will be propagated by a new generation of billionaires that emerge from Bitcoin. Bitcoin billionaires will raise awareness regarding the benefits of sound money, while also shaping the public narrative by becoming increasingly influential. The rise of the Bitcoin billionaires should thus encourage the propagation of the fundamental values of privacy and freedom.
Disillusionment
Rampant inflation caused by the reckless macroeconomic mismanagement of central banks is driving an increasing number of people towards Bitcoin. In an effort to preserve the value of their assets, these individuals will come to appreciate the myriad benefits of sound money. As this migration to Bitcoin accelerates and these individuals become increasingly wealthy, social and political change will start to accelerate.
The migration to Bitcoin caused by the growing disillusionment with governments is already taking place in Turkey, Lebanon and Venezuela. A crumbling economic situation, disintegrating currency and broken financial system have driven millions to seek refuge in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is increasingly becoming the world’s preferred store of value. These developments, coupled with an eventual billionaire flippening (ie. the moment where most billionaires in the world will be Bitcoin billionaires), will make the argument for a transition to a monetary system based on Bitcoin and its values ever stronger.
Enlightenment
Bitcoin wealth will also give an increasing voice to younger generations as they have disproportionately adopted the technology. According to a recent survey by CNBC, nearly half of millennial millionaires have more than 25% of their wealth in cryptocurrency. This phenomenon indicates a generational transfer of wealth, a divide on how wealth is created and the re-emergence of concerns regarding privacy, freedom and decentralisation among the young. As the president of the group that conducted the survey said, “younger investors were more intellectually engaged with the idea even though it was new.”
Once we have reached a tipping point in Bitcoin adoption, social and political change based on the founding principles of Bitcoin will be able to take root. This change will be spearheaded by early adopters and Bitcoin billionaires and will resonate with the millions who will have migrated to Bitcoin. All of these factors will accelerate the rise of a new monetary system based on Bitcoin, which will be based on privacy, freedom and decentralisation.
About the author: Fynn Kreuz is the CEO of the Swiss blockchain (Bitcoin) software technology company, Numbrs. In the tradition of Swiss Private Banks, Numbrs offers customers, worldwide, a Bitcoin Account that allows users to store their Bitcoins securely in Switzerland. Numbrs offers exclusive and institutional-grade Bitcoin research dedicated to the impact Bitcoin has on the economy, markets and society. Because only those who understand the paradigm shift created by Bitcoin will be able to preserve their wealth in the future. For more information please visit: www.numbrs.com
Cryptocurrency is becoming popular every day as the world is adjusting to accommodate it. Therefore, more traders are looking for platforms where they can buy and sell Bitcoin and other digital currencies to make profits. In this case, Bitcoin Motion is one of those websites where traders can buy and sell Bitcoin.
Is Cryptocurrency Trading Profitable?
Cryptocurrency trading is highly profitable because of the high volatility of digital currencies. In this case, with Bitcoin Motion, trades are made by buying and selling Bitcoin, which has high volatility. Therefore, you can easily make profits through cryptocurrency trading.
Moreover, there are short-term speculative interests that make the trading so exciting. The prices can increase rapidly and consistently when the market push and pull factors interact. In such circumstances, cryptocurrency traders get massive profits.
However, it would be best to remember that these investments are also risky. After all, you can also make significant losses if you do not keep track of the changes in the market. Therefore, it is good to invest wisely if you want to get profits comfortably.
What Is Bitcoin Motion?
Bitcoin Motion is a platform with tools and automated features that allow cryptocurrency traders to transact safely. This platform has market data and tech indicators integrated into the system to give traders trading solutions when buying and selling digital currencies.
This platform was founded by a group of cryptocurrency professionals who hold a firm belief that digital currency is the future. They aim to make cryptocurrency trade easy for all traders to encourage more traders to join this platform and trade.
How Bitcoin Motion Works
Once the website is launched, every trader will be free to trade efficiently and seamlessly through the website. To start, you only need to register by providing your personal details to create your account. Then, you can deposit as low as $250 using the various supported means of payment.
The registration process is fast because you only need to provide your name, email address, and phone number. Then, you will easily be logged in to your account. After registration, you can buy and sell Bitcoin to other traders on the platform. Aside from this, you can enjoy the platform’s numerous benefits, such as its 24/7 support, and you will be dealing with trustworthy brokers.
Moreover, here, you will join a community of cryptocurrency traders who are determined to make profits. Since the platform is built on freedom and trust, traders of all walks of life can register.
