Category: Ripple

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Crypto News EOS Litecoin Market Analysis Ripple Trading

Top 3 Coins To Watch Today: XRP, LTC, EOS – October 11 Trading Analysis

Let’s take a closer look at today’s altcoins showing breakout signals. We’ll explain what the coin is, then dive into the trading charts and provide some analysis to help you decide.

1. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple XRP is the currency that runs on a digital payment platform called RippleNet, which is on top of a distributed ledger database called XRP Ledger. While RippleNet is run by a company called Ripple, the XRP Ledger is open-source and is not based on blockchain, but rather the previously mentioned distributed ledger database.

XRP Price Analysis

At the time of writing, XRP is ranked the 6th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$1.59. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

After retracing nearly 68% from its highs, XRP has wicked into the monthly gap beginning near A$1.32. This wick formed the bottom of the current range.

The price shows no apparent signs of a longer-term reversal, which may mean that the closest resistance near A$1.85 will continue to suppress the price. However, some support could be found near the monthly open, possibly giving bulls footing for a stop run through the swing high at A$1.66. 

This move could continue into resistance near A$1.71 and spike through the relatively equal highs near A$1.77. A break of the next swing high near A$1.83 is likely to find resistance once it reaches A$1.90. If this move occurs, it may suggest a longer-term reversal.

A retest of possible support near A$1.46 could provide an entry for a short-term trade. However, there is a higher probability for more substantial support near A$1.40 after a run on the lows at A$1.37 and A$1.30.

2. Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin LTC is a cryptocurrency that was designed to provide fast, secure and low-cost payments by leveraging the unique properties of blockchain technology. The cryptocurrency was created based on the Bitcoin protocol, but it differs in terms of the hashing algorithm used, hard cap, block transaction times and a few other factors. Litecoin has a block time of just 2.5 minutes and extremely low transaction fees, making it suitable for micro-transactions and point-of-sale payments.

LTC Price Analysis

At the time of writing, LTC is ranked the 15th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$243.57. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

LTC has dropped nearly 75% from its highs, with the current low’s wick on July 21 taking stops below two major swing lows.

The resulting bounce found resistance near A$310.08, which could continue to cap upward movement. If the price finds support in the current region near A$236.17, it could continue to resistance just above the relatively equal highs near A$257.83. A more substantial move might run stops above the swing high near A$265.10 into resistance near A$270.92.

A break below the monthly open is likely to target buy stops near A$230.46, an area that could provide some support. A move below this level could target below the swing low at A$214.88, possibly reaching the gap beginning near A$203.55.

3. Eos (EOS)

EOS is a platform that’s designed to allow developers to build decentralised apps. The project’s goal is relatively simple: to make it as straightforward as possible for programmers to embrace blockchain technology and ensure that the network is easier to use than rivals. As a result, tools and a range of educational resources are provided to support developers who want to build functional apps quickly. EOS also aims to improve the experience for users and businesses. While the project tries to deliver greater security and less friction for consumers, it also vies to unlock flexibility and compliance for enterprises.

EOS Price Analysis

At the time of writing, EOS is ranked the 40th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$6.49. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

EOS‘s nearly 83% drop from its May highs found a low near A$4.65 in July before closing over a short-term high around A$8.35 last month.

This daily close over the high could signal a shift in market structure that might reach probable resistance near A$7.36. A sustained bullish move may target the swing high at A$7.84. If this stop run occurs, a run beyond the high into probable resistance near A$8.15 and A$8.49 is possible.

Bulls could buy a retracement to possible support near A$5.82, just above the monthly open. A bearish turn in the marketplace may propel the price toward possible support near A$5.48. 

However, relatively equal lows near A$5.30 and A$5.12 provide an attractive target for bears if the market resumes its bearish trend. A run on these lows might find support between A$4.95 and A$4.85.

Where to Buy or Trade Altcoins?

These coins have high liquidity on Binance Exchange, so that could help with trading on AUD/USDT/BTC pairs. And if you’re looking at buying and HODLing cryptos, then Swyftx Exchange is an easy-to-use popular choice in Australia.

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Bitcoin Cardano Crypto News Ethereum Markets Ripple Solana Trading

$2.5 Billion Longs Liquidated As Crypto Market Sees Sudden Drop

Over the past two days, more than US$2.5 billion longs have been liquidated as the crypto market sees yet another drop.

Traders woke up to a rough Monday as the crypto market saw up to double-digit percentage losses across the board. The sudden drop saw Solana, Cardano and Ripple (XRP) drop millions from their market caps, and Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) plunge 10.4 and 14.7 percent respectively over the past seven days, according to data from CoinGecko.

