Crypto market surges at start of December has BTC holds firm

The price of bitcoin has settled at around $57,000 on Wednesday after yo-yoing between $59,000 and $53,000 over the last few days.

BTC remains in limbo following last week’s flash crash, which some analysts mistook for the start of a bear market that would see its price continue to tumble in the short term.

The cryptocurrency’s subsequent rebound gave bullish investors hope that new all-time highs were imminent but the market has now lost momentum in either direction.

Other cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA) and Solana (SOL) have all surged over the last 24 hours, with the latter rising by nearly 10 per cent to take its market cap close to $70 billion.

The overall crypto market is up more than 3 per cent since the start of the week, with meme coins dogecoin and Shiba Inu seeing significant gains.

You can follow all the latest news, analysis and expert crypto price predictions right here.

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Bitcoin and other crypto plunge as fears over new Covid variant shake traditional markets

Key points

• Bitcoin network overtakes PayPal volume

• Crypto market crash amid covid fears

• MicroStrategy ‘buys the dip’

Bitcoin featured on top-rated cable news show

13:09 , Anthony Cuthbertson

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor has brought his bitcoin evangelism to the No.1 cable news show in the US, appearing on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight to talk about why bitcoin “fixes money”.

The controversial right-wing host sucks in an average of more than 3 million viewers every night, and was completely onboard with Saylor’s message, encouraging his viewers to look into bitcoin and cryptocurrency.

“You’ve made the most compelling case I’ve ever heard for the need for something like bitcoin,” Carlson said, adding that he hadn’t seen “a conversation that interesting about economics, ever.”

Crypto market surges as bitcoin price steadies

Story continues

11:49 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The crypto market is up nearly 4 per cent over the last 24 hours, largely thanks to gains from Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB) and Solana (SOL).

The price of bitcoin (BTC), by contrast, has held firm around the $57,000 mark on Wednesday, shifting by less than 0.1 per cent on both a one day and seven day timeframe.

Ethereum’s increase has pushed its market cap above $550 billion, meaning it is now worth more than half of bitcoin’s market cap.

Bitcoin set to end 2021 on ‘stellar bullish note’

Tuesday 30 November 2021 18:51 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Bitcoin is ending a turbulent month with a bumpy day of price movements.

It has bounced between $56,000 and $59,000 over the last few hours, and will likely close November below $60,000.

With the end of the year just 31 days away, analysts have been speculating that the cryptocurrency could repeat the price feats it saw in previous years, when it achieved record-breaking bull runs before the New Year chimed in.

Here’s what Nikita Rudenia, co-founder and member of the board at the asset management operator 8848 Invest, had to say to The Independent:

Nikita Rudenia, co-founder 8848 Invest

CoinMarketCap offers insight into state of crypto industry with quarterly report

Tuesday 30 November 2021 11:37 , Anthony Cuthbertson

CoinMarketCap has become the go-to price index for cryptocurrency followers, offering the most comprehensive list of altcoins (15,000 and counting) and historical data.

The Binance-owned market tracker has recently begun releasing quarterly reports that offer insights into its users, and therefore the industry more generally.

The latest edition reveals that the vast majority of its users are male (74 per cent), while the 35-34 age bracket is by far the biggest.

Breaking down visitors by country also gives an indication of how popular bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are in different regions, with the US, Europe and Southeast Asia accounting for the majority of visitors.

Bitcoin price dips but settles

Tuesday 30 November 2021 10:43 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Bitcoin has dipped slightly following yesterday’s sudden price surge, however appears to have settled on Tuesday morning at around $57,000.

The overall crypto market has largely stabilised after a tumultuous few days, shifting by less than half a per cent since this time yesterday.

While most leading cryptocurrencies have reflected this moment of calm, meme coins dogecoin Shiba Inu have both shot up in value. Dogecoin rose 6 per cent over the last 24 hours, while Shiba Inu saw gains of nearly 30 per cent.

Dogecoin founder sums up ‘crypto gambling’

Monday 29 November 2021 16:15 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Be it virtual real estate, NFTs, or the latest meme coin, it’s always worth remembering the risks involved when investing in such volatile and temperamental crypto assets.

