Cryptocurrency price news – Shiba Inu soaring on Coinbase as Bitcoin up after Jack Dorsey reveals plans for mining

MOST VALUABLE COINS

Cryptocurrency prices hit record highs earlier this year amid interest from high profile individuals such as Elon Musk and more institutional investment in the sector.

The most valuable coins are generally Bitcoin and Ethereum but there are lots of alternatives or altcoins aiming to benefit from crypto interest.

Values can be volatile though and regulators have warned that investors could lose all their money.

WHAT IS TETHER?

The Tether cryptocurrency, which is also known as USDT, was officially launched as Realcoin in 2014, but has since changed its name.

It’s described as a “stablecoin”, which is a type of cryptocurrency that aims to keep crypto values stable.

Tether aims to do this by pegging the price to a regular “fiat” currency, like US dollars, Euros or the Chinese yuan.

Tether claims to keep values steady by holding reserves in that currency in a bank.

WHAT ARE ALTCOINS, PART TWO

Simon Peters, crypto-asset analyst at eToro, said: “They build on the success of bitcoin by slightly changing the rules, economics or use cases to appeal to different users.”

“Altcoins vary greatly in their use cases and practical application. They typically have a form of technology they underpin or provide a liquidity solution to a product or service.”

WHAT ARE ALTCOINS?

Altcoin stands for alternative coin, a type of virtual currency that uses the so-called blockchain to allow secure transactions. 

Altcoin is a category of cryptocurrency rather than a currency itself, and there are more than 900 different altcoins available.

CHINA PREVIOUSLY SHUT DOWN CRYPTO EXCHANGES, PART TWO

While crypto creation and trading have been illegal in China since 2019, further crackdowns this year by Beijing warned banks to halt related transactions and closed much of the country’s vast network of bitcoin miners.

Thursday’s statement by the central bank sent the strongest yet signal that China is closed to crypto.

CHINA PREVIOUSLY SHUT DOWN CRYPTO EXCHANGES

It’s not Beijing’s first move against digital currency – in 2017, China shut down its local cryptocurrency exchanges.

Despite the war on crypto, Chinese mines power nearly 80 percent of the global trade in cryptocurrencies.

CHINA’S CRACKDOWN ON CRYPTO IS ‘BIG OPPORTUNITY’ FOR US

China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency transactions “is a big opportunity for the U.S.”, according to Pat Toomey, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee.

This comes as the US Securities and Exchange Commission lobbied for more regulations when it comes to cryptocurrency.

US SET TO ‘STEM ILLICIT USE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY’

A recent statement from President Joe Biden read: “Cyber threats can affect every American, every business regardless of size, and every community.”

“That’s why my administration is marshalling a whole-of-nation effort to confront cyber threats.”

The White House signaled that the US will gather 30 other countries to discuss responses to cybercrime.

“This month, the United States will bring together 30 countries to accelerate our cooperation in combatting cybercrime, improving law enforcement collaboration, stemming the illicit use of cryptocurrency, and engaging on these issues diplomatically,” it read.

CRYPTO AUDIO STREAMING, CONTINUED

According to Audius, over 5.3million people have used the platform this month.

Audio has been listed on CoinMarketCap since October 2020, and has rocketed in value following a deal with Chinese-owned social media giant TikTok.

CRYPTO AUDIO STREAMING

Audius is a crypto-powered music streaming platform.

It’s owned and controlled by token holders – and tokens are called Audio.

DIGITAL WALLET, CONTINUED

As with other cryptocurrencies, people will be able to buy and sell libras on exchanges for traditional currencies.

Facebook said that its alternative currency paves the way for smoother transactions and payments online.

The project however faced regulatory resistance over concerns about security and reliability.

In December 2020, Libra changed its name to Diem and moved its operations from Switzerland to the US as part of a “strategic shift.”

WHAT IS A DIGITAL WALLET?

A digital wallet is a gadget or piece of software that securely stores users’ payment information and passwords for numerous payment methods.

They allow users to store cryptocurrencies, make online or in-store purchases, and track their finances.

In 2019 Facebook said it plans to introduce a cryptocurrency that at the time was called Libra.

The tech titan said it wanted to create a separate, private currency system to allow users to make cross-border payments more easily.

WHAT IS BITCOIN?

Bitcoin was established in 2009 by an unknown computer expert using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto.

The cryptocurrency uses a mining procedure that involves a computer solving a difficult mathematical problem with a 64-digit solution.

For each problem solved, one block of Bitcoin is processed. In addition, the miner is rewarded with new Bitcoin.

But the reason why it gets criticism from environmentalists is that Bitcoin currently uses roughly 99.10terawatt-hours annually, according to the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance.

