The rise of the digital currency

Cryptocurrency startup Tether issued $250 million in new tokens on Monday, sparking speculation that a bitcoin price rally could be inbound. Blockchain data indicates that  Tether , the creator of cryptocurrency “stablecoin” USDT (colloquially called tether), issued 250 million new tokens this morning, June 25. USDT, which is pegged to USD at a 1-to-1 ratio, serves as a proxy for physical dollars on many cryptocurrency exchanges, owing to the fact that many trading platforms have  difficulty  obtaining the banking relationships necessary to hold fiat currency on behalf of customers. Over the past 24 hours, tether’s $4.2 billion in trading volume was second-highest among all cryptocurrencies, ranking behind only bitcoin. Source: Omni Explorer That Tether is issuing new tokens is an indication that new capital is flowing into the cryptocurrency markets, since — at least according to the company — tokens are created when individuals or organizations deposit phy...

The number of Europeans with cryptocurrency is set to double in the near future according to research from ING Bank. Currently, 9% of users have cryptocurrency in Europe, but ING reports that another 16% want to invest in the near future. In addition, more than a third (35% of respondents believed that cyrptocurrency is the future of spending online and a similar number of people expect it to be the future of investing. Cryptocurrency in Europe 66% of Europeans stated that they had heard of cryptocurrency but fewer than one-in-ten actually owned any. With 34% of Europe having not even heard of it, the growth could be exponential. However, 49% of Europeans do not want to change the way they pay. Some people are comfortable, but a large chunk of Europe is risk-averse and sees cryptocurrency as too risky. Jessica Exton, behavioural scientist at ING, said:“Cryptocurrency remains an abstract investment for many, but there may be more appetite for digital currencies than some mi...

Billionaire business magnate Jack Ma has warned against speculating on the Bitcoin market after saying that the virtual currency could be a potential bubble. Ma, who is the founder of technology conglomerate  Alibaba , made the remark yesterday as he launched his own "electronic wallet" which would make allow blockchain-based money transfers between Hong Kong and the Philippines. The Chinese investor, who is worth nearly $50bn (£37bn), said: "Blockchain technology could change our world more than people imagine, adding that “Bitcoin however could be a bubble." The comments come in the wake of Bitcoin’s fall on Sunday, as the cryptocurrency suffered its worst day on the market this year, dipping as low as $5,808 despite nearly reaching a high of $20,000 late last year. Questions around Bitcoin’s vulnerability have arisen following increased global pressures to regulate the cryptocurrency. The hacking of another cryptocurrency called Bithumb earlier this ye...

Cryptocurrency has been on a wild ride lately, with massive fluctuations in both directions. The fluctuations understandably make some real estate brokers nervous, but many of us believe that cryptocurrencies are the future of money, and savvy brokers are getting in on the ground floor. As one of the founders of Lemon Wallet, which laid the foundation for a Bitcoin wallet framework back in 2012, I’ve been fascinated with how Bitcoin and the block-chain could transform the fundamental industries that make up the modern economy. Other real estate brokers are sensing the possibilities of cryptocurrency, particularly in the international real estate market. A global real estate marketplace called Propy operates a decentralized title registry and creates a space for buyers, sellers and brokers as well as escrow and title agents and notaries to come together to execute transactions using block-chain. I personally do not have any relations with Propy, but I am enamoured by their business an...

VC hires first female general partner to co-lead fund focusing on cyrptocurrencies. Kathryn Haun, Andreessen Horowitz's first female general partner in the firm's nine years of existence. Andreesseen Horowitz Prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has launched a $300 million fund that will focus on cryptocurrencies. The fund, to be called a16z crypto after the VC's nickname, will invest in cryptocurrency companies, coins, tokens and protocols, the company  said  Monday. The fund will be co-led by Kathryn Haun, a former federal prosecutor who will be the firm's first female general partner in the nine years since its founding. As investor interest in cryptocurrencies has increased in recent months, so has SEC focus on stamping out scams aimed at bilking investors excited by the possibilities of cryptocurrency's financial and technological revolution. While at the Justice Department, Haun focused on fraud, cyber and corporate ...

Wall Street guru Tom Lee has been discussing his opinions on  Bitcoin , and what the future holds for this cryptocurrency. Although his is still bullish on Bitcoin, his opinion has shifted very slightly. He blames the recent lack of success that Bitcoin has seen of late on Bitcoin futures, and he believes that the reason that Bitcoin has dropped in value by 20 percent earlier this week is due to the expiration of futures that have been linked to the  cryptocurrency . Lee, has spoken about the ‘significant volatility’ around certain futures expirations, and even says that the sentiments and technical factors have been ‘awful’. In his report that was published on Thursday, Lee cites the theory that Bitcoin appears to fall into expiration, noting that there have been as many as six expirations since the Bitcoin futures contract launched. The charts suggest that the price of Bitcoin has fallen by 18 percent in the ten days which before the expiration on average, with the pr...

The situation in the financial markets has looked a bit bleak lately, but Chinese cryptocurrency investors seem to be a lot more optimistic than one would expect under current circumstances. Investors believe the financial world might be getting another bull market because of a growing capital in the form of thousands of new digital token investment funds that are preparing to enter the stage. Numerous funds, whose capital altogether amounts to hundreds of billions of renminbi (RMB, the official currency of the People’s Republic of China), are being established at this exact moment, despite the progressively volatile market environment. Chinese cryptocurrency experts believe the combination of financial uncertainty and establishment of many funds might be setting the stage for the rise of another bull market. Optimistic Views Despite Current Bear Market A founding partner of Genesis Capital, Sun Zeyu, optimistically believes that the prices of cryptocurrencies will get relat...

The appetite in cryptocurrencies improved on Monday as New York's Department of Financial Services gave Square a virtual currency licence, allowing its users to trade  Bitcoin . On the other hand, critics continue making the headlines. Lately, the Swiss based Bank of International Settlements (BIS) claimed that a peer-to-peer transfer network would rapidly meet network capacity problems, hence cryptocurrencies cannot replace traditional currencies. Despite controversies, the blockchain technology is spreading at a rapid speed to industries beyond finance and Bitcoin, which is the sentiment gauge of the crypto-market, is holding ground above the critical $6000, hinting at the possibility of a recovery to 6850 and 7375 (minor 23.6% and major 38.2% retracements on May – June decline). On the downside, a move below $6000 should encourage a further sell-off toward $5000. ETH/USDT sees timid inflows near the $500 level. Ethereum’s popularity remains solid, as some 50K developers j...