More than $1B got liquidated in this 24 hours, therefore making total liquidation in 2 days more than $2.5B! from CryptoCurrency

What are Liquidations?

Liquidations occur when traders borrow excess capital from exchanges or brokerages to place bigger bets on the assets they trade, known as margin trading or trading futures.

Traders pay a fixed fee for borrowing while exchanges close out these positions at a predetermined price. If a trader’s collateral is equal to the loss on that position, a trade then becomes ‘liquidated’.

Of all the traders liquidated in the past few days, a shocking 91 percent of them were in the ‘long’ market. Being in the long market means traders had put on positions betting on higher asset prices.

According to data from Bybt, 136,690 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours, while the total value of liquidations during that period reached over US$635 million.

Total liquidations observed. Source: Bybt

Investors REKT

Liquidations of US$236 million BTC and US$216 million ETH were recorded, while large-cap altcoins such as Solana (SOL) and XRP saw liquidations worth US$26 million and US$17 million respectively in that 24-hour period.

The largest single liquidation order took place on Bitfinex-ETH, to the value of US$14.52 million.

The dip has investors confused and fuming as the market drop comes only days after BTC had reached a “Golden Cross”. One Reddit user aptly described his dismay at the situation:

Today’s dip is proof that TA is useless. “Golden Cross” my ass from CryptoCurrency

The golden cross is a chart pattern that is generally seen as an indicator of bullish price action to come, but this is not always the case. Given the market is more mature, diminishing returns ought to be expected.

Investors should approach with caution, and not rely on a single indicator to guide them. Many factors influence the price, none of which is predictable.

Just a ‘Bit’ Too Soon

September is proving itself to be a worthy opponent to those finding their way in the crypto market.

Investors are still reeling from the previous round of liquidations on September 7, in which over US$3.7 billion worth of cryptos were liquidated after BTC and other major altcoins tanked.

During that period, a total of 375,824 traders were forced out of the market after becoming overleveraged as sudden crypto price drops were experienced.

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Crypto News Regulation Ripple

SEC vs Ripple Lawsuit: SEC Accused of Erasing XRP Documents

In a sensational development pertaining to its case against Ripple in the US Federal Court, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been accused of “deleting” material relevant to Ripple’s lawsuit.

Ripple’s action is in response to SEC allegations that it raised over US$1 billion from the sale of unregistered digital asset securities including XRP, Ripple’s payment protocol.

Former SEC Corporate Finance Director Warned Ripple to Cease and Desist

The erasure accusation made by Ripple relates to a deposition transcript by William Hinman, SEC’s former corporate finance director, in which Hinman said he met with Ripple representatives and told them he considered Ripple’s sales of XRP to be sales of securities, and that Ripple should stop its unregistered sales.

Lawyers for Ripple claim the transcript seems to indicate that the SEC tried to delete material directly related to Hinman’s testimony. Reid Figel, for Ripple, pointed the finger at SEC Special Counsel Michael Seaman.

“In our review of the metadata, it says ‘deleted by Michael Seaman’,” Figel alleged.

SEC lead counsel Jorge Tenreiro then asked Hinman if he directed Seaman to delete the material, and whether he remembered doing so. Hinman replied: “I don’t recall directing him to do that.”

Much of the deleted portion of the SEC document was Hinman’s answer to the question: “Other than the issues with respect to Ripple, can you identify any other lawyers that came to you … seeking guidance with respect to transactions in digital assets?”

His response was colourful, to say the least:

You call 10 different law firms, they’ll give you 10 different answers, and each of them has their own particular spin. It’s like the white light of your speech went through a prism and came out in 10 different shades of legal advice.

William Hinman, former corporate finance director, SEC

Ripple Refuses to Hand Over Internal Slack Messages

This followed earlier testimony in the case where Ripple explained to Judge Sarah Netburn why it refuses to hand over internal Slack messages and other communications to the SEC.

The SEC’s extraordinary demand calls for an extensive and costly fishing expedition that would likely take months to complete and come at very significant cost. [We’re talking] over one million pages of discovery, including emails, documents, text messages, and responsive Slack messages [involving] 33 custodians.

Ripple’s letter to Judge Sarah Netburn, SEC vs Ripple

The SEC vs Ripple lawsuit is likely to present regular updates throughout the rest of the month up until August 31, the deadline for fact discovery.

