Cryptocurrency Is Booming as Bitcoin and Ethereum Hit New Record Highs
Major coins are rising in value at a rate not seen before.
Whether you have any idea what the deal with cryptocurrency is or not, the digital coinage is going to affect you sooner or later. More and more people outside tech circles are catching on to crypto investment and its moneymaking possibilities, and there’s no better evidence than the current trading frenzy that’s pumping the prices of major cryptos Bitcoin and Ether (AKA Ethereum) through the roof.
Here’s more from Bloomberg by way of MSN:
Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital token, jumped as much as 3.6% to $68,513, while Ether posted a more modest advance to about $4,840. The total value of digital tokens tracked by CoinGecko reached some $3.1 trillion.
Trying to work out why virtual currencies are rallying is often a fraught task, but some theories pointed to the appetite for assets that can deliver returns even as the pandemic recovery stokes inflation. U.S. equity markets have been hitting record highs almost daily. Bitcoin is up more than 130% this year and Ether some 550%, though for critics the volatility inherent in digital tokens damages their claims to being a store of value.
According to an expert quoted by Bloomberg, “crypto is where the fast money is at,” and it is viewed as a viable hedge against inflation.
Believe it or not, some think the current rally—Bitcoin (BTC) last went nuts with a big price spike in October—has everything to do with Elon Musk. It comes after the Tesla founder and the world’s richest man polled Twitter users regarding whether he should liquidate 10 percent of his Tesla stock. Votes were in favor, and analysts theorized anticipation of what Musk might do with all that money—say, purchasing a massive amount of crypto—the market was preparing for any bump in value the billionaire’s investment might bring to BTC or Ether.
The market for digital assets is still quite new, but with things like NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) growing in popularity and the advent of the Metaverse looming, none of these digital currencies are going anywhere. Up and down maybe as the market remains volatile, but they’re here to stay.
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