Author: Crypto News Guest Authors

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum Gas

ETH Price Holds Strong as London Hard Fork Goes Live Successfully

August 5 was D-day for Ethereum’s London hard fork and saw its price remain strong following a 12-day winning streak. The long-anticipated upgrade will bring improvements to the efficacy of transactions on the network until Ethereum 2.0 is deployed in 2022.

Ethereum has gone live with some significant changes to its network. Five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) are under way, the most notable being EIP-1559.

Saving on Transaction Fees

EIP-1559 is said to lower the transaction fees on Ethereum, but this is not entirely true. EIP-1559 will not so much lower the transaction fees as allow a better gauge of the actual transaction fee.

Users will no longer need to ‘cushion’ transactions with extra gas to ensure that miners process the transaction, allowing users to estimate the transaction cost more precisely and thus pay less. A developer at the Ethereum Foundation, Tim Beiko, has gone on to clarify that the cost will not be a “20x reduction” but instead a “20 percent reduction”.

‘Ultra-sound’ era

The London Hard Fork has introduced a deflationary model for Ether (ETH), with EIP-1559 setting the scene for what some have called an ‘ultra-sound’ era for Ethereum.

EIP-1559 will be destroying a large part of the high mining fees on Ethereum. The London hard fork means that transaction fees once paid to miners will now be burned and removed from circulation altogether.

The move has promoted Ethereuns to speculate that this will lead to a supply crunch as more of the coin is removed from circulation. Along with a decrease in supply, DeFi and NFTs within the Ethereum ecosystem increase the demand for Ethereum, so it is expected that the price of ETH will continue to rise.

The price has remained relatively stable following the London hard fork going live, with a drop of 0.14 percent in the past 24 hours. This follows a winning streak of 12 consecutive days and a price gain of 43 percent. 

It remains to be seen if the price of Ethereum has risen and will continue to rise due to a greater demand for the cryptocurrency.

By Jana Serfontein, Crypto News Australia Guest Author

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Blockchain Crypto News Gaming NFTs

Blockchain NFT Gaming Coins Are Soaring in 2021

This has been a year of unprecedented growth in blockchain non-fungible token (NFT) gaming coins. With some blockchain-enabled games seeing growth of almost 700 percent in a single week, digital games are becoming surprisingly profitable.

Playing Games and Earning Crypto

Mobile gaming, traditionally largely centralised, now benefits massively from NFTs, which allow gamers to transfer items that were won or purchased from one game to another game, thus conferring real-world value on digital in-game assets.

The transfer of NFTs outside of the ecosystems they were designed for gives them distinct value. Users have been found to spend 10-100x more on in-game NFT assets. This is because NFTs are unique and will remain with buyers forever.

To truly understand the extent of this phenomenon, let’s look at a few games that are realising mind-boggling growth.

StarLink

The price of StarLink ($STARL) token jumped a massive 40 percent over just 24 hours after a week of immense growth, with its trading volume rising 80 percent to just under US$29 million. The crypto gaming currency claims to be the “first 100 percent community-owned decentralised virtual space project” in which users can buy, sell and trade virtual satellites and spacecraft, and enact landings as they explore the solar system.

StarLink is following the ‘metaverse’ trend by creating a virtual world that can host data, ideas and NFTs. The company aims to evolve into a platform that offers visual and audio adaptations to drive NFT technology further, bringing it into real-world space and virtual reality concepts.

Splinterlands

NFT game Splinterlands is a new wave online collectible card game with the aim of replacing traditional trading cards. It has raised over US$3 million through a private token sale, which led to a price rally of over 100 percent for the newly issued token.

Online cards are minted as NFTs, meaning that players can own digital cards in the same way they would physical cards. The company has introduced a play-to-earn system where players can earn crypto rewards based on their in-game performance.

Splinterlands supports cross-compatibility blockchains to ETH, Tron and Wax, so that players can earn and trade coins.

FaraLand

FaraLand has been voted one of Binance Smart Chain’s top winning NFT projects.

The NFT metaverse game has gone up almost 700 percent in a week. This turn-based RPG game native to Binance Smart Chain makes use of NFTs to allow players involvement and ownership of their in-game assets.

Players own their warriors, pets, armour and items in the form of NFTs that are used to engage in “thrilling battle”. The in-game token, FARA, can be used to upgrade characters, reinvest in the game, and can even be cashed out for real-world prizes.