There seems no one better to share this message than dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus, who has lived through all the ups and downs of his crypto creation.

With Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey among his followers, ‘Shibetoshi Nakaoto’ has some significant online clout – and as you might expect, he uses it mostly for sharing memes:

Record-breaking crypto purchase in Metaverse

Monday 29 November 2021 15:58 , Anthony Cuthbertson

A virtual reality real estate company has bought a 500-metre-squared plot of prime metaverse ‘land’ for a whopping $2.4 million.

Metaverse Property made the purchase using 618,000 of the MANA cryptocurrency, which is a rapidly rising Ethereum-based token used within the Decentraland metaverse environment.

“We are happy to make history by closing the largest public metaverse land acquisition to date,” said Metaverse Group CEO Andrew Kiguel, who revealed that the virtual real estate would be used to host fashion shows in partnership with several as-yet unnamed brands.

You can read the full story here:

Virtual land within metaverse sells for record $2.43 million

As bitcoin price rebounds, who bought the dip?

Monday 29 November 2021 15:43 , Anthony Cuthbertson

With bitcoin returning to the price it was before the sudden collapse at the end of last week, several high-profile figures have now revealed that they made the most of the flash crash by taking the opportunity to bolster their holdings.

Alex Mashinsky, founder of crypto rewards firm Celsius Network, said he bought $10 million worth of bitcoin and Ethereum (ether) when BTC was trading at around $54,000.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said on Friday, when bitcoin was hovering around the same level, that the Central American country had “bought the dip”.

MicroStrategy, as mentioned in the previous post, appear to have bought just before the most recent nosedive, though still $10,000 cheaper than the all-time high bitcoin experienced earlier this month.

MicroStrategy buys another $400m of bitcoin

Monday 29 November 2021 14:26 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Michael Saylor is at it again, announcing yet another massive bitcoin investment after a market downturn.

The MicroStrategy CEO said the software firm has acquired roughly $400 million worth of the cryptocurrency at an average price of $59,187.

The company now holds roughly $7 billion worth of bitcoin, making them by far the biggest corporate investors in the cryptocurrency. Having bought its entire stash at an average price of sub $30,000, MicroStrategy has nearly doubled the value of its investment.

You can read the full story here:

Tech company buys $400m in bitcoin as price surges

Monday 29 November 2021 09:41 , Vishwam Sankaran

Cryptocurrency mining in Kazakhstan causing abrupt power shortages

A surge in electricity demand in Kazakhstan due to a recent increase in crypto mining activity is causing power shortages across the country, Financial Times reported.

The country’s energy ministry reports that the electricity demand has jumped by 8 per cent so far in 2021 compared to the typical increase of 2 per cent.

Experts say this could be due to crypto miners illegally generating currency from their homes or factories.

They say the exodus of crypto miners to Kazakhstan from mainland China due to the crackdown on digital currencies there, could also be playing a major part in the electricity demand surge.

Monday 29 November 2021 02:55 , Vishwam Sankaran

Bitcoin, Ethereum recover from Friday crash

The prices of several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum have risen by about 7 per cent in the last 24 hours, rebounding from the flash crash on Friday which took out nearly 9 per cent of the crypto market’s overall value.

Bitcoin which sank close to the $54,000 mark on Friday, is back to about $57,000, while ETH has risen by 8 per cent to over $4,300 in the last 24 hours.

The overall crypto market has grown by nearly 7 per cent in the last day.

Other cryptocurrencies including cardano (ada), solana (sol) and XRP have risen by over 6 per cent in the last 24 hours, but are still down compared to their values a week earlier.

Meme coins dogecoin and its spinoff shiba inu are also showing signs of recovery from the Friday crash.

Friday 26 November 2021 12:12 , Vishwam Sankaran

Crypto market crash amid fears of new covid variant affecting traditional markets

The prices of several cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum have plunged by more than 7 per cent in the last few hours amid fears over the new coronavirus variant shaking traditional markets.