Ripple’s legal team continues to insist that it falls outside of the SEC’s charter and that the federal case is “dead wrong”. Whatever the outcome, the market is betting that Ripple will prevail and its management team will press ahead with a public offering to raise its profile and a significant pool of funds. 

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Blockchain Cardano Crypto News NFTs Ripple

ADA and XRP Surge 43.3% and 56.8% Respectively in Past 7 Days

Cardano (ADA) and Ripple (XRP) have made headlines recently for the immense growth they have shown. Coupled with a bull market, news from both has led to impressive surges in price.

Ripple is a technology that acts as a cryptocurrency and a digital network for financial transactions. Being one of the fastest and most scalable digital assets, the technology allows real-time global payments to take place from anywhere in the world.

The RippleNet payment platform acts as a real-time gross settlements (RTGS) system to enable global monetary transactions to occur instantly. XRP is the cryptocurrency native to the XRP Ledger.

At the time of writing, XRP was trading at A$1.74 and had grown 56.8 percent in the previous seven days.

Amid an ongoing battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ripple has made headlines as its price continues to surge.  

In the case brought forward by the SEC against Ripple Labs, the company has been asked to submit its Slack messaging history. According to the SEC, the slack messaging will yield critically important information to its case.

Ripple, however, remains steadfast in its defence, insisting that XRP is not a security.  

Ripple Supports NFT Innovation

Earlier this month, Ripple CTO David Schwartz explained why XRP Ledger will be ideally suited to assist in the future growth of NFTs. Although the biggest use case of NFTs is collectibles, he suggests this is “only scratching the surface”.

Schwartz sees a future where NFTs are the foundation of all digital rights management, one in which consumers can, for example, move away from services provided by Kindle and Apple to directly owning the rights to purchased movies or books.

According to Schwartz, XRP Ledger provides a unique combination of low costs, high speed and an efficient payments feature that can streamline NFT creation at scale. He makes specific reference to the ledger’s ability to consistently maintain transaction fees, thereby benefiting both buyer and seller.

Federated sidechains (blockchains that operate alongside other blockchains) may be available for XRP Ledger in coming months, which will open up the possibility of limitless transaction scalability and expanded DeFi capabilities.

GME Remittance Joins RippleNet

South Korean remittance company Global Money Express (GME Remittance) is the latest Korean financial institution and money transfer company to join RippleNet. Through RippleNet, Ripple’s global financial network, GME Remittance has connected to Thai Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), Thailand’s largest bank in terms of market capital.

The partnership was established through SBI Ripple Asia and will accelerate scale payments into Thailand for the 184,000 Thai nationals residing in South Korea.

Through partnerships such as this, GME Remittance aims to connect with existing RippleNet customers to expand into additional remittance corridors in the region and globally, including the US and Europe.

We chose Ripple as our partner because with RippleNet we can launch into new countries with new partners within one to two weeks. This has drastically reduced the time to market and provides us with an edge compared to our competitors.

Subash Chandra Poudel, director and COO, GME Remittance

Launch Date Set For Cardano Smart Contracts

Cardano (ADA) has been a frequent flyer in the crypto news sphere since announcing last week it would add smart contract capability to its network. CEO and founder Charles Hoskinson confirmed the Alonzo hard fork would launch on Monday, September 12, and the ADA price has since skyrocketed.

Dubbed the “Ethereum killer” but lacking smart contract capability, the upgrade will soon remove this major drawback. It is part of a multistage upgrade that will allow developers to deploy smart contracts on the Cardano network. This will allow Cardano to incorporate more applications such as DeFi platforms, which would allow for automated crypto lending and trading.

Cardano is a decentralised proof-of-stake blockchain platform that facilitates complex programmable transfers of value in a scalable and secure way. Its stated goal is to allow “changemakers, innovators, and visionaries to bring positive change to the world”.

At the time of writing, ADA was trading at A$2.93 and had grown 43.3 percent in the previous seven days.

By Jana Serfontein, Crypto News Australia Guest Author

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Binance Cardano Crypto News Market Analysis Ripple Swyftx Trading Verge

Top 3 Coins To Watch Today: XVG, XRP, ADA August 13 Trading Analysis

Let’s take a closer look at today’s altcoins showing breakout signals. We’ll explain what the coin is, then dive into the trading charts and provide some analysis to help you decide.

1. Verge (XVG)

Verge XVG is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency and blockchain that seeks to offer a fast, efficient, decentralised payments network that improves upon the original Bitcoin blockchain. It includes additional privacy features including integrating the anonymity network Tor into its wallet, called Verge Pay, and providing the option of sending transactions to stealth addresses. The project describes itself as community-driven, relying on volunteers and priding itself on being open-source.

