Cryptocurrency price news – China’s crypto ban sparks slide in Bitcoin and Ether

CHINA’S crackdown on cryptocurrencies has seen Bitcoin and Ether plunge in price after the country ruled all transactions in the digital assets were illegal.

Bitcoin’s price dipped about five per cent to $42,496.12, according to Coin Metrics data. Ether, the second-largest digital currency, dropped seven per cent to $2,921.53.

But Senator Pat Toomey hailed the decision of China’s central bank to declare cryptocurrency transactions illegal as a “huge opportunity” for the US.

In a tweet the GOP lawmaker wrote that the decision was also a reminder of America’s “structural advantage over China”.

“Beijing is so hostile to economic freedom they cannot even tolerate their people participating in what is arguably the most exciting innovation in finance in decades,” he added.

It comes after China said that mining for cryptocurrency tokens is banned.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) added: “Virtual currency-related business activities are illegal financial activities.”

The country previously banned financial institutions from offering crypto related transactions, and warned investors against speculative trading in them.

Read our cryptocurrency live blog for the latest news and updates…

WHERE DOES COINBASE REVENUE COME FROM?

The majority of Coinbase’s revenues come from Bitcoin and Ether on the Ethereum blockchain.

They are currently the number one and number two cryptocurrencies on the market, according to MarketWatch.
CRYPTO SCAMS

While the growth of Bitcoin has skyrocketed in some bank accounts, it’s also fueled the growth of crypto-related fraud operations.

The FTC reported that since October of 2020, nearly 7,000 people have reported losses of more than $80million in the US due to cryptocurrency scams.

That number is around 12 times, or 1,000 per cent more than reported losses from the period a year earlier.
CHINA’S STATEMENT

The PBOC said it will “resolutely clamp down on virtual currency speculation, and related financial activities and misbehaviour in order to safeguard people’s properties and maintain economic, financial and social order”.

It said that trading of virtual currencies had become “widespread, disrupting economic and financial order, giving rise to money laundering, illegal fund-raising, fraud, pyramid schemes and other illegal and criminal activities.”

Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital currency, and other cryptos cannot be traced by a country’s central bank, making them difficult to regulate.

The crypto crackdown opens the gates for China to introduce its own digital currency, which it is already working on and will allow the central government to monitor transactions.

AVOID CRYPTO SCAMS

As noted by Inverse, many phishing scams will attempt to impersonate a government agency or business to get your attention.

Some reports to the FTC said victims were contacted by scammers pretending to be the Social Security Administration and asked to deposit money into Bitcoin ATMs.

Other victims lost money to scammers posing as the cryptocurrency company Coinbase.
WHAT IS HASHGRAPH?

Hashgraph is similar to a blockchain and was created in 2017 by American computer scientist Leemon Baird.

The Hedera Hashgraph system is a distributed ledger built on Hashgraph and was created by Baird along with Mance Harmon.

HBAR is the cryptocurrency of the Hedera Hashgraph.
WILL CHAINLINK RISE TO $35?

Crypto investor Justin Bennett sees Chainlink rising to $35.

He told The Daily Hodl: “The $27.50 area could attract a few sellers as it’s the 50% retracement of the correction.

“That said, a daily close above $25 should flip the area to support.

“If Chainlink can get above the $27.50 area, there isn’t much stopping a run at $35.”
XLM’S PRICE

The XLM price or the value of a lumen as of August 27 is $0.335, according to CoinMarketCap.

Its value is down 1.99% over the past 24 hours but is up 253% compared with last year when the value was at $0.096 in August 2020.

XLM hit an all-time high of $0.938 in January 2018 and the closest it has got since then was $0.796 in May 2021.
RISKS OF BUYING ALGORAND

Here we explain the main risks of buying the Algorand coins and other digital currency.
- Consumer protection: Some investments advertising high returns based on cryptoassets may not be subject to regulation beyond anti-money laundering requirements.
- Price volatility: Significant price volatility in cryptoassets, combined with the inherent difficulties of valuing cryptoassets reliably, places consumers at a high risk of losses.
- Product complexity: The complexity of some products and services relating to cryptoassets can make it hard for consumers to understand the risks. There is no guarantee that cryptoassets can be converted back into cash. Converting a cryptoasset back to cash depends on demand and supply existing in the market.
- Charges and fees: Consumers should consider the impact of fees and charges on their investment which may be more than those for regulated investment products.
- Marketing materials: Firms may overstate the returns of products or understate the risks involved.
EL SALVADOR TO USE ALGORAND

There will be 10billion Algorand coins minted (ALGO) by 2030, according to coinmarketcap.

Algorand will be used by the government of El Salvador to develop blockchain infrastructure including Chivo, the nation’s bitcoin wallet according to Forbes.

The country hit headlines as the first in the world to make bitcoin legal tender.

Algorand has also come into the mainstream, signing a deal to sponsor the Drone Racing League, CNBC reports.

PYTH CAUSES CRASH

According to Bloomberg, an error on Monday caused the platform Pyth to incorrectly show that the price for Bitcoin was down to about $5,400.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Pyth apologised for the mishap.

“We are communicating with Pyth partners and data providers to ensure transparency, accuracy, and confidence in Pyth,” the platform wrote.

“We know our users depend on us and we’re working with affected partners on remedying the situation.

“Better developer documentation and guidelines on the usage of the Pyth oracle are underway, stay tuned.

“We deeply thank the community for the support you have shown us. Pyth will keep building toward the promise of delivering trustworthy, high-fidelity financial information.”
WHAT IS POLYGON?