Bitcoin is down by about 7.5 per cent in the last 24 hours, and is currently valued at about $53,700, just hours after it was trading close to about $58,000.

Within a span of four to five hours, ethereum, solana, cardano, and dogecoin have all nosedived rapidly, plunging in value by about 10 per cent compared to their prices a day earlier.

The overall crypto market has plunged by over 8 per cent in the last 24 hours and is currently valued at about $2.41 trillion.

The chart is all red with no signs of recovery yet.

You can read more about the price crash here:

Bitcoin and other crypto plunge amid fears over new Covid variant

Friday 26 November 2021 03:18 , Vishwam Sankaran

Bitcoin and ethereum rise, while solana and cardano dip

Bitcoin has grown by about a per cent in the last 24 hours and is currently valued at about $58,000 – up by about 3.5 per cent in the last week.

Ethereum has also surged during this period, growing by over 10 per cent in the last 7 days, and is currently valued at around $4,500.

Solana and cardano, however, have dropped in value by about 1.5 per cent in the last day, with the latter slipping by nearly 7 per cent in the last week.

Meme coins dogecoin and its spinoff shiba inu have also dropped in value between 1 to 5 per cent in the last 24 hours.

The overall crypto market is valued at about $2.64 trillion and has grown by nearly 1.5 per cent in the last day.

The chart mostly looks green with some signs of recovery.

Bitcoin network processes more volume than PayPal

Thursday 25 November 2021 20:16 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The bitcoin network has overtaken PayPal’s quarterly volume.

An estimated average of $489 billion per quarter in 2021 were processed through the bitcoin network, according to figures from blockchain data firm Blockdata, compared to PayPal’s average of $302 billion per quarter.

By comparison, Mastercard processes $1.8 trillion per quarter and Visa processes $3.2 trillion per quarter, though bitcoin’s market cap totals more than Mastercard’s, PayPal’s and Visa’s combined.

Blockdata analyst Sam Wouters says: “A conservative estimate of 2026 for bitcoin to grow to the scale of a network like Mastercard or Visa may not be so overoptimistic.”

You can read the full story here:

The bitcoin network now handles more volume than PayPal

Bitcoin price breaks above $59,000

Thursday 25 November 2021 19:11 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The price of bitcoin has returned above $59,000, closing to within $10,000 of its all-time high.

The rebound comes amid a buoyant crypto market, which has risen over 4 per per cent over the last 24 hours. Ethereum (ether) and Binance Coin have seen the biggest gains out of the top 10 leading cryptocurrencies, rising nearly 10 per cent since this time yesterday.

The meme coin has seen an even bigger price increase, shooting up by more than 20 per cent to take its overall market cap back above $20 billion.

Bitcoin price prediction model of $100k ‘still on track’

Thursday 25 November 2021 15:11 , Anthony Cuthbertson

A closely followed bitcoin price prediction model that puts the cryptocurrency on a course to reach $100,000 and beyond this market cycle is “still on track” despite the latest dip, according to its creator.

Pseudonymous Dutch analyst PlanB noted that the floor model he predicted back in June will likely miss the $98,000 target set for the end of November, however his stock-to-flow (S2F) model remains intact.

“S2F model not affected and indeed on track towards $100k,” he wrote on Twitter, where he has amassed more than 1.5 million followers over the last year.

(You can read all about the PlanB’s S2F model right here.)

Bitcoin whales accumulating crypto

Thursday 25 November 2021 10:34 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Large bitcoin holders are stocking up on cryptocurrency following the latest price dip, new data shows.

Figures from on-chain and social metrics platform Santiment show that over the last seven days, while BTC was floundering below the $60,000 level, bitcoin addresses holding between 100 to 10,000 bitcoins have added roughly 59,000 bitcoins ($3.4 billion) to their holdings – representing 0.29 per cent of the total circulating supply.

Bitcoin whales accumulating crypto is typically a sign that they are bullish about the price trajectory of the cryptocurrency.

