Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin could potentially become superior to cash
BTC holds a maximum supply of about 21 million digital coins.
MicroStrategy, a publicly traded company in the US valued at over $1.2 billion, disclosed via an official statement that it would be adopting the world’s most valuable crypto as a “primary treasury reserve asset”.
“Since its inception over a decade ago, Bitcoin has emerged as a significant addition to the global financial system, with characteristics that are useful to both individuals and institutions. MicroStrategy has recognized Bitcoin as a legitimate investment asset that can be superior to cash and accordingly has made Bitcoin the principal holding in its treasury reserve strategy,” MicroStrategy CEO, Michael J. Saylor said. He also acknowledged that Bitcoin could potentially become superior to cash.
Data from Coin360 showed the flagship crypto-asset was trading above $11,700 with a market valuation above $216 billion and a daily trading volume of about $9.6 billion. This was as at the time this report was being drafted.
Why Bitcoin might be rising
What’s driving the most valuable crypto and its usage as an investment asset lately?
Well, many financial experts believe the sudden rise of crypto assets’ value might be due to the weakness in the US dollar.
The American dollar has fallen in recent months, on expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates near zero for the long term as a result of the financial disruption caused by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
Quick fact: BTC holds a maximum supply of about 21 million digital coins of which there are about 18.5 million in circulation, while over 4 million BTCs have already been lost forever. These show that its definite supply protects it asset against value dilution.
Recall that Nairametrics earlier gave valuable insights into why Bitcoin is now the most preferred asset to own among institutional investors.
Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, on his Twitter feed commented on the reasons companies are investing in cryptos. He said:
“Smart publicly listed company buys $250,000,000 worth of bitcoin, as a safe haven asset. Stimulus money flowing from Wall Street into bitcoin. Are you in front of or behind them?”
Smart publicly listed company buys $250,000,000 worth of #bitcoin, as a safe heaven asset.
Stimulus money flowing from Wall Street into #bitcoin.
Are you in front or behind them? https://t.co/1FYLZERjkS
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) August 11, 2020
The world’s fast-emerging financial juggernaut, Ripple, recently disclosed it is selling roughly 33% of its stake in MoneyGram. It is its first sale of such shares since Ripple invested in the popularly known American remittance firm in 2019.
Data retrieved from Ripple’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed Ripple owns 8.6% of shares outstanding in Moneygram or 6.22 million shares, including a warrant to purchase another 5.95 million shares for a total equity position of 12.2 million shares or 17% of MoneyGram’s shares outstanding.
Ripple disclosed it will be selling around 4 million shares, approximately 33.3% of its entire stake. After such a sale, the fintech company will still own at least 3.22 million shares or 4.44% of MoneyGram.
What you should know
MoneyGram is a fast-growing platform for cross-border P2P payments and money transfers around many countries.
Recall that Nairametrics exclusively broke the news in June, about MoneyGram receiving $20 million in funding from Ripple to enhance its payment solutions through a partnership system with many leading financial institutions.
- The funding by Ripple completes its $50 million offerings for some stake in MoneyGram to run its experimental program for testing the effectiveness of the digital token XRP.
- The deal would definitely give MoneyGram’s arch-rival, Western Union, a run for its money. Reports from different private sources, seen by Nairametrics, shows that Western Union is now bent on buying MoneyGram to scale its robust growth experienced lately.
Cryptocurrency
$385 million worth of Bitcoin moved by unknown identity
someone moved 22,816 BTC ($386M) in block 658,953 some hours ago.
Large entities are taking the center stage at the fast-changing financial market, amid strengthened price volatility seen at the flagship crypto’s (Bitcoin) market.
What we know
Data retrieved from, advanced crypto tracker, Bitcoin Block Bot, revealed that someone moved 22,816 BTC ($386M) in block 658,953 some hours ago.
READ: Two cryptos you should consider investing in
READ: 100,000 tons of cocoa stranded at ports due to CBN documentation – Cocoa exporters
Whale alert! 🐋 Someone moved 22,816 BTC ($386M) in block 658,953 https://t.co/ffndnEuLx6
— Bitcoin Block Bot (@BtcBlockBot) November 27, 2020
READ: Crypto: Financial market that never sleeps, or is under any central authority
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $17,048.47 with a daily trading volume of $28,874,917,829.
It’s critical to observe that recent price action in the flagship crypto market indicates that a significant number of buyers have been aggressively buying at the $16,000 price support level which is marked by large entities.
READ: Crypto: Large investors transfer over 700,000 Ethers
This further illustrates that the demand for bitcoin is relatively high, as bitcoin whales curb broader pullback, at least in the near term.
Nairametrics, predicts the increased buying pressures by such large entities are partly responsible for the relative rebound seen in the bitcoin market.
READ: Ripple locks 800,000,000 XRP, prices push up
Although it’s often difficult to predict movements in the crypto market, taking into account high volatility. BTC whales have shown historically that they often determine the BTC trend.
What this means from a macro level is that the increase in the number of these large entities can be considered bullish.
Explore Data on the Nairametrics Research Website
Cryptocurrency
Ripple on steroids, up 11%
Ripple recorded its highest percentage gain since November 24, gaining up to 10.61%.
Popularly known crypto asset, XRP, is recording significant appreciation in its price amid increased buying from global investors.
What we know
Ripple recorded its highest percentage gain since November 24. At the time of writing, it had gained 10.61%.
READ: PAX Gold: Crypto backed by gold but outperforms gold
- The move pushed Ripple’s market value to around $24.09 billion, or 4.83% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization.
- Also, the third most valuable crypto asset has been trading from $0.50451 to $0.58549 for some hours now.
- At such prevailing price, Ripple has plunged by 83.68% from its all-time high of $3.29 set on January 4, 2018.
READ: Germany’s biggest bank says more people now prefer Bitcoin over gold
XRP was designed by Ripple mainly to perform speedy, less costly, and more scalable alternative transactions for both crypto assets and existing monetary payment platforms like SWIFT.
Ripple owns more than half of the total supply of XRP. In late 2017, the company vowed not to sell all of its tokens (XRP) at once, keeping up to 55 billion XRP in protected escrow accounts.
READ: World’s biggest asset manager, BlackRock says Bitcoin will overtake gold
It plays a dual role as a payment platform and a currency. The platform is an open-source platform that is created to allow quick and cheap transactions.
Unlike its major crypto rival, Bitcoin, which was never intended to be a simple payment system, Ripple has gained the attention of major global banks such as Standard Chartered, and Barclays for international transactions worldwide.
Explore Data on the Nairametrics Research Website
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$385 million worth of Bitcoin moved by unknown identity
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