Crypto

Michael Saylor, CEO of Nasdaq-listed Microstrategy, said the company invested another $15 million in Bitcoin after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday his company would no longer accept the cryptocurrency as payment for its electric cars.

"It's impossible for digital assets to go mainstream without clear regulation and sufficient safeguard," Vytautas Zabulis, CEO ofH-Finance, a digital asset trading company based in Vilnius, Lithuania, said in a research report.

Ethereum, the world's second largest cryptocurrency, soared to a record high Monday as investors placed their bets on the coin's future in commerce and looked for an alternative to Bitcoin's lofty valuation.

Surging demand for the cryptocurrency drove Square's first quarter profit to 41 cents a share, exceeding Wall Street's consensus estimate of 16 cents by about 156%

Countries are divided on cryptocurrency, with some looking to ban it, while others are seeking ways to incorporate it into their economic systems.

Bitcoin appears poised to climb higher despite a recent downturn and sluggish trading in a narrow range. Its funding rates have remained low, and suggest the market is set to advance.

Bitcoin's lofty valuation and manic price swings receive intense news coverage, but Ethereum may provide the foundation to build an alternative worldwide financial system.

The trading platform stated it had added Dogecoin due to demand. Meanwhile, Elon Musk has suggested the token will feature in his upcoming Saturday Night Live skit.

"The introduction of micro Bitcoin futures responds directly to demand for smaller-sized contracts from a broad array of clients and will offer even more choice and precision in how participants can trade regulated Bitcoin futures in a transparent and efficient manner, " CME Group said.

SafeMoon, a cryptocurrency launched last month, has released few details about its plan to set up an exchange.

Although some countries, including India, are considering banning Bitcoin, an outright ban in the United States is unlikely. Wall Street has embraced Bitcoin as an asset class, and derivatives are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

A recent survey of 1,015 of investors in cryptocurrency found that 54.3% believe Bitcoin will climb to $100,000 this year. The survey offered no analysis of the cryptocurrency's fundamentals or outside forces affecting its price.

The cryptocurrency has so far been listed on a number of smaller exchanges. Meanwhile some investors urge caution.

News that President Joe Biden will propose a significant increase in the capital gains tax sent Bitcoin's price below $50,000 for the first time since early March.

" An entire generation of investors is speculating on their own meme currency, which is essentially a parody of money," Seeking Alpha said in a report. "Behind Dogecoin is a rebelliously nihilistic and perhaps dangerous idea that meme money is no more real than actual currency."

"Given the massive move we've had in Bitcoin in the short run, things are very frothy, and I think we're going to have a major correction in Bitcoin," Scott Minered, firm's global chief investment officer at Guggenheim Partners in New York, told CNBC.

Cryptocurrency continues to gain wider acceptance in the marketplace despite Bitcoin's manic swings and Dogecoin's guffaws.

Dogecoin investors were hoping to see the cryptocurrency's price reach either $0.420, $0.69, or even $1 on Doge Day.

"A power outage in the Xinjiang region of China where a significant portion of Bitcoin mining takes place caused a very sudden dip in the global hashrate which, in turn, caused transactions to back up and fees to rocket temporarily," an analyst told Newsweek.

Bitcoin fell 4.32% in early trading Friday after Turkey banned the use of "excessively volatile" cryptocurrencies in commerce.

A survey of 1,000 Americans by MagnifyMoney, a division of Charlotte, North Carolina-based LendingTree, found that 62% of crypto investors believe they'll get rich.

Bitcoin surged to a new high Tuesday as investors bet on its growing strength as a long-term investment and increasing acceptance in commerce.

The cryptocurrency trading platform is scheduled to go public Wednesday via a direct listing on Nasdaq. Coinbase is a "unicorn"—a privately held company valued at $1 billion or more—and profits make it golden. It could be an 'Amazon moment' for investors.

The Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) said it plans to undertake research projects and lobby lawmakers to promote what it sees as the "transformational technology's promise" and to correct perceived misperceptions.

The crypto-currency is once again on the rise, but this time it's not the little people who are driving the train, it's the billionaires and big banks.

Is Bitcoin a "particularly vile asset class" indicative of an "extreme form of libertarian anarchism" or is it a precursor to an increasingly decentralized world powered by digital technology and a good inflation hedge against government-issued fiat currencies?

"Investor demand has never been higher, and every day we're seeing new entrants to what has surely become a bona fide asset class," Michael Sonnenshein, Grayscale's CEO, said in a statement.

Crypto in India may be heading to the crypt, as it considers a ban on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Government officials are drafting a report on proposed legislation and will submit it to the cabinet for review soon.

"The IRS has made crypto tax a top priority, as shown by the Operation Hidden Treasure initiative and training all their agents on 'virtual currency' [cryptocurrency]," Kell Canty, CEO of Verady, told Newsweek. "Analytics make crypto the most transparent and trackable asset ever invented."

The basic issue: spend the world's leading cryptocurrency now or buy and hold, betting on appreciation?