Thursday 25 November 2021 03:07 , Vishwam Sankaran

After sliding down closer to the $56,000 mark on Wednesday, bitcoin’s value is inching closer to $58,000 and has grown by over 2.5 per cent in the last day.

Ethereum has also grown by about 2 per cent in the last 24 hours and is currently valued at about $4,300.

However, other leading cryptocurrencies, including solana and cardano have dropped in value by 1 to 3 per cent while polkadot and dogecoin remeain nearly unchanged in the last day.

The overall crypto market shows signs of growth, increasing in value by about 1.5 per cent in the last 24 hours, and is currently valued at about $2.6 trillion.

Bitcoin ‘looking seriously cheap’ at $56k

Wednesday 24 November 2021 14:19 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Bitcoin’s network activity is currently looking bullish, according to one analyst, who claims the cryptocurrency is “looking seriously cheap” at $56,000.

Philip Swift, a crypto market analyst and creator of lookintobitcoin.com, notes that bitcoin’s Advanced NVT Signal is “deep into oversold territory”, signalling an imminent price hike.

The Advanced NVT Signal is aimed at monitoring investor habits by dividing bitcoin’s market cap by the 90-day moving average of network transaction volume. The last time it was this low it preceded a record-breaking price rally.

“Expecting a strong reaction in the not too distant future,” Swift tweeted.

Ethereum better than bitcoin for investors?

Wednesday 24 November 2021 13:35 , Anthony Cuthbertson

This is the claim of a recently uncovered research note from the US banking giant JPMorgan Chase.

With Ethereum (ether) once again on the rise today, its market cap has re-overtaken that of JPMorgan’s and is now north of half a trillion dollars. The gains can be attributed to its underlying technology, according to the report, “with Ethereum deriving its value from its applications, ranging from DeFi to gaming to NFTs and stablecoins”.

Ethereum has already massively outperformed bitcoin in 2021, with a price increase of more than 500 per cent compared to bitcoin’s more modest 96 per cent rise.

You can read the full story here:

Lord of the Rings-themed cryptocurrency shut down

Wednesday 24 November 2021 10:58 , Anthony Cuthbertson

A cryptocurrency that called itself “The One Token That Rules Them All” has been put to an end after the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien lodged a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Tolkien’s estate claimed the JRR Token cryptocurrency, which launched in August, infringed on its Lord of the Rings trademarks.

The creator of the Florida-based altcoin claimed any similarities to the fantasy book series are purely coincidental – as you can see from this screenshot from the now-defunct jrrtoken.com (captured by Arstechnica before it was taken down).

Bitcoin price crashes on Indian exchanges

Wednesday 24 November 2021 10:02 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Reports that the Indian government is planning to introduce a bill to ban certain cryptocurrencies has caused bitcoin and other altcoins to plummet in price on local exchanges.

BTC, Ethereum (ETH) and dogecoin (DOGE) have all fallen by between 15-20 per cent against the Indian rupee following the introduction of the draft Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill.

The head of domestic trading app WazirX called for calm among investors, tweeting: “All of us want regulation… We need to have faith in our law makers.”

You can read the full story here:

Bitcoin, Ethereum and dogecoin prices crash in India

Wednesday 24 November 2021 03:28 , Vishwam Sankaran

Bitcoin slides down closer to $56,000 mark

After inching closer to the $58,000 mark late Tuesday, bitcoin’s value has slid down again to about $56,000 and is down by about 1.5 per cent in the last 24 hours.

The leading cryptocurrency has dropped in value by over 4 per cent in the last week.

The overall crypto market appears to be stabilising, almost remaining unchanged in value in the last 24 hours.

It is currently valued at about $2.56 trillion, nearly the same as its value a day earlier.

Ethereum has grown by over 1 per cent in the last day but other top cryptocurrencies including solana and cardano are down by 2 to 7 per cent in the last 24 hours.

Cardano is down by over 8 per cent in the last week, while solana is closer to its value seven days earlier.

Meme coins doge coin and its spinoff cryptocurrency shib inu are also down between 4 to 15 per cent in the last week.