Flow

The price of Flow, a token from Dapper Labs, the company that brought you CryptoKitties, has risen from US$18.26 to US$27.56 following an announcement from Binance that it intends to list the project. The Flow blockchain is highly scalable and allows easy integration for third-party developers.

Fear

NFT-based horror game Fear has seen a growth in price of 429 percent in a single week in anticipation of the launch. Fear joins other video games in utilising crypto underpinnings and NFT mechanics to add another layer of player involvement and ownership.

Fear, the first horror game in a series native to the ETH blockchain, launched on July 20, and holders of the FEAR coin will have access to NFT trades and sales. Like other games, NFTs represent in-game items and allow users to become more involved than ever in the workings of the game.

Players will be able to earn FEAR coins by simply playing the game, and will be allowed to farm in-game items. This gamifies staking and yield farming and serves to strengthen the ties between crypto and gaming.

By Jana Serfontein, Crypto News Guest Author

Categories
Bitcoin Crypto News Ethereum

Family Still Can’t Access $6 Million from Original ETH Presale

An American family purchased 3,000 ETH in the 2014 presale, now worth a staggering US$5.8 million. Shockingly, they cannot access this fortune because of a password issue.

Yuki and Art Williams, of Washington DC, jumped at an opportunity to purchase 3,000 ETH coins in 2014 during a pre-sale offered by the Ethereum Foundation, the price of which has since skyrocketed. The couple used Coinbase and spent 1.5 bitcoin (BTC) to make the purchase.

The family claims that a password was created, but the all-important JSON file was never completely downloaded online. A JSON file is a small file that acts as a private key used to open a crypto wallet. The coins appear in the wallet, but the wallet cannot be opened.

The instructions were to leave your computer on for an hour and a half and as the progression bar showed it populating the JSON file would appear. Unfortunately for us, it did not appear.

Art Williams

Devastating Loss for Williams family

According to Art Williams, the foundation’s presale website instructed him to email the Ethereum Foundation, following which it would send an email containing a backup JSON file. This, however, did not happen.

Following this, Williams contacted the Swiss-based foundation to hand over proof of purchase and screenshots indicating the issue he was experiencing. When he did not hear anything back from the foundation, Williams contacted a law firm in Switzerland in 2018 to explore a solution to their problem.

Discussion of a settlement offer was reported, but since then the foundation has told Williams’ legal team that Ethereum has “no liability for lost wallets, passwords, and private keys”.

Making Sense of It All

It is clear that the Williams family has been pursuing this issue for years without success. Media company Mashable has been able to find what it believes to be the Williams wallet, which does in fact contain 3,000 ETH. The coins have remained untouched since July 30, 2015 – the actual date of the ETH launch.

Comments on the Etherscan transaction page confirm that the account belongs to Art and Yuki Williams. But some aspects of this saga do not make sense. A JSON file is a very small file and should take less than a few seconds to download.

The fact that the ETH presale page told Art Williams to wait “an hour and a half” for the file to download also makes no sense. A search of previous versions of the ETH presale page did not reveal any such indication.

‘Not Your JSON, Not Your Coins’

Speaking to Mashable, author and crypto critic David Gerard issued concerns regarding cryptocurrencies. Gerard explained that once you have spent fiat currency on digital coins, you should not expect anything in return. He added that once you buy a coin, your cash money is gone.

When investing in crypto, you worry about a bad investment and in the worst-case scenario you may lose your money entirely. This seems to be what has happened to the Williams family.

News such as this instills pain like that of British IT manager James Howells, who in 2013 accidentally threw out a hard drive containing 7,500 BTC.

Adding insult to injury, ETH is becoming increasingly scarce given its astronomic growth performance recently. Currently, there is less than 20 million ETH available on all crypto exchanges.

[It’s] devastating, to say the least. Obviously, that’s life-changing money.

Art Williams

By Jana Serfontein, Crypto News Guest Author

Categories
Bitcoin Cardano Crypto News Ethereum Tokens

Amazon to Enable Crypto Payments This Year, Says Insider

Digital retail behemoth Amazon will reportedly accept BTC as payment by the end of 2021. The possibility of a native token also seems to be on the cards. A job posting on Amazon’s website has sparked speculation of a big move into the crypto space.  

Update July 28: Amazon have dismissed the rumours stating:  “Notwithstanding our interest in the space, the speculation that has ensued around our specific plans for cryptocurrencies is not true … We remain focused on exploring what this could look like for customers shopping on Amazon.”

