Cryptocurrency price LIVE – Coinbase news revealed as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Shiba Inu won crypto market in 2021

China stopped its crypto exchanges

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.

Russia considers crypto ban, part two

The proposed ban on cryptocurrency investments comes as Russia was said to be working on its own ruble-backed digital currency.

Roughly $5billion in crypto transactions take place in the country annually, and nearly 12 percent of the population may already own crypto, according to Fortune.

That was compared with a little more than 8 percent of the US population that owns crypto.

Russia also reportedly invested in crypto in 2019 to limit the impact of sanctions over meddling in the 2016 US Election, Fortune reported.

Russia considers crypto investing ban

Russia’s central bank is reportedly looking to ban cryptocurrency investments amid its longtime skepticism of digital currency.

The ban by the country’s financial authority would prevent future transactions, Fortune reported, but it wouldn’t require current holders to divest their portfolio.

The central bank gave digital currencies legal status in 2020 but did not authorize their use as a means of payment, according to Fortune.

Donating with cryptocurrency

Churches are starting to see more donations made using cryptocurrency, according to Christianity Today.

James Lawrence told the news organization that donations made on his platform Engiven using the virtual currency were slow in 2019 and 2020.

By fall of 2021, the platform had processed cryptocurrency donations for more than 700 nonprofits.

The list of recipients includes well-known organizations like The Salvation Army and Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Up to 400 recipients were churches, Lawrence said, as more congregations move to accept the digital currency.

Sending cryptocurrency on WhatsApp

WhatsApp, a popular messaging app, is testing a cryptocurrency payment feature for some users in the US.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, owns WhatsApp and is letting some users send and receive Pax Dollars.

Pax currency is deemed a “stablecoin” because it’s connected to the US dollar.

The feature is powered by Novi, Meta’s digital wallet.

According to Novi, making payments will be easy, like sending other kinds of attachments in WhatsApp.

There’s no word on when the cryptocurrency payment feature might roll out to more users and countries.

Why is Bitcoin bad for the environment?

The problem surrounds the amount of energy used to mine a single Bitcoin.

Computers are needed for complex mathematical calculations to put a new Bitcoin into circulation online.

This process is also known as mining.

A lot of energy is needed for Bitcoin mining and some experts are concerned that vast amounts of fossil fuels are being used to create this energy.

Play-to-earn gaming, part two

The new play-to-earn gaming model that rewards gamers with cryptocurrency for playing isn’t technically free.

Gamers could have to spend $1,000 or more in order to start earning in the Axie Infinity universe, according to Forbes.

The popular platform for play-to-earn gaming requires beginners to have three “Axies,” which are available for purchase on the game’s Marketplace Dashboard.

Participants can then earn cryptocurrency for selling potions, breeding rare Axies, and playing various games.

What is play-to-earn gaming?

A unique model called play-to-earn gaming is driving non-fungible token (NFT) and cryptocurrency growth, Forbes reported.

Axie Infinity is the most popular platform for play-to-earn gaming at the moment.

It allows users to build a collection of “Axies” that players can use across its universe of games.

The company then uses Blockchain to reward players for gaming, according to Forbes.

Any digital assets earned by participants can be sold on the platform or traded outside Axie Infinity’s universe.

Trader on cryptocurrency losses, part two

The investor didn’t give up on new coins and bought into SHIB after hearing rumors that it had been found in Tesla‘s source code and would potentially be used as a payment option for the company.

The rumor turned out to be untrue, leaving the trader in the red again.

The third and last time was before the new coin Matic was announced. The trader said they bought up the coin too close to the announcement date.

“Anyway, don’t believe in rumours and hype, just stick to your usual crypto plan”, the trader said.

Trader details their cryptocurrency losses

An investor revealed online how they lost a fortune after buying cryptocurrency based on rumors — three times.

The anonymous trader described the losses on Reddit, saying their first loss on Cardano hurt the most.

“Everything about the announcement seemed legit: It’s not a sh**coin, Smart contracts are a thing and there was a lot of hype,” the trader said.

The trader said as soon as Cardano went live, its price tanked leaving the trader at a huge loss.

What is an NFT marketplace?

An NFT is a non-fungible token.

Non-fungible tokens, in contrast to Bitcoin, are each unique and cannot be replaced by something else.

The majority of NFTs exist within the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is a cryptocurrency that has the ability to support NFTs.

NFTs can be anything digital, and are commonly being used as a way to buy and sell digital art.

An NFT marketplace is used to list NFTs and ensure they are accessible for trading.

Marketplaces allow users to promote their NFTs, where buyers can browse through and bid on what they would like to purchase.

What is Ethereum?

Ethereum is a cryptocurrency that was released in 2015. It’s the second largest after Bitcoin.

In fact, some experts believe it has the potential to one day overtake Bitcoin as the dominant coin in the market.

It was founded by eight people, one of which is 27-year-old cryptocurrency “celebrity” Vitalik Buterin.

He recently became the world’s youngest crypto billionaire as Ethereum soared in value.

Ethereum is also a ledger technology – using “blockchain”, like Bitcoin – that companies are using to build new programmes.