Can I Make Money On Bitcoin Motion Website?
Many people think that you can only succeed in the cryptocurrency trading industry if you are an experienced trader. However, this is not true because even beginners can learn from the information posted on the site, as well as other reputable sources, and make huge profits after trading. Therefore, you can make money if you trade the right way and be aware of the changing market trends. However, because of the high volatility of the cryptocurrency markets, you need to be aware of any market changes that would affect the price and value of Bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Is Digital Currency The Future?
Cryptocurrency has been widely misunderstood for years, with many people calling it a scam. Moreover, some people claimed that it is a gamble and a scheme by online fraudsters to get money from unsuspecting Internet users. Unfortunately, these unfounded claims have made some people retract for fear of being scammed.
However, governments and central banks have failed to ensure equal access and security of financial services to the citizens. Therefore, people are slowly resorting to the electronic payment system whose security is guaranteed by cryptography.
The launch of Bitcoin Motion’s website can help affirm that cryptocurrency trading is here to stay. Today, many people are embracing digital currency because it has proved to be legitimate and trustworthy. Therefore, cryptocurrency is the future. So, it’s best to embrace it now and keep up with the changing times.
Conclusion
Bill Gates once said that digital currency is the future of money. This statement can be considered accurate because digital currency is steadily becoming popular. Therefore, the launch of the Bitcoin Motion website is a big step towards the actualisation of the cryptocurrency trade for all traders.
If yes then probably with the help of this article you will get to know about the ways which will help you to get free Bitcoins easily. There are lots of ways available nowadays which are offering you to earn free Bitcoins quickly. Therefore, you should not miss any of the chances to earn a free Bitcoin for yourself. In addition, you will have to read this whole article to find out the ways which are offered for helping people to get a free Bitcoin quickly.
Today it is possible to earn a free Bitcoin for yourself by taking the help of the Internet and by visiting different types of websites as well. Playing online games and watching ads can help you to generate a small portion of Bitcoin for yourself. However, with time you can arrange the whole Bitcoin for yourself though it will take lots of years to have it. Additionally, those who are interested in earning a little portion of Bitcoin should try out the below steps every day. In addition, there is another important thing that you need to know about Bitcoin is the 51 per cent attack.
Simple Ways To Get Bitcoin Without Mining
Now quickly find out all those ways which help you to generate a little portion of Bitcoin for yourself.
Use A Crypto Browser
If you want to earn Bitcoin in the easiest way then you can follow all those websites which ask you to do some activities on their site. By using the Crypto tab Browser you can easily avail of Bitcoin for yourself. Therefore, those who are looking for ways to get bitcoin by themselves immediately should use the Crypto Browser to bring in Bitcoins.
Learning About Bitcoin
Another way that you can earn bitcoin for free is by learning about Bitcoins. With the help of the website coinbase you can get more information about Bitcoin and how you can earn a bitcoin as well. However, this website often asks the user to perform some tasks and throw some questions as well in front of them. If the users successfully complete all the given tasks and answers as well then they will get the chance to have a bitcoin or a little portion of Bitcoin.
Play Online Games to Earn Bitcoins
Several online games are offering their users to bring a small portion of Bitcoin by playing online games or watching the ads as well. However, this method becomes one of the easiest ways for advertisement. By simply watching the ads and playing the online games you can earn a portion of Bitcoin for yourself. However, the amount of winning Bitcoins is very little. Still, people are taking much interest in playing online games and earning a free portion of Bitcoins.
Trading
By trading on cryptocurrency, you can get the chance to win a free Bitcoin for yourself anytime. However, at a later time, you can sell your Bitcoin if you get a better amount of money instead of it. Therefore, trading is another way that will help you to generate or to help to earn a bitcoin.
Shopping rewards
There is another way through which you can earn a free Bitcoin by yourself by doing your regular online shopping. Therefore, one just simply needs to download the extension Browser and with the help of that browser, they will have to shop from different online shops. At a later time, they will offer you cashback from their sides as well. In addition, the cashback will help you to get free Bitcoins easily.
Bitcoin Lending
Another popular way which people can follow to earn a free Bitcoin is by following Bitcoin lending. With the help of the binance earn lending platform, it will become much easier for all the people to earn a free Bitcoin or a little amount of Bitcoin as well.
Conclusion
Therefore, try out all these ways to have a free Bitcoin for yourself. However, many other ways are also available to earn free Bitcoin.
In Asian hours on Thursday morning, the world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped to a low of $42,500 after trading above $47,000 on Wednesday. Traders saw losses worth $317 million on bitcoin-tracked futures alone, with 87% of those positions having betted on upward price movements.