According to reports from an Amazon insider, the company will “definitely” be accepting BTC as payment by the end of this year with the possibility of a native token existing.

Amazon posted a job advertisement over the weekend for a “Digital Currency and Blockchain Product Lead” and wants someone who can “innovate within payments and financial system” to head up this position.

Not the First Time Amazon Has Advertised in the Crypto Field

The ad confirms recent speculation that the company will move to accept BTC and other cryptocurrencies as payment methods. An insider spoke to London business news publication City A.M. and gave a brief outline of Amazon’s plans for integrating crypto and blockchain technology.

This is not the first time that Amazon has posted a job offer in the crypto field. Twitter was abuzz with the news and this tongue in cheek job application stood out from the crowd.

According to the insider, Amazon will accept BTC payments by the end of 2021 and is not just going through the motions to set up crypto payments. The plan is an integral part of how Amazon will operate in the future.

Plans to move into crypto will start with BTC, but the company is keen to add other big cryptocurrencies once secure and fast methods of BTC payment have been established.

Should all go well with BTC, the company will then move on to accept Ethereum, Cardano, and BTC Cash before then bringing on about eight more of the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies.

The plan for adopting crypto reportedly comes from the very top of Amazon, Bezos himself.

Amazon Set to Launch Its Own Token

The involvement of a gigantic player such as Amazon will likely drive up the price of BTC and other larger alt coins. And Amazon’s plans for crypto do not stop here. It is reported that when all proposed crypto plans are integrated, the final move will be to create its own native token, reportedly by 2022.

The insider reported that after a year of experiencing crypto as a payment method, a move to tokenisation will take place.

This then becomes a multi-level infrastructure where you can pay for goods and services or earn tokens in a loyalty scheme. There’s little more to it, for now, but you can guarantee the Bitcoin plan will be monitored closely as opportunities with Amazon’s own version of a crypto will be explored.

Amazon insider

By Jana Serfontein, Crypto News Guest Author

Categories
Bitcoin Crypto News Investing Markets

Survey says 60% of Goldman Sachs Uber-Rich Clients Could Buy Crypto Soon

American banking giant Goldman Sachs has reported that 60 percent of family offices are interested in purchasing cryptocurrency and other digital assets. Fears about high inflation and currency devaluation seem to be encouraging this interest.

This revelation comes soon after the multinational investment bank alleged that cryptocurrency is “not a viable investment“.

The survey was conducted among 150 family offices of which 15 percent reported that they already owned digital assets, while a further 45 percent indicated they were interested in buying crypto in the future. Family offices refer to private wealth firms that manage the money of the world’s wealthiest individuals.

Fear of Monetary Debasement the Driving Force Behind Buying Crypto

Many firms are looking to crypto as an investment solution, citing it as a hedge against inflation, prolonged low interest rates and concerns about monetary debasement following a year of global fiscal stimulus.

While some are interested in acquiring crypto, 39 percent of global family offices have raised concerns regarding the long-term staying power of digital assets. Additionally, market volatility and issues with infrastructure surrounding crypto are also holding many back from entering the cryptosphere.

Goldman Sachs has found that interest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies varies geographically. The survey results concluded that 24 percent of family offices in the Americas have already invested money in digital assets, while only eight percent in both Asia and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) have.

Goldman Sachs Operating in the Cryptosphere

Goldman Sachs (GS) acknowledges that many investors continue to invest in real estate and equities, but a great deal also invest in special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). GS does, however, state that family offices have been interested in cryptocurrencies since the 2017 bull run.

The company has itself started to move into the world of crypto. Earlier this year, GS filed a BTC ETF application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, joining the likes of Morgan Stanley. Along with the all-important ETF filing, GS has begun facilitating BTC derivatives trading for clients, bridging the gap between BTC and Wall Street.

Meena Flynn, a Goldman Sachs private wealth management executive, has highlighted the significance of blockchain technology:

This technology is going to be as impactful as the internet has been from an efficiency and productivity perspective.

Meena Flynn, GS

Categories
Crypto News Gaming Mining

PlayStation 4 Mining Farm Was Mining FIFA Ultimate Team Cards, Not Bitcoin

The Ukrainian Security Service has uncovered the largest cryptocurrency mining farm in the country to date. It found 3,800 PlayStation 4s, 500 graphics cards, 50 processors, and laptops.

Initially thought to be for the mining of cryptocurrency, it turns out the gaming consoles were being used to mine valuable FIFA Ultimate Team football cards.