XVG Price Analysis

At the time of writing, XVG is ranked the 117th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$0.03935. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

XVG retraced 48% during July before finding support near A$0.02944. The following bounce encountered resistance at the daily gap near A$0.03215.

Bulls might wait for a sweep of the local lows into support near A$0.02778 before stepping in. A move to this level could reach into the higher timeframe gap down to A$0.02459. 

In the most bearish scenario, a significant turn in the market could push the price down to the consolidation near A$0.02214.

The local resistance near A$0.04487 and the relatively equal swing highs provide a reasonable first target. Just above, layered resistance near A$0.04952 and A$0.05311 could slow bulls down as they push the price towards the significant swing high at A$0.05641.

2. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple XRP is the catch-all name for the cryptocurrency platform, the transactional protocol for which is actually XRP, in the same fashion as Ethereum is the name for the platform that facilitates trades in Ether. Like other cryptocurrencies, Ripple is built atop the idea of a distributed ledger network that requires various parties to participate in validating transactions, rather than any singular centralised authority. That facilitates transactions all over the world, and transfer fees are far cheaper than the likes of bitcoin. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, XRP transfers are effectively immediate, requiring no typical confirmation time. 

XRP Price Analysis

At the time of writing, XRP is ranked the 6th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$1.29. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

XRP marines continue pushing the price higher, printing nearly 35% gains during the second week of August.

The consolidation near A$1.20 is likely to provide support as the price continues exploring new highs. However, a set of relatively equal lows near A$1.12 provides a tempting target for a stop run into probable support near A$1.00.

A decidedly bearish shift in the market could reach probable support near A$0.9455, near August’s monthly open.

Almost no resistance lies overhead, although low-timeframe traders can use the resistance below recent highs near A$1.38 as a first target. Beyond this level, extensions near A$1.47, A$1.55 and A$1.62 give reasonable higher-timeframe targets.

3. Cardano (ADA)

Cardano ADA is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform that says its goal is to allow “changemakers, innovators and visionaries” to bring about positive global change. Cardano is used by agricultural companies to track fresh produce from field to fork, while other products built on the platform allow educational credentials to be stored in a tamper-proof way, and retailers to clamp down on counterfeit goods. The team behind the layered blockchain says that there have already been some compelling use cases for its technology, which aims to allow decentralised apps and smart contracts to be developed with modularity.

ADA Price Analysis

At the time of writing, ADA is ranked the 5th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$2.34. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

ADA bulls have enjoyed over 95% returns since the July lows, with little resistance above to end the current price discovery.

The price may find support near A$2.11. Still, aggressive bulls should be wary of a potential stop run under the monthly open into support near A$0.9544. The area around A$0.8291 should provide strong support if the price reaches this low.

The air above the current price is thin, but the level near A$2.47 could potentially provide some resistance in the short term. Extensions reaching near A$2.59 and A$2.71 make reasonable take-profit zones if the bullish trend continues.

Where to Buy or Trade Altcoins?

These coins have high liquidity on Binance Exchange, so that could help with trading on AUD/USDT/BTC pairs. And if you’re looking at buying and HODLing cryptos, then Swyftx Exchange is an easy-to-use popular choice in Australia. However, you can also buy these coins from different exchanges listed on Coinmarketcap.

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Binance Crypto News DigiByte EOS Market Analysis Ripple Swyftx Trading

Top 3 Coins To Watch Today: EOS, XRP, DGB July 26 Trading Analysis

Let’s take a closer look at today’s altcoins showing breakout signals. We’ll explain what the coin is, then dive into the trading charts and provide some analysis to help you decide.

1. Electro Optical System (EOS)

EOS is a platform that’s designed to allow developers to build decentralized apps DApps. The project’s goal is relatively simple: to make it as straightforward as possible for programmers to embrace blockchain technology and ensure that the network is easier to use than rivals. As a result, tools and a range of educational resources are provided to support developers who want to build functional apps quickly. EOS also aims to improve the experience for users and businesses. While the project tries to deliver greater security and less friction for consumers, it also vies to unlock flexibility and compliance for enterprises.

EOS Price Analysis

At the time of writing, EOS is ranked the 28th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$4.87. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

EOS marines continue pushing the price higher, printing nearly 45% gains during the end of July.

The consolidation near A$4.75 is likely to provide support as the price continues exploring new highs. However, a set of relatively equal lows near A$4.38 provides a tempting target for a stop run into probable support near A$4.15.

