Frank Holmes
Crypto SWOT: The IMF is urging El Salvador to drop bitcoin as legal tender
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Featuring views and opinions written by market professionals, not staff journalists.
Strengths
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was Crypto Rocket Launch, rising 561%.
- Adam Dell, former head of product at Marcus by Goldman Sachs, is launching Domain Money, a new cryptocurrency platform that will be using social sentiment to help investors, reports Bloomberg. The new platform targets retail users and raised $33 million from investors including Bessemer Ventures and Marc Benioff, the co-founder of Salesforce.com.
- Cathie Wood's Ark Invest is forecasting ether to soar over 7,000% and hit a $20 trillion market cap by 2030, reports Yahoo! Finance. At that target, ether would be priced around $170,000-$180,000 per coin. The group is also predicting the price of a single Bitcoin could reach $1 million by 2030.
Weaknesses
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performing for the week was Crazy Miner, down 97%.
- The price of Bitcoin has fallen by more than 50% from its peak in November, and the cryptocurrency market as a whole has lost more than $1 trillion in value over that time frame, writes Bloomberg. For institutions that have bought into Bitcoin, the downturn could prove costly and may create regulatory headaches.
- A hefty debate is underway in the crypto space about whether Bitcoin is mired in a drawn-out bear market or not, writes Bloomberg. Proponents of the token believe a bounce could be around the corner after it shed half of its value from an all-time high in November. However, according to market-intelligence firm Glassnode, a few industry metrics suggest a crypto winter is already here.
Opportunities
- The Diem Association, the Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook)-led group seeking to create a stablecoin, is considering a sale of its assets to return money to investors, according CoinDesk. Diem is reportedly in talks with investment bankers about next steps, including how to sell its intellectual property and find a new home for the engineers who developed the technology, in an effort to capture whatever values is left.
- Bitcoin and Ethereum remain in early adoption days, which means increasing demand versus declining supply. As coded, Bitcoin's supply is straightforward. Only 900 coins can be mined a day until 2024, then the daily discovery limit halves. The chart below shows Bitcoin dropping to less than 1% of the total by the year 2025.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed a Russian government proposal to tax and regulate the mining of cryptocurrencies, rejecting the central bank's proposal to ban it completely, according three people familiar with the matter, writes Bloomberg. Putin's support means mining could continue, as Russia has many regions with a surplus of electricity.
Threats
- The International Monetary Fund is urging El Salvador to end its recognition of Bitcoin as legal tender. Adopting a cryptocurrency in this way "entails large risk for financial and market integrity, financial stability and consumer protections," the funds executive board wrote.
- IRS criminal investigators see cryptocurrencies and NFTs as ripe for fraud, including money laundering, market manipulation and tax evasion, writes Bloomberg. Digital assets have been a growing concern for government agencies as they've become more mainstream, with regulators grappling over how to police the tokens and carry out enforcement activities to deter investors from engaging in criminal activity.
- According to an article posted by Bitcoinist, several YouTube accounts of some of India's major crypto exchanges and influencers have been compromised. The breech was identified when hackers uploaded videos on the YouTube channel to promote a fake coin named "One World Cryptocurrency."
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
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