Farm Was Using Stolen Electricity

The mining farm was using stolen electricity worth five to seven million Ukrainian hryvnias (US$183,610 – $257,055) in a month. Money aside, the withdrawal of electricity may have much greater consequences as entire communities in the city of Vinnytsia were left without power.


PlayStation 4s used to farm FUT cards. Source: Ukrainian Security Service

FIFA Ultimate Team Mining Bots

FIFA Ultimate Team is a game mode in FIFA that allows users to build teams with players of their choosing based on the cards they own. They then compete with each other online to win coins allowing them to buy even better individual players and player packs.

The PS4s were being controlled by computers that ran bots to grind earn in-game currency. Afterward, accounts would be sold on the black market for profit. EA Sports has issued warnings that buying or selling in-game currency on the black market may result in a ban. It’s reported that the purchase of loot boxes makes up 30 percent of EA Sport’s total revenue.

Buying FIFA player cards can be done through the FUT Web App or the console, and some cards – such as that featuring Portugal captain and Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo – can fetch over US$1,000 as listed for sale on U7BUY card marketplace.

FIFA Ultimate Team Cards

We are starting to see more online games supporting in-game currencies, such as Counter-Strike’s CSGO allowing players to wager bitcoin when playing against others.

EA Sports reportedly has over US$1 billion in revenue across FIFA and related games, so the money involved in this industry is mind-boggling.

In June, Crypto News Australia reported how players can now wager on Counter-Strike games using a Bitcoin gaming wallet. Via Infuse technology, it allows players to scan a QR code, join a lobby and play Bitcoin-infused games.

By Jana Serfontein, Crypto News Guest Author

Categories
Bitcoin Crypto News

‘The Bitcoin Fund’ ETF Launches on Dubai Stock Market

In a first for the Middle East, a crypto-based exchange-traded fund (EFT) has been listed on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange.

The Bitcoin EFT, trading under the ticker symbol QBTC, was met with strong demand when it debuted on the Nasdaq Dubai on Wednesday, June 23.

Interest in QBTC has been strong on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange

‘The Bitcoin Fund’ has roughly US$1.5 billion in assets under management and is dual-listed, having been established by Canadian digital asset management firm 3iQ on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) in 2020. 

Expanding to the Middle East will capitalise on investor demand in the region and give people access to trade in their local time zone, according to 3iQ’s chairman and CEO Frederick Pye:

The idea is Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day … so our interest is to bring a regulated product to the Dubai market in their time hours.

Crypto EFTs Continue to Emerge Globally to Meet Demand

Canada was the first country to offer a crypto EFT on a major exchange in 2020 and now has multiple Bitcoin EFTs available on the Toronto Stock Exchange. 

Investment management firm Invesco – which holds US$1.5 trillion in assets – applied for two crypto-based EFTs in June 2021, joining a queue of companies waiting on the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to decide whether to give the EFTs the green light. 

Australia’s primary securities exchange the ASX is looking into the creation of a local EFT for cryptos to cater to demand, although the ASX has not specified a timeline for enacting such a mechanism.

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Tax

Australian Crypto Collateralized Loans Tax Questions Answered

What is a Crypto Collateralized loan?

A crypto collaterized loan is a type of borrowing where you stake cryptocurrency as collateral to borrow against funds receiving (typically another cryptocurrency).

Example of a crypto collaterized loan

For example to apply for a loan of $1,000 AUD worth of USDT stablecoin you could use $2,000 AUD worth of Bitcoin (BTC) as collateral which would set the LTV (Loan to Value Ratio) to 50%.

  • Borrowed Coin = The crypto that you borrowed from the loan.
  • Collateral Coin = The crypto that you used to fund for the loan.

This type of loan is also known as a CLO – collateralized loan obligation, where the Collateral Coin price vs the Borrowed Coin price can fluctuate based on the market directly affecting the LTV of the loan and produce a margin call or even liquidation.

Below are some common tax questions to help you with your fiat-liquidity crypto collaterized loan decisions.

Common Crypto Loan Tax Questions Answered

ASIC Rulings on Loans?

All lenders must be licensed with ASIC and have an Australian Credit Licence Number to be able to offer loans in Australia. Majority of crypto backed loans currently available are via non-Australian companies, and therefore don’t fall under the ASIC lending rules for offering crypto loans. Be aware that you are not protected under ASIC when taking a loan from an overseas crypto loan provider if problems were to occur.

Can you claim back the interest on the loan as a tax deduction in Australia?