Polygon is an Ethereum token that powers the Polygon Network, which aims to provide faster transactions on the Ethereum blockchain.

It was originally known as the Matic Network when it launched in 2017.

Polygon hit its highest ever level on May 18 when it rocketed to $2.4544.

The price has soared by around 9,200% this year – up from $0.01781 on January 1.
AUDIUS VALUE SOARS

After its deal with TikTok, the price of Audius has soared by 109% over the past 24 hours at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.

It’s price now stands at $3.55, up from $1.88.

However, it’s not a record-breaking high for the coin – in March, Audio spiked to $4.18, up from $2.50 just a day before as the platform’s profile began to build.

However, it plummeted soon after, and despite a rise in May, has fallen since until the end of July.
CRYPTO-POWERED MUSIC STREAMING

Audius is a crypto-powered music streaming platform.

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

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 over the last 24 hours following a deal with Chinese-owned social media giant TikTok.
RISKY BUSINESS

Remember that buying cryptocurrencies is always a risky business, and you should only invest what you can afford to lose.

They are extremely volatile, and your cash can fall as well as rise in the blink of an eye.

It’s important to only invest in things you understand, and some products and cryptocurrency services can be very complex.

Before investing you should do your research as cryptocurrency firms aren’t regulated like other financial companies.

This means that you won’t have any protection if things go wrong and you could lose all of your money.
WILL CHAINLINK RISE TO $35?

Crypto investor Justin Bennett sees Chainlink rising to $35.

He told The Daily Hodl: “The $27.50 area could attract a few sellers as it’s the 50% retracement of the correction.

“That said, a daily close above $25 should flip the area to support.

“If Chainlink can get above the $27.50 area, there isn’t much stopping a run at $35.”

BABY DOGE PREDICTIONS

Plenty of experts and crypto fans have made price predictions for Baby Doge, although they’re nowhere near guaranteed.

Given it only launched at the beginning of the summer, it’s especially important to take the forecasts with a pinch of salt.

And fans hoping for a $1 value will likely be waiting a long time given its current price of $0.000000000469.

For example, Wallet Investor has set a one-year forecast of Baby Doge at $0.000001.

While DigitalCoinPrice expects the crypto to hit $0.0000000007 this year and $0.0000000021 in 2028.
TETHER LAUNCH

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.
BITCOIN DROPS AFTER EL SALVADOR ADOPTION

The price of Bitcoin dramatically dropped more than 10 percent earlier this month as El Salvador suffered problems in the rollout of the cryptocurrency as its legal tender.

Bitcoin’s value crashed suddenly from $52,500 to below $44,000 on Tuesday, according to CoinMarketCap.
WHAT IS HASHGRAPH?

Hashgraph is similar to a blockchain and was created in 2017 by American computer scientist Leemon Baird.

The Hedera Hashgraph system is a distributed ledger built on Hashgraph and was created by Baird along with Mance Harmon.

HBAR is the cryptocurrency of the Hedera Hashgraph.
AVOID CRYPTO SCAMS

As noted by Inverse, many phishing scams will attempt to impersonate a government agency or business to get your attention.

Some reports to the FTC said victims were contacted by scammers pretending to be the Social Security Administration and asked to deposit money into Bitcoin ATMs.

Other victims lost money to scammers posing as the cryptocurrency company Coinbase.
TEZOS’ DIFFERENCES

Tezos makes itself distinct from other major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum, which uses proof-of-work blockchain in a few key ways

According to Tezos, its proof-of-stake algorithm not only costs less but is also more eco-friendly.

“The apparent growth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has helped to propel cryptos like Tezos from the niches of the cryptocurrency space,” Myron Jobson, a personal finance campaigner, and interactive investor told The Sun.

He adds that “more some investors have turned to other less established players like Tezos to experiment at lower costs.”

‘UNLIKELY GROWTH’

Charlie Barton, investment specialist at comparison site Finder, told The Sun the wider crypto market view is also important right now.

He added: “Many coins are unlikely to see much growth until it’s clear that sentiment is moving in a positive direction.”
PRICE OF SHIBA INU

The value of Shiba Inu is currently sitting at $0.000008384 and it’s up by more than 25% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.

In comparison, the tokens hit their highest ever level at $0.00003641 on May 11 – but they have since dropped in value.

It’s difficult to predict how Shiba Inu’s price will change in future due to a wide number of factors affecting it.

This includes regulatory crackdowns around the world, comments by high profile individuals such as Elon Musk, and other developments.
PYTH CAUSES HUGE BITCOIN DROP

According to Bloomberg, an error on Monday caused the platform Pyth to incorrectly show that the price for Bitcoin was down to about $5,400.

That would have represented a catastrophic drop from around $50,000 earlier this month.

A number of Bitcoin fanatics sounded the alarm online, but it turned out they had nothing to worry about.

Pyth, which provides financial data to a number of major investment firms, confirmed in a tweet on Monday that a glitch was behind the issue.
ETHEREUM’S PRICE

The price of Ethereum (ETH) is currently sitting at $3,084 – up by more than 5% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.

It’s down 26% since its all-time high of $4,168.70 on May 10, 2021.

However, it’s up by from $775 on January 1, meaning it has rocketed by around 300% since the beginning of the year.

But there’s no guarantee the price of Ethereum will rise this much again – or even that it will rise at all as cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile.

Before Ethereum started rising this year, its previous all-time high was on January 14 in 2018, when it hit $1,291.92.