While there are some signs of recovery of the crypto market, the chart still looks mostly red.

Hyperbitcoinisation or hyperbole?

Tuesday 23 November 2021 18:30 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Is El Salvador’s plan to build the volcano-powered Bitcoin City the beginning of ‘hyperbitcoinisation’ or simply hyperbole?

You can read all about it by signing up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter, which covers everything from updates on the state of the International Space Station to the latest cryptocurrency news. To sign up click here and scroll down to the tech icon.

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Amid a flurry of fireworks, blaring rock music and cheering crowds, the president of El Salvador took to the stage at LaBitConf 2021 conference over the weekend to unveil his vision for a volcano-powered ‘Bitcoin City’.

As arguably the world’s least conventional world leader, Nayib Bukele is as disruptive and divisive as bitcoin itself. The self-proclaimed “coolest dictator in the world” and “CEO of El Salvador” oversaw the country becoming the first in the world to adopt the cryptocurrency as a legal form of tender earlier this year, and has plans to begin a revolution not just in his country, but the entire world.

Decked in all white and wearing his trademark backwards baseball cap, Bukele used Alexander the Great as an analogy for what he was hoping to achieve with Bitcoin City. “When Alexander the Great was conquering the world, he established these Alexandria cities all over the empire,” he told the crowd. “The whole point of these Alexandrias was to be the beacons of hope for the rest of the world. I thought, if you want bitcoin to spread all over the world, we should build some Alexandrias. We should build the first Alexandria here in El Salvador.”

Built in the shadow of the Conchagua volcano on the country’s southern tip, Bitcoin City is envisioned as a kind of libertarian utopia crossed with an environmentalist’s fantasyland, combining zero income and property tax with zero CO2 emissions.

It will be a proper legal municipality, complete with an elected mayor, residential and commercial areas, museums, airports – “everything devoted to bitcoin” – even a plaza designed in the shape of the cryptocurrency’s logo.

To finance the city, El Salvador partnered with digital assets firm Blockstream to launch a $1 billion bitcoin bond, with the company saying the city will bring about the acceleration of “hyperbitcoinisation” – a bold new era where the cryptocurrency usurps the US dollar to become the default value system of the world.

Bitcoin evangelicals like Bukele cite the digital currency’s borderless, censorship-resistant technology for its potential to displace the dollar and transform the current financial system into one that favours the masses, not just the massively wealthy…

Bitcoin price collapse explained

Tuesday 23 November 2021 16:12 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Bitcoin is now down more than $10,000 from the peak it reached on 10 November, with still no solid signs of the price slide stopping.

Speaking to various analysts and experts, we heard their thoughts on what caused this latest price correction – and where the cryptocurrency might go from here. Reasons range from the US infrastructure bill, to the liquidation of MtGox assets that account for more than 3 per cent of the entire circulating supply of BTC.

You can read the full story here:

Bitcoin’s price collapse explained

Elon Musk questions ‘shady’ Binance

Tuesday 23 November 2021 10:27 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Elon Musk has questioned the CEO of Binance about the crypto exchange’s treatment of dogecoin users.

Binance boss Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, has previously said he “doesn’t get” dogecoin and caused outrage among fans of the meme-inspired token after temporarily suspending doge withdrawals last week after a “minor issue”.

Musk, who is one of the most high-profile fans of dogecoin, asked CZ on Twitter this morning: “What’s going on with your Doge customers? Sounds shady.”

The crypto boss is yet to respond to the SpaceX and Tesla boss.

Tuesday 23 November 2021 03:01 , Vishwam Sankaran

Bitcoin climbs above $56,000

After dropping below $56,000, bitcoin is inching back to $57,000, but is still down by about 2 per cent compared to its value a day earlier.

The overall crypto market is down by about 1 per cent over the last day, and is currently valued at about $2.56 trillion.

Other top cryptocurrencies, including ethereum, solana, and cardano are also down by about 1 to 2 per cent in the last 24 hours.

Meme coins doge coin and its spinoff shiba inu are also down by over 11 per cent in the last week, but show signs of stabilising in the last 24 hours.