If you have taken the loan for personal reasons, then the loan and the interest portion of the loan are not tax deductible. If the loan is being used for either business purposes or investment purposes, then the interest paid portion of the loan can be claimed back as a tax deduction against the earnings received from the business activity or investment income earned. It is best to seek professional advice to determine tax deductibility as everyone’s circumstances are different.

Do you pay capital gains tax on the Bitcoin once you’ve closed off the loan?

Because you have collateralized your loan with crypto, you still hold ownership of the original crypto that was collateralized. You would pay capital gains tax as normal upon disposal of that crypto. For the crypto that is received (the loan), if the value goes up in the time you received the loan to when you dispose of that crypto, then you will pay capital gains tax. If however, the value goes down, then it would be classed as a capital loss on disposal.

Are there any tax differences between lenders? Or its all the same?

There is no tax differences between lenders, except for the interest rate. If you have a higher interest rate, then you will receive a higher tax deduction if the loan is not for personal reasons. The main difference to consider between lenders would be creditably of the loan provider so check if they have an Australian Credit Licence Number with ASIC.

Do you pay tax on the loan when you borrow it? Ie If you borrowed $3,000 worth of LTC and then transferred it to AUD and withdrew it to your bank account.

You are not required to pay tax on the value of the loan borrowed but if the value of the crypto increases prior to disposing of it, then you would be required to pay tax on the difference. For example, if you borrowed $3,000 worth of LTC held on to it for a few days, then sold the LTC to AUD but because LTC value had increased over those few days, the value of AUD ($3,200) received into your bank account would be higher than $3,000. You would be required to pay tax on the difference being $200 capital gain. If you withdrew LTC to AUD bank account at the same value that you borrowed it, then although it is a disposal of LTC you would have no tax to pay.

If you repay (close) your loan and your Collateral Coin increased in value do you pay tax on that? It’s an unrealised gain so no right? However, if the value decreased are you able to claim that back (offset) somehow?

It only becomes a taxing event on disposal of the collateral coin. So if the value increases and you haven’t sold the collateral coin, then the gain is unrealised and not taxable yet. Likewise, if the value decreases and you haven’t sold the collateral coin, then the loss is unrealised, and not a taxable event until sold and therefore you are unable to claim the loss against other income.

If the loan gets liquidated, whats the Tax implications on that?

If the loan gets liquidated, then this means the crypto gets disposed to cover the loan. It becomes the taxing point for the crypto disposed. If the liquidation price is higher than the original purchase price of the crypto it will be a capital gain, otherwise it will be reported as a capital loss. Note that capital losses cannot just be offset against other ordinary income, they can only be offset against capital gains.

If you adjust the LTV ratio or or get a margin call and put more Collateral Coin into the loan, does that affect the tax in any way?

As long as you are not disposing of any cryptocurrency, then it is not a tax event. For example, if you just put more Collateral Coin into the loan, you are reducing the risk of the loan being margin called or being liquidated.

Does a Crypto Backed Loan get taxed differently if I am a Crypto Trader instead of a Crypto Investor?

If you are classified as a crypto trader because of the volume of crypto transactions that you are involved with, then you may not be able to use the capital gains method, which means that any unrealised gain you may make by the end of the financial year (30 June) will be taxable.

Any specific ASIC considerations for collateralized loans?

N/A

How to Get a Bitcoin Backed Loan in Australia

See our guide on How To Get A Crypto Backed Loan With Binance Australia for instructions on how to apply for a Bitcoin backed loan within Australia.

The answers in this article we’re provided to us by an Australian Tax Expert. If you spot any mistakes, or have any additional questions you would like to ask, please let us know.

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References

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Bitcoin Crypto News Digital Asset Mining Ethereum Institutions Investing

New Chinese Investment Fund Launches To Entice Asian Institutions Into Crypto

Huobi Asset Management Launches one of Asia’s Largest Virtual Asset Funds as announced on South China Morning Post.

Huobi (Hong Kong) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huobi Technology Holdings Limited and is one of the largest virtual asset funds in Asia, looking to meet the growing demand for cypto based investments. Huobi leads the way in the movement of intitutional adoption into cryptocurrency for the Asian market.

Following Grayscale (US), Huobi Asset Management is aimed at professional investors, offering them a virtual assets portfolio. Huobi Asset Management’s new crypto-based funds include a BTC tracker fund, ETH tracker fund, and a multi-strategy virtual asset fund.

