Cryptocurrency news
At the heart of most cryptocurrencies is a technology called distributed ledger, often in the form of a blockchain. This structure maintains a transparent and secure record of transactions, which is updated across a network of computers rather than relying on one central server blackjack play.
For beginning investors, it can also be worthwhile to examine how widely a cryptocurrency is being used. Most reputable crypto projects have publicly available metrics showing data such as how many transactions are being carried out on their platforms. If use of a cryptocurrency is growing, that may be a sign that it is establishing itself in the market. Cryptocurrencies also generally make „white papers” available to explain how they’ll work and how they intend to distribute tokens.
Thoughtfully selecting your cryptocurrency, however, is no guarantee of success in such a volatile space. Sometimes, an issue in the deeply interconnected crypto industry can spill out and have broad implications on asset values. For example, when crypto exchange FTX collapsed in November 2022, the price of Bitcoin fell more than 20% over the following two months.
Cryptocurrency bitcoin price
Bitcoin is based on revolutionary blockchain technology, where transactions are recorded on a public distributed ledger and are secured by a decentralized network of computers dedicating their computational power to solving cryptographic tasks.
While it is impossible to offer an accurate Bitcoin price prediction over any timeframe, there are several factors you could monitor to understand what drives price action and volatility in this crypto. These include:
Just two months later, on January 3, 2009, Nakamoto mined the first block on the Bitcoin network, known as the genesis block, thus launching the world’s first cryptocurrency. Bitcoin price was $0 when first introduced, and most Bitcoins were obtained via mining, which only required moderately powerful devices (e.g. PCs) and mining software. The first known Bitcoin commercial transaction occurred on May 22, 2010, when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz traded 10,000 Bitcoins for two pizzas. At Bitcoin price today in mid-September 2021, those pizzas would be worth an astonishing $478 million. This event is now known as “Bitcoin Pizza Day.” In July 2010, Bitcoin first started trading, with the Bitcoin price ranging from $0.0008 to $0.08 at that time.
The original reward of 50 BTC per mined block as of the genesis block has been halved several times to 25, 12.5, and, as of 11 May 2020, to 6.25 BTC. The Bitcoin protocol dictates that these Halvings take place every 210,000 blocks. Once the limit of 21 million BTC is reached, miners will no longer receive block rewards, but they will still receive transaction fees.
Bitcoin dominance is a measure of Bitcoin’s share of the total crypto market cap. The metric is derived from dividing the total value of all digital assets in circulation by the market capitalization of Bitcoin. Historically, Bitcoin has always controlled the largest share of the crypto market. However, with the rise of new digital currencies since Bitcoin’s first block in 2009, Bitcoin dominance has fallen from 100% in 2013 and 88% in 2014 to just 38% in 2022.
Cryptocurrency market
One of the biggest winners is Axie Infinity — a Pokémon-inspired game where players collect Axies (NFTs of digital pets), breed and battle them against other players to earn Smooth Love Potion (SLP) — the in-game reward token. This game was extremely popular in developing countries like The Philippines, due to the level of income they could earn. Players in the Philippines can check the price of SLP to PHP today directly on CoinMarketCap.
Thanks to its pioneering nature, BTC remains at the top of this energetic market after over a decade of existence. Even after Bitcoin has lost its undisputed dominance, it remains the largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization that surpassed the $1 trillion mark in 2021, after Bitcoin price hit an all-time high of $64,863.10 on April 14, 2021. This is owing in large part to growing institutional interest in Bitcoin, and the ubiquitousness of platforms that provide use-cases for BTC: wallets, exchanges, payment services, online games and more.
A few years ago, the idea that a publicly traded company might hold Bitcoin on its balance sheets seemed highly laughable. The flagship cryptocurrency was considered to be too volatile to be adopted by any serious business. Many top investors, including Warren Buffett, labeled the asset a “bubble waiting to pop.”
Another point that Bitcoin proponents make is that the energy usage required by Bitcoin is all-inclusive such that it encompasess the process of creating, securing, using and transporting Bitcoin. Whereas with other financial sectors, this is not the case. For example, when calculating the carbon footprint of a payment processing system like Visa, they fail to calculate the energy required to print money or power ATMs, or smartphones, bank branches, security vehicles, among other components in the payment processing and banking supply chain.