The chart still looks all red with marginal signs of recovery.

Bitcoin price dips below $56,000

Monday 22 November 2021 21:08 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The price of bitcoin has fallen to its lowest level since mid October following a sudden dip.

It is currently trading just below $56,000 but there is no clear sign that it has reached the bottom of this price fall. Some analysts are saying there is resistance at this level, though during periods of price discovery the market can be particularly volatile.

Other leading cryptocurrencies are also seeing heavy losses, with Ethereum (ether), Binance Coin, Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ada) all falling in price by between 5- 8 per cent on Monday.

Here’s what Simon Peters, an analyst at the online trading platform eToro, has to say about the latest market correction: “With bitcoin and other cryptoassets having reached fresh all-time highs, there was always likely to be a measure of profit-taking from investors which then translates into price weakness. Both BTC and ETH go from strength to strength, and the ups and downs of the market are a part of this story.”

President Bukele to keynote major bitcoin conference

Monday 22 November 2021 17:16 , Anthony Cuthbertson

After barely catching his breath from belting out his ambition to build Bitcoin City, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has said he will appear at one of the biggest cryptocurrency conferences on the calendar.

Bitcoin 2022 will take place in Miami next April, providing a platform for many of the leading figures within the crypto industry. Up to 35,00 people are expected to attend the four-day event, one year after President Bukele first announced that his country would be the first in the world to introduce bitcoin as a legal form of tender.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele

‘PayPal for crypto’ startup MoonPay raises $555 million

Monday 22 November 2021 16:38 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Cryptocurrency firm MoonPay is now valued at a staggering $3.4 billion after just announcing a $555 million funding round.

The Miami-based fintech firm has described itself as “similar to PayPal, but for crypto”, as its software allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrency using traditional payment methods like bank transfer, credit and debit cards, and mobile apps like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

At just three years old, it is the latest company to benefit from a record-breaking year for cryptocurrency.

‘Bitcoin Standard’ adopted by Canadian restaurant

Monday 22 November 2021 14:40 , Anthony Cuthbertson

A restaurant in Canada is up 460 per cent on a bitcoin investment made last year after deciding to plough all of its profits into the cryptocurrency.

Tahinis, which specialises in Middle Eastern cuisine, adopts a ‘Bitcoin Standard’ strategy, which sees it operate in traditional fiat currency and put all its cash reserves into BTC. The strategy has so far “worked like a charm”, restaurant co-founder Aly Hamam, told Business Insider.

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, whose software firm is the largest corporate investor in bitcoin ahead of Tesla, tweeted: “Their story is inspirational.”

‘Cryptocurrency is not a fad’, says Australian minister

Monday 22 November 2021 13:00 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Australia’s financial services minister Jane Hume has warned finance leaders in the country that cryptocurrency is “not a fad”.

Speaking at the Australian Financial Review summit today, Hume said that government and industry should not ignore the crypto industry.

She said: “This is not a fad. We should tread cautiously, but not fearfully. Don’t be the person in 1995 who said the internet was just a place for geeks and criminals and would never become mainstream. And don’t be the person who argued that email was a passing fad.”

El Salvador announces ‘Bitcoin City’

Monday 22 November 2021 10:39 , Anthony Cuthbertson

El Salvador has announced plans to build a new city in the shadow of a volcano, whose geothermal energy is used to mine bitcoin.

The aptly-named Bitcoin City will be financed by a bond offering taking place in 2022 entirely in BTC, President Nayib Bukele told a crowd at the Latin American Bitcoin and Blockchain Conference over the weekend.

It comes just over two months after El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt the cryptocurrency as legal tender.

You can read more about the news here.

El Salvador to build crypto-fuelled ‘Bitcoin City’

Hello and welcome…

Monday 22 November 2021 09:24 , Anthony Cuthbertson

to The Independent’s live coverage of the cryptocurrency market.

We’ll have all the latest news and developments for bitcoin, Ethereum (ether) and other leading cryptocurrencies, as well as broader market analysis and expert price predictions.