Liquidations, which futures trading is especially prone to, are caused by an exchange forcefully closing a trader’s leveraged position as a safety mechanism necessary because of a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin.
Over 87% of the $812 million in liquidations occurred on long positions. These are futures contracts in which traders bet on a price increase.
Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange OKEx witnessed $241 million in liquidations, the most among major exchanges. Meanwhile, Binance traders saw $236 million in losses and futures on ether saw over $164 million in liquidations. Losses for altcoin traders were limited by comparison, with Solna traders seeing $18 million in losses while XRP saw $16 million in losses.
Shane Neagle, Editor In Chief at The Tokenist, explains what impacted Bitcoin in 2021 and where it goes from here.
Bitcoin’s Performance In 2021: An Overview
Bitcoin gained almost 50% in the last month of 2020, reaching an all-time high (at that time) of over $29,000. On the first day of 2021, the flagship cryptocurrency managed to surpass the $30,000 mark as it eyed further gains.
Throughout the first four months of 2021, Bitcoin resumed its rally with considerable momentum as digital finance adoption continues to pick up steam — for context, 71% of consumers now prefer to pay with a debit or credit card, as opposed to cash. This reflects a changing sentiment among consumer preference, where digital finance and FinTech are not only becoming more convenient and user-friendly, but actually preferred. While this does not directly impact the price of BTC, it certainly provides important context which cannot be ignored.
In mid-April, Bitcoin achieved a historic milestone by reaching the $65,000 mark. However, a combination of unfortunate events brought an end to this trend. It all started with Elon Musk announcing that Tesla halted Bitcoin payments over environmental concerns. For the same reason, China started a vigorous crackdown on crypto mining, further exacerbating the sentiment around Bitcoin.
All of this prompted a sharp sell-off that saw the leading cryptocurrency plunge by as much as 50% compared to the April peaks over the course of a few months. In early July, Bitcoin even dropped below $30,000 for a brief moment, a level that was last seen in early January 2021, according to data by CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin’s hashrate, the amount of computing power contributed to the network through mining, also took a plunge as a result of China's clampdown, dropping by over 50% in just one month. However, as Chinese miners settled overseas and started to resume their operations, the hashrate started recovering.
Historically, a high Bitcoin hashrate, which represents higher security in the network, coincides with prices moving higher. This describes why Bitcoin started to reclaim its lost territories as the hashrate was recovering. By October 8, Bitcoin hit a new ATH, as its hashrate was up by almost 85% compared to the bottoms seen in July.
Eventually, Bitcoin’s hashrate fully recovered from the China ban in early December. Brandon Arvanaghi, a Bitcoin mining engineer, summarised the larger impact:
“The bitcoin network withstood an attack by a major superpower and emerged stronger than ever six short months later. How can anyone ever argue, ‘But what if nations ban it?’ again?”
What Caused Bitcoin's Rally?
Bitcoin's rally throughout 2021 was largely fueled by an influx of high-profile investors. Among the more noticeable examples, major electric carmaker Tesla acquired $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, while Michael Saylor's Microstrategy continued its Bitcoin buying spree, increasing its holdings to above 121,000 BTC.
There were also some other factors that had an impact. For one, Bitcoin experienced its once-every-four-years halving event on May 11, 2020, cutting the reward for mining Bitcoin transactions from 12.50 BTC to 6.25 BTC. In other words, the rate at which new bitcoins enter circulation was cut in half. The event is regarded as important since it has historically correlated with intense boom and bust cycles.
Furthermore, when the pandemic hit the US, it triggered a deep economic downturn, prompting the Fed to take significant measures to limit the economic damage. Among the first moves, the central bank cut the interest rate by a total of 1.5 percentage points, lowering the rate to a range of 0% to 0.25%.
While banks were offering near-zero rates, crypto-assets were delivering triple-digit returns. Bitcoin, for instance, gained almost 300% during 2020. Moreover, crypto lending products offered well over 7% APY on less risky products like stablecoins, which are crypto-assets pegged to fiat currencies at a ratio of 1:1.
This prompted some investors, including Billionaire and Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary, to get exposure to crypto. This wasn’t a private matter, resulting in great publicity for the digital asset. And in a similar light, Bitcoin and digital assets have become increasingly accessible, as a growing list of traditional stockbrokers now offer select digital assets. Even the majority of paper trading apps now include digital assets such as Bitcoin.