Elon Musk says Dogecoin is best for transactions

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX says Dogecoin is the best cryptocurrency for transactions.

Elon Musk told Time Magazine that the meme coin is better suited to transact with over Bitcoin for two reasons.

He said the transaction volume of Bitcoin is low and the cost per transaction is high.

Musk said he believes Bitcoin is more suitable as a store of value while Dogecoin “encourages people to spend, rather than sort of hoard.”

Major meme coins, part two

Another dog meme that has picked up traction this year has been Saitama inu, whose logo appears to feature a wolf surrounding a human face.

“Tokens like Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, and newest gainer Saitama are all a part of the evolution of digital finance in their own unique way,” Chris Kline, chief operating officer and co-founder of Bitcoin IRA, recently told The Sun.

Separately, Tiger King is a meme coin based on the popular Netflix series that picked up strong momentum.

The major meme coins

The surge of the meme coins this year all started with Dogecoin.

That was then followed by Shiba Inu, which both feature the same dog breed in their logos.

The image became a popular internet meme called doge, and it features the dog surrounded by text in the comic sans font with words like “much wow.”

Both Shiba and Dogecoin have been popular dog meme coins this year.

What are meme coins?

A meme coin typically gains off a social media or an internet-based joke.

It all started with GameStop and AMC earlier this year, when a Reddit mob trolled short-sellers by driving up the prices of those stocks.

The memes then spread over to cryptocurrencies – and there are now a few major ones today.

Crypto wealth and luxury goods

Cryptocurrency wealth is leading to a new generation of luxury consumers in the United States, according to Markets Insider.

The news organization pointed to a report from investment bank Jeffries, which found young buyers are spending crypto winnings on expensive jewelry, apparel, and accessories.

The group, comprised of people under 35, is increasingly buying artwork such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), in addition to luxury brands.

While Chinese consumers are still the major force in luxury spending worldwide, the report said American buyers are set to propel luxury sales beyond pre-pandemic levels.

Apple plans for crypto

Cook continued by saying that although Apple was looking at cryptocurrency technology, it’s “not something we have immediate plans to do.”

An Apple Pay executive said in 2019 that the company sees “long-term potential” in cryptocurrency.

But it seems like crypto fans shouldn’t get excited, because even if Apple does introduce cryptocurrency products or services in the future, it doesn’t seem like it will happen anytime soon.

Apple CEO Tim Cook owns crypto

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently revealed he owns cryptocurrency.

At the New York Times DealBook conference, Cook was asked if he owns Bitcoin or Ethereum and said, “I do. I think it’s reasonable to own it as part of a diversified portfolio,” according to CNBC.

“I’m not giving anyone investment advice by the way,” he noted.

DogeZilla: The next meme coin

A newly-launched cryptocurrency, DogeZilla, exploded out of the gate.

Within its first eight days of existence, DogeZilla was said to have grown into a super microcap of $500million from just $50,000. 

Billionaire Elon Musk also got involved with DogeZilla by posting a tweet.

Replying to a tweet about an underwater mud volcano, he wrote: “Cover story for Godzilla obv.”

What is Dogezilla?

Founded by someone with the alias of 9ZEROES, DogeZilla models itself as a community-based project. 

DogeZilla claims it aims to make the crypto space safer for users.

According to DogeZilla’s whitepaper, it has a vault that verifies crypto launches.

It says: “Obviously, it is not a 100% fool-proof method because that simply doesn’t exist in this space, but reducing risk to the highest degree is the purpose of Vault.”

Moreover, users can gather DogeZilla tokens by holding.

Specifically, “5% Holder Rewards are dispersed to all token holders relative to their holding percentages,” DogeZilla claims. 

For upcoming projects, DogeZilla is planning to launch an NFTs Invasion Series in early 2022. 

Its logo features an amused dog in what appears to be a dinosaur costume. 

UK regulator bans two football club ads

The Advertising Standards Authority, the UK’s advertising regulator, has banned two “fan token” promotions by Arsenal Football Club.

The ASA said the club was “taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity, trivialising investment in crypto assets, misleading consumers over the risk of investment and not making it clear the ‘token’ was a crypto asset,” The Guardian reported.

Arsenal told the news outlet that it would seek an independent review of the ruling “to seek greater clarity on the ASA’s current position”.

Crypto losses and tax benefits

Investors can claim deductions on cryptocurrency losses that can lessen tax liabilities or result in a refund, according to Coindesk.

Any losses can be used to offset capital gains, and if you have no gains, you can claim a deduction.

The Coindesk article explains the IRS code and other ways to put cryptocurrency losses to work.

Real estate brokers paid in crypto

A finance firm is offering brokers commission payments in the form of cryptocurrency.

RLTY Capital is the first to roll out crypto payments for real estate brokers, according to Yahoo Finance.

The CEO of the firm told the news outlet that crypto can help agents cut out intermediaries and avoid payment processing fees.

Record crypto investments, part two

The crypto industry blew up in 2021 with crypto exchanges, start-ups dealing with NFTs, and play-to-earn gaming all highlighted as factors by Fortune.

Increasing interest in the Metaverse also led to multi-million dollar investments.