Currently, are about 21million Bitcoin tokens in existence.

SQUARE MAY BUILD BITCOIN MINING HARDWARE

Square CEO Jack Dorsey said the company may create a bitcoin mining rig in a tweet on Friday, according to Business Insider.

“Square is considering building a bitcoin mining system based on custom silicon and open source for individuals and businesses worldwide,” CEO Dorsey said in a tweet late that day.

“If we do this, we’d follow our hardware wallet model: build in the open in collaboration with the community.”

MESUT OZIL RELEASING HIS OWN CRYPTOCURRENCY, CONTINUED

Fans who purchase it can trade it the same as Bitcoin and also get discounts on his gear plus there will also be opportunities to meet him.

Ozil is following in the footsteps of fellow footy stars Keisuke Honda and James Rodriguez by venturing into cryptocurrency.

IS MESUT OZIL RELEASING HIS OWN CRYPTOCURRENCY?

Former Arsenal star Mesut Ozil will launch his own cryptocurrency this week.

The 32-year-old playmaker, who left the Emirates for Fenerbahce in January, is expanding his M10 brand by creating a digital coin.

SunSport understands he will officially launch his cryptocurrency over the coming days.

WHO FOUNDED ALCHEMY PAY?

The cryptocurrency was co-founded by payments industry veterans Molly Zheng, Shawn Shi and John Tan.

Trading for Alchemy Pay first began in September 2020.

According to Alchemy Pay, it is the “world’s first” hybrid crypto and fiat payment gateway.

Through Alchemy Pay, users are allowed to receive payments in the local currency of their choice, regardless of how it is sent.

ALEXIS OHANIAN ON CO-FOUNDER OF ETHEREUM, VITALIK BUTERIN, CONCLUSION

“I’ve never been more excited about the potential of the Internet,” Ohanian added.

“And that’s largely thanks to Vitalik Buterin.”

Buterin is the co-founder of Ethereum and also co-founded Bitcoin Magazine in 2011.

ALEXIS OHANIAN ON CO-FOUNDER OF ETHEREUM, VITALIK BUTERIN, CONTINUED

“No one person could’ve possibly come up with all of the uses for Ethereum, but it did take one person’s idea to get it started,” Ohanian added about Buterin.

“From there, a new world has opened up, and given rise to new ways of leveraging blockchain technology—some of which I’ve invested in.”

“Whether it’s startups like Sorare reinventing fantasy sports or Rainbow users showing off their NFT collections, none of this would’ve existed without Vitalik’s creation.”

ALEXIS OHANIAN ON CO-FOUNDER OF ETHEREUM, VITALIK BUTERIN

“Thanks to Reddit’s r/Ethereum community, I’ve had the privilege of following Vitalik Buterin’s career from early on, which is why I’ve taken a certain pride in watching his legacy grow,” Ohanian wrote of the programmer.

“Sure, we can talk about the value he’s created as the platform’s co-founder, including Ethereum’s impressive market cap of around $400 billion, the dazzling world of decentralized apps and this year’s boom in the trading of NFTs.”

“What makes Vitalik so special, though, is that he is a builder’s builder.”

ONE OF THE CO-FOUNDERS OF ETHEREUM NAMED A TIME 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSON

One of the co-founders of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2021.

Former executive chair of Reddit Alexis Ohanian praised him in a write-up for the piece.

NFT’S CONTINUED

Crypto commentator Jonathan Marriott said NFTs provide a legitimate way of verifying ownership and tracking the origins of an item.

He said: “An NFT lets you record where and when something is made and track the whole process to verify that it is legitimate.

“The public blockchain element makes it irrefutable. No-one can fake it.”

WHAT IS AN NFT?

An NFT is an asset purchased with online cryptocurrency.

Owning an NFT means possessing an original work posted to the internet, which can include memes, art, or photos.

NFTs digitize a piece of work and get stored on the blockchain.

That means it cannot be replicated and is unique to whoever owns it.

GOXX: ‘DECISION TUNNELS’

The amount to be traded is determined when Goxx runs through one of two “decision tunnels”.

Depending on which tunnel he runs through, the amount he will buy or sell the cryptocurrency changes in 20 euro increments.

All of the data is rigged to a computer that makes the transactions in real-time on Goxx’s behalf.

GOXX’S CREATORS

Speaking to the BBC, the two 30-something German men behind the channel explained that the idea started as a joke.

“We felt that everything keeps getting more expensive these days and building savings is super-hard to achieve with high rents to pay,” they said.

“It seems like most people from our generation see no other chance than throwing a lot of their savings on the crypto market, without having a clue what’s going on there.

“We were joking about whether my hamster would be able to make smarter investment decisions than we humans do.”