As another measure, the Fed also started buying massive amounts of debt securities to abate the economic damage and restore the smooth functioning of markets. Initially, the central bank was buying trillions of dollars of bonds, slowing the pace to $120 billion per month by mid-2020, and eventually to $15 billion per month by 2021.
However, the strategy also referred to as quantitative easing, is largely criticised for causing inflation. Some experts warn that quantitative easing is effectively a form of money printing, which leads to inflation—and potentially even hyperinflation—in the long term.
Nevertheless, the emergency moves by the Fed, accompanied by massive government spending, managed to prevent the economy from sinking into a prolonged downturn. However, several factors, including supply chain bottlenecks and labour market issues, resulted in rising inflation.
Most recently, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the average change over time in the prices, climbed by 6.8% in the year through November, hitting its highest level since 1982. This rising inflation also pushed some investors towards Bitcoin and the broader crypto market.
In mid-October, strategists at JPMorgan reported that inflation concerns were pushing investors towards Bitcoin. "We believe the perception of Bitcoin as a better inflation hedge than gold is the main reason for the current upswing, triggering a shift away from gold ETFs into Bitcoin funds since September,” they said.
Likewise, billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones told CNBC that Bitcoin is a better hedge against inflation than gold:
“It would be my preferred one over gold at the moment. Clearly, there’s a place for crypto. Clearly, it’s winning the race against gold at the moment."
Bitcoin In 2022: Where Is It Heading?
While it is largely unclear how Bitcoin will perform in the upcoming year, some analysts believe it may perform poorly as a result of the expected rate hikes. In mid-December, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed's monetary policy arm, said it aims to speed up tapering of its bond purchases so that the programme would end in March.
The central bank also noted that it plans three hikes of the benchmark interest rate in 2022. Usually, risk assets like Bitcoin take a hit when interest rates increase. “To the extent BTC is a hedge like gold, I think it could suffer,” said economist Claudia Sahm.
On the other hand, there are some levels of optimism around Bitcoin. For one, Bitcoin's long-anticipated update Taproot was implemented around mid-November. The update, which gives developers an expanded toolbox to integrate new features, is deemed a game-changer for Bitcoin as it could put it on a par with Ethereum, which hosts nearly the entire decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
Moreover, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said in early October that the US won't ban crypto assets. “Our approach is really quite different,” Gensler said, ensuring investors that the regulatory body does not intend to ban crypto as other jurisdictions have done. The regulatory body has also approved several Bitcoin-linked ETFs.
Meanwhile, some theories suggest that higher nominal rates could actually have a positive impact on Bitcoin. Data accumulated by Caleb Franzen, a market analyst, shows that there is a direct correlation between Bitcoin and 10-year Treasury yields, which is not normally seen between risk assets and yields. Based on this correlation, Franzen argues that Bitcoin could continue its upward movement despite yields increasing. He added that this scenario will more likely play out if inflation persists in 2022.
Bitcoin was down 1.8% to trade at $48,310. Earlier in the week, the price of bitcoin had surged, passing $49,000 but failing to reach the key level of $50,000. Furthermore, bitcoin is currently down around 30% from its all-time high of roughly $68,000, which it hit in November.
Meanwhile, ethereum, the second-largest crypto by market cap, dropped 2.6% and was trading at $3,917.
It appears that investors are instead moving their focus to smaller crypto assets, with cryptocurrencies such as ripple, cardano, polkadot, dogecoin, and shiba inu increasing by 1 to 5%.
Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Kalkine Group CEO Kunal Sawhney said, “Cryptocurrencies have remained turbulent in the recent past with the most populous crypto-asset bitcoin continuing to hover below the mark of $50,000.”
"The persisting uncertainty in financial markets have severely dismantled the growth prospects for most risky assets including some of the tech stocks and cryptocurrencies," Sawhney added.
A lot of young investors are constantly tempted by it, however, unfortunately, a lot of them have little to no knowledge when it comes to it. This is unfortunate, since investing in cryptocurrency can be quite risky. It’s of huge importance to get yourself familiar with every aspect of it if you want to succeed. Luckily, there are a number of excellent crypto research tools that can help you collect all the necessary information. Today, we will take a look at some of them.
Useful Crypto Research Tools That Can Be Found Online
Binance
One of the greatest benefits of it is the fact that it provides traders with a long list of currencies besides the most famous digital coins. Namely, the Binance exchange represents an exchange that was established almost five years ago with a big focus on altcoin trading.