Huobi is the second fund manager to receive approval from the Securities and Futures Commission to issue 100% virtual asset funds. Head of Huobi Asset Management, Gillian Wu, explains how the fund could be ideal for the new type of investor, looking to enter the cryptocurrency market.

“According to the professional investors’ knowledge level and risk appetite of virtual assets, we will advise our clients to choose the fund products that best suit their needs. For institutional, especially corporate clients, they want to allocate to virtual assets through a convenient and compliant channel to achieve diversification needs. 

Our Bitcoin and Ethereum tracker fund, in the way of traditional financial products, solves the worries of clients who have to research on their own how to custody, how to account, how to audit this novel asset class and whether there are tax uncertainties, etc. At the same time, some ultra-high net worth individual clients, as well as some large virtual asset miners, who have previously been passively holding their virtual assets, started to look for options to achieve better returns through different market cycles compared to simple passive allocation, thus our active multi-strategy virtual asset fund is born.” 

Gillian Wu

The first pioneers to shine a light on investing in cryptocurrencies were individual retailers. As Bitcoin and Ethereum become more well known and widely adopted, it is only natural that major institutions turn their attention to the crypto space and adapt to follow the trend.

Huobi will offer piece of mind to serious investors, as demand grows for those looking to invest millions. Huobi’s new fund will likely enjoy the success of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, which has been very well received.

Institutions Going Pro Crypto?

Below is a table of the recent cryptocurrency purchases by Institutions.

DateInvestorAmount
28 AprilNexon$100 Million
8 Apr 2021*Meitu$100 Million*
5 Apr 2021MicroStrategy$15 Million
18 Mar 2021Meitu$49 Million
12 Mar 2021*Purpose Bitcoin ETF AUM$900 Million*
12 Mar 2021MicroStrategy$15 Million
8 Mar 2021*Aker ASA$58 Million*
7 Mar 2021Meitu$40 Million
5 Mar 2021MicroStrategy$10 Million
Categories
Crypto News Dogecoin

Dogecoin Fans Are Getting Nervous About Elon Musk’s SNL Appearance

Is boom and bust part of the circle of life - or can Elon truly take Doge to the moon? (Image: Elon Musk/ Twitter)

He’s the ever-so-slightly eccentric billionaire whose fondness for Dogecoin has helped to send it soaring on a skyhigh price rally.

Now Doge fans are worried that Elon Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live will send the canine cryptocurrency anywhere but “to the moon”.

Forums and social media are ablaze with wild rumours that Elon will use his SNL gig to tell the world about Dogecoin, which hit a record high of more than $.58 and celebrated the milestone of reaching one million Twitter followers.

However, it’s feared that the SNL publicity boost for Doge could cause an unsustainable price rally and subsequent crash, wiping out new investors’ savings and rocking wider confidence in crypto.

One analyst said it was extremely likely that Elon would get involved in some sort of crypto-related stunt when he stands in as host of SNL on May 8.

“Dogecoin is surging because many cryptocurrency traders do not want to miss out on any buzz that stems from Elon Musk’s hosting of Saturday Night Live. Also known as the Dogefather, Musk will undoubtedly have a sketch on cryptocurrencies that will probably go viral for days and further motivate his army of followers to try to send Dogecoin to the moon.“

Ed Moya, Senior Market Analyst for The Americas at OANDA

On Reddit, reflections on the possible significance of Musk’s hosting of SNL were less muted.

One Reddit user made the unsubstantiated and false claim that Musk and SNL were involved in some sort of complex Dogecoin investment strategy.

“Put on your tin hats people,” he wrote before making some strong and slightly strange claims which cannot be published for very obvious legal reasons.

“Do you have any hope that there will be some educational value in Elon Musk’s Saturday Night Live appearance?” asked one hopeful Reddit user called Excalibug.

“Wouldn’t it be great if he and the writers of the show could explain significance and real world uses of blockchain (apart from making people rich overnight)?”

Not everyone was optimistic.

“Calling it now,” replied CryptoBumGuy.

“Musk won’t say anything about Doge and the price will have a sharp dip.”

Others warned that an Elon Musk Doge shoutout would cause a boom and bust which would send reverberations throughout the crypto economy.

“When Doge crashes, investors that actually thought Doge had potential and wasn’t just a meme are going to hurt the industry. They will take this L and make it seem all crypto is like Doge.

“This could lead to a huge crash for the entirety of the crypto market. Ignorant investors will kill us all.“

Reddit user JinToxi

Jasper Hamill – Crypto News Guest Author