Cryptocurrency
Ethereum whales on the rise, as Ether hits $420
Two unknown ETH whales separately moved 189,735 Ethereum coins worth about $80.88 million.
Ethereum whales have been making huge transactions in recent days, moving the second most valuable crypto more frequently, as DeFi tokens gain tractions thereby pushing the price above $420.
Data from an advanced crypto tracker, Whales Alert, showed that two unknown ETH whales separately moved 189,735 Ethereum coins worth about $80.88 million, transferred from an unknown wallet some hours ago.
READ: ChainLink now the 5th most valuable crypto, gains 418% since July 1
🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 175,823 #ETH (74,974,108 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to unknown wallet
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) August 31, 2020
13,912 #ETH (5,910,780 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #GateIO
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) August 31, 2020
Why the move?
Nairametrics believes that the recent whale movements were triggered by the DeFi token phenomenon which uses the ERC-20 protocol for facilitating transactions. Ethereum 2.0, the long-term protocol upgrade of Ether’s parent network, is set to launch its final testnet this month.
Defi, in short, is the use of blockchain technologies (including smart contracts, decentralized asset custody, etc.) to replace all “intermediaries” with programme codes, therefore maximizing the efficiency of financial services whilst minimizing costs.
READ: Plentywaka raises $300,000, seeks partners as it launches operations in Abuja
These digital assets are designed on Ethereum codes, and usually exhibit characteristics that include having protocols and financial smart contracts
What are Ethereum whales?
In the Ethereum world, traders or investors who own a large number of Ethereum are typically called whales. This means an Ethereum whale would be a single Ethereum address owning around 1,000 Ethereum or more.
Things you need to know about Ethereum
Ethereum is a cryptocurrency designed for decentralized applications and deployment of smart contracts, which are created and operated without any fraud, interruption, control or interference from a third party.
READ MORE: 200 Bitcoins worth $2.4 million to be won as prize money
Ethereum is a decentralized system, fully independent, and is not under anybody’s authority. It has no pivotal point, and its platform is connected to thousands of its users through their computing system around the world, which means it’s almost impossible for Ethereum to go offline.
Cryptocurrency
Crypto market surges above $2 trillion, as Bitcoin stages a huge comeback above $60,500
The global crypto market value at press time stood at $2.05 trillion, a 3.85% increase over the last day.
The flagship crypto is recording a significant buying spree as Bitcoin bounced above the $60,500 price level once again.
The global crypto market value at press time stood at $2.05 trillion, a 3.85% increase over the last day, with Bitcoin having a market value of $1.123 trillion and a circulating supply of 18,678,481 BTCs
Bitcoin’s price is currently $60,638.55.
READ: Bitcoin miners are consistently earning $50 million daily
Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 55.36%, an increase of 0.21% over the day.
Investors are moving their funds to Bitcoin after an avalanche of COVID-19 stimulus shocked the crypto market since last year amid fears of rising fiat inflated currencies coupled with leading business brands adding more buying pressures on Bitcoin with BNY Mellon, America’s oldest bank giving its approval on the new digital gold as it makes a debut into mainstream investment assets.
Consequently, MicroStrategy now has 91,579 BTCs worth about $5.54 billion while Tesla holds 32,608 BTCs, hinting that more global business brands may take such route to hold the most popular crypto as a treasury tool amid concerns that just 21 million BTCs will ever exist with about 4 million BTCs already lost forever.
READ: Less than 4 million Bitcoins available for buying
Recent price action suggests that bitcoin bulls are holding on tight as they built strong support around the $58K area.
Strong #Bitcoin support building around this $58K area. pic.twitter.com/dFp1E7aOOT
— Yann & Jan (@Negentropic_) April 8, 2021
READ: XRP posts a big bang, as legal tussle with SEC lingers
That being said, crypto pundits argue that bitcoin still faces strong headwinds in the coming months amid growing regulatory concerns. There is also the bias that its high volatility is making it challenging for some traditional investors to come on board and its massive electrical consumption via the blockchain has also put it at odds with many environmentalists.
Billionaire Watch
Meet the billionaire twins who bought $10m worth of Bitcoin when it still sold for $8
The Winklevoss twins’ early investment in Bitcoin has propelled them into the billionaire league.
The digital asset economy has made many people rich. The current worth of Bitcoin, a digital asset that was trading a little above $100 in October 2013, is now near $60,000!
While many people were smart enough to invest in Bitcoin early, not many had the guts to go all out for it. Today, we are going to look at the identical twins who were crazy enough to invest heavily in cryptocurrency. The twins started investing in Bitcoin as early as 2012.
They are currently listed on the Forbes Billionaire List amongst the newcomers who reached a billion-dollar status due to their Bitcoin investing.
READ: Why intelligent investors are secretly buying Bitcoin
Meet the Winklevoss twins (worth $3 billion each)
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are currently worth $3bn each. They started investing in Bitcoin as early as 2012 when the cryptocurrency still sold for $8 and splurged a whopping $10m to purchase the crypto asset, making them one of the biggest and earliest investors in cryptocurrency.
Their gamble paid off and today, they are worth a collective $6bn.
READ: Brutal losses hit crypto market amid fear of regulation
More investments in crypto
The Winklevoss twins are not slowing down, they are instead, making further investments in cryptocurrency. Recently, they invested in a Bitcoin lending start-up named Block-Fi which is now valued at $3bn.
Battle with Mark Zuckerberg
The Winklevoss twins are no strangers in Silicon Valley. They were Mark Zuckerberg’s classmates at Harvard and they once accused the tech billionaire of stealing their idea for Facebook.
A bitter legal battle between the two ended in the twins receiving significant cash and Facebook stock compensation from Zuckerberg. Some of their cash compensation was invested in cryptocurrency and it has indeed, paid off.
READ: U.S SEC Chair nominee says Bitcoin is transforming global finance
What you should know
In their early days, cryptocurrencies witnessed an unstable growth path, rising and falling occasionally. This discouraged many people from investing heavily in it. The Winklevoss twins took the risk on Bitcoin and are now billionaires on Forbes list. Currently, they run their company, Gemini, a regulated cryptocurrency exchange, wallet and custodian that makes it simple and secure to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies.