For the time being, it is safe to say that it rules the global exchange field, making up a huge portion of cryptocurrency trading volume on a daily basis. When it comes to leverage trading Binance provides up to 10x crypto trading on spot transactions, as well as up to 125x crypto leverage trading on derivatives traffic. Generally speaking, Binance is intended mostly for investors who want to invest or trade in altcoins that are not as popular.
Messari
Messari can be defined as a crypto data aggregator that is packed with a bunch of useful tools that can help you analyse charts, enabling users to make the right trading decisions. Furthermore, it comes with a screener with several filters, like, price and market cap, sector which you can employ to customise your research on different coins.
Generally speaking, this tool is free of charge, however, if you want to make the most of it, then you will have to spend almost twenty-five US dollars on a monthly basis on Messari Pro (which is an upgraded version of this crypto research tool).
What does the membership include? It includes advanced screening, daily insights, watchlist features, and charting. Besides all of this, this software allows you to download data to the spreadsheet.
CoinMarketCap’s Portfolio Tracker
At times, it can be quite challenging to keep track of all your cryptocurrencies, especially if you’re utilising multiple wallets or exchanges. Luckily, there’s an excellent online tool that can help you keep track of all your coins, and it’s called CoinMarketCap. So each time you are buying or selling, you will also have to add the transaction to the portfolio. It may take a little bit of time, but it’s definitely worth it. Out there, you will be able to see these things:
- Overall performance of your portfolio, every day, week, month, and much more
- The activity of certain cryptocurrencies, as well as the percentage of your loss and earnings, along with the average buy price
- Best and worst performing cryptos
Furthermore, with its tracker, you will also be able to create a watch list to supervise interesting coins and employ its other tools to get all the necessary information regarding various cryptocurrencies.
Atani
Anybody who has ever tried to open an account for a wallet or digital exchange knows how it can at times be very overwhelming and frustrating. This whole process can certainly be very time-consuming, especially if there's no one to turn to for information. But that’s why this tool was developed, to help traders deal with this issue without experiencing any problems. They have successfully managed to streamline everything and make things simpler for crypto investors. These are the features that this tool contains:
- It gives you the opportunity to trade across twenty exchanges, and at the same time, compare prices on the screen and choose the best
- You will also receive training notifications through mobile phone, or email that will inform you about the latest trading opportunities
- It allows you to conduct technical analysis and track trends on over 1,500 cryptocurrencies, as well as more than 9,000 pairs
- It also enables to trade without worrying about your safety, since this tool cannot access your API keys and/or funds and you will stay completely anonymous
Being part of the cryptocurrency world is surely very exciting, however, you cannot expect to see any results without utilising some of the online tools that were mentioned here. So make sure to choose at least one of them and make the best use of it.
The milestone, which took almost 12 years to meet, means that 18.89 million bitcoins out of 21 million are now on the open market. However, based on network activity estimates, the remaining 10% supply is not expected to be mined until February 2140.
Bitcoin prices have reflected the increasing supply as demand for newer bitcoin ramps up. When 10% of the supply was mined in early 2010, the asset went for less than $0.10, later hovering at $7.50 when 50% of the supply was mined in late 2012. In November of this year, bitcoin’s price rocketed to a new record high of over $68,000.
While the rest of bitcoin’s supply is not expected to be mined until 2140, miners can continue to earn bitcoin in the meantime. Miners currently receive 6.25 bitcoin for each block mined. This would drop to 3.125 bitcoin per block after the next halving in 2024.
Hindsight can be both a wonderful and terrible thing, and in this recent study, analysts from Point2Homes pose the following question: “If you had the money to invest in either Bitcoin or a down payment on a home in 2017, what would your earnings look like if you decided to cash in in 2021?”
Here’s what the figures revealed.
A 5-Year Price Analysis
The past five years alone show drastic price changes for both real estate and Bitcoin. At the start of 2017, the median home price was $313,000, and despite the ups and downs in the following years, it has grown steadily since the start of the pandemic, from $322,600 in April 2020, to $404,700 by July 2021.
Bitcoin was only created in 2009, and it took eight years to breach the $1000 mark in 2017. Since then, and following a rollercoaster of spikes and crashes, it peaked at an all-time high of $68,000 in November 2021. Despite its volatile and speculative nature, a retrospective glance reveals an asset that packed the potential for very high returns.
High Risks, High Rewards
The 5-year market analysis highlights the fact that, across the board, investing in Bitcoin has yielded higher returns than real estate investments. Bitcoin investors in Manhattan, NY, and San Francisco, CA are leading the charts five years later, seeing a crypto wallet boost of over $18 million and $16 million, respectively. In fact, the Manhattan market has seen a home price drop of 31%, meaning that those who invested in a down payment in 2017 could now be counting losses of around $450,000 if they were looking to sell.
Overall, the California market is leading in 2021, with four cities in which the median home price has exceeded $1 million, and potential Bitcoin gains soaring above $10 million. San Francisco, Fremont, San Jose, and Irvine are topping the charts in terms of well-performing real estate investments, yet despite such gains ranging from $226,900 to $440,020, they have a lot of catching up to reach the lower threshold of $10M set by Bitcoin gains.
The staggering increase in Bitcoin prices means that, despite median home prices also enjoying an upward curve since the start of the pandemic, crypto investments were the best choice. Even in markets that have seen a significant home price appreciation, such as Bronx, NY (150% median home price increase), Boise, ID (114%), and Brooklyn, NY (98%), the gap between real estate vs Bitcoin gains can be measured in millions of dollars.
Bitcoin also trumps real estate in terms of financial gains in markets where the down payment was significantly below the $10K mark, such as in Detroit, MI. Those who invested as little as $6,552 on a down payment in 2017 saw real estate gains of around $28.78K, in spite of the 88% median home price increase. Meanwhile, investing the same amount in 7 Bitcoins would have resulted in a $420.570 gain.
Weighing Out The Pros And Cons
Investment decisions hinge on more than just the fear of missed opportunities. In the Bitcoin vs real estate debate, traditional conventions place the emphasis on the latter. The past five years, however, may shed a different light on the marketplace.
Real estate doesn’t have the same high historical returns as stocks, for example, yet it is a tangible asset with intrinsic value. It lends itself to multiple investment opportunities, and despite the high initial costs and maintenance, it is a regulated asset that can generate long-term returns.
Bitcoin costs significantly less to acquire, and in the past 5 years alone, it has increased in value by 6,319%. The drawback is that it’s still a high-risk, high-reward investment. For example, a single tweet can cause fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin, which is enough to highlight the volatile nature of this asset. And even though blockchain technology promises exciting applications in the near future, the environmental concerns associated with crypto mining are still on the table.
The crypto market is currently worth over $3 trillion, and some financial experts believe that it won’t be long before it becomes mainstream. However, not everyone shares this enthusiasm. In June, El Salvador became the first country to recognize Bitcoin as a legal tender. At the other end of the spectrum, China has banned not just crypto mining but also declared all crypto-currency transactions illegal. And it looks like India may soon follow suit.
Conclusion
The prices of both real estate and Bitcoin have seen a significant increase since 2017. However, the next five years may paint a completely different picture. For now, and despite some drastic price fluctuations, it looks like those who would have invested in crypto five years ago would now see significantly higher returns than those who invested the same amount in real estate.
India’s “Cryptocurrency and Regulator of Official Digital Currency” bill will generate a facilitative framework for the Reserve Bank of India to issue an official digital currency and ban most private cryptocurrencies. The approach will create obstacles for thousands of peer-to-peer currencies that are currently thriving outside of regulatory scrutiny.
Following the news, the price of bitcoin dropped by 1.19% and, according to coinmarketcap.com, was trading at $56,615.97 at 12pm CET on Wednesday.
However, the announcement by the Indian government was not wholly unexpected. Earlier this month, prime minister Narendra Modi said that all democratic nations must work together to ensure cryptocurrency “does not end up in wrong hands, which can spoil our youth.”
Earlier in the year, the Indian government considered criminalising the possession, issuance, trading, mining, and transference of crypto assets. According to Reuters, the government plans to ban private crypto assets while simultaneously paving the way for a new Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which the government plans to launch by December this year.
Bitcoin dropped as much as 8.2% to $58,661, while Ether fell by more than 10%. According to CoinGecko, the global crypto market cap has dropped some 10% in the past 24 hours to $2.7 trillion. The drop was not wholly unanticipated, as technical indicators had suggested that crypto’s recent strong run was due a setback.
Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia Pacific with crypto exchange Luno in Singapore, said it “would be unusual to keep moving up without corrections,” claiming that “we’re seeing a healthy pullback” after a prolonged rally.
Some analysts have also pinned the drop on new tax-reporting requirements for digital currencies that come as part of the infrastructure bill which President Biden signed into law on Monday.
This year, bitcoin has more than doubled, while Ether has seen a sixfold increase. Both hit record-highs last week amid an enthusiasm for digital assets driven by speculative demand and controversial arguments that they can lower inflation risks.