A decidedly bearish shift in the market could reach probable support near A$3.85.

Almost no resistance lies overhead, although low-timeframe traders can use the resistance below recent highs near A$5.20 as a first target. Beyond this level, extensions near A$5.88, A$6.15, and A$6.45 give reasonable higher-timeframe targets.

2. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple XRP is the currency that runs on a digital payment platform called RippleNet, which is on top of a distributed ledger database called XRP Ledger. While RippleNet is run by a company called Ripple, the XRP Ledger is open-source and is not based on blockchain, but rather the previously mentioned distributed ledger database.

XRP Price Analysis

At the time of writing, XRP is ranked the 6th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$0.811. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

XRP retraced 45% during July before finding support near A$0.5937. The following bounce encountered resistance at the daily gap near A$0.6328.

Bulls might wait for a sweep of the local lows into support near A$0.7344 before stepping in. A move to this level could reach into the higher timeframe gap down to A$0.6936. 

In the most bearish scenario, a significant turn in the market could push the price down to the consolidation near A$0.6422.

The local resistance is near A$0.9855 and the relatively equal swing highs give a reasonable first target. Just above, layered resistance near A$1.18 and A$1.27 could slow bulls down as they push the price towards the significant swing high at A$1.45.

3. DigiByte (DGB)

DigiByte DGB is an open-source blockchain and asset creation platform. Development began in October 2013 and the genesis block of its DGB token was mined in January 2014 as a fork of Bitcoin. A longstanding public blockchain and cryptocurrency, DigiByte uses five different algorithms to improve security, and originally aimed to improve on the Bitcoin blockchain’s security, capacity, and transaction speed. DigiByte consists of three layers: a smart contract “App Store,” a public ledger, and the core protocol featuring nodes communicating to relay transactions.

DGB Price Analysis

At the time of writing, DGB is ranked the 89th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$0.05837. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

DGB bears have retraced over 145% since June, with little resistance above to end the current price discovery.

The price may find support near A$0.04655. Still, aggressive bulls should be wary of a potential stop run under the monthly open into support near A$0.04371. The area around A$0.04015 should provide strong support if the price reaches this low.

The air above the current price is thin, but the level near A$0.0695 could potentially provide some resistance in the short term. Extensions reaching near A$0.0784 and A$0.0872 make reasonable take-profit zones if the bullish trend continues.

Where to Buy or Trade Altcoins?

These three coins have high liquidity on Binance Exchange, so that could help with trading on AUD/USDT/BTC pairs. And if you’re looking at buying and HODLing cryptos, then Swyftx Exchange is an easy-to-use popular choice in Australia.

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Australia Bitcoin Cash Crypto Debit Cards Crypto News Ethereum Payments Ripple

First Aussie VISA Crypto Debit Card Officially Approved

Visa has approved the issuance of physical crypto debit cards to allow Australians to pay for goods at local stores and venues without having to exchange crypto to fiat, but using bitcoin (BTC) and other assets directly.

There are various companies working together to bring the first crypto spending card to Australians. Aussie software technology firm Novatti Group is in charge of the card issuance while New York-licensed custodian BitGo will safeguard the assets.

Transactions will be made through CryptoSpend, an Australian startup that called the attention of the payment giant and approved the project after reviewing the startup’s compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. 

Co-founder of CryptoSpend, Richard Voice, says the number of Aussie users who want to use crypto in their local stores is increasing every day.

We have customers that range from 18-year-old students to 70-year-old grandmothers. [This] further emphasises the growing appetite for people of all ages to use crypto as an everyday currency.

Richard Voice, CryptoSpend

First BTC Spending Card in Australia

There are several crypto debit cards for Aussies, but their use is restricted and no Australian payment application is in charge of their issuance.

Visa has already approved debit cards issuance for various crypto-exchanges worldwide, but they are not yet available in Australia. This card, which is slated to arrive in September, is the first to allow Aussies to use cryptoassets on an Australian payments card.

Australian customers can download the app via AppStore or Google Play and fund their portfolio with other assets besides bitcoin, including ethereum (ETH), ripple (XRP), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

In February, the number of users on the Visa network increased exponentially as they were using crypto cards to convert crypto to fiat to spend it on merchants worldwide. The payment giant said this trend was “unmistakable”.

For the tens of millions of people using those platforms, one of the simplest ways to spend crypto is through a Visa card. We’re seeing digital wallets and crypto platforms build payment products entirely with digital currency.

Visa spokesperson
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Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrency Law Ripple

Ripple Vs SEC: Judge Denies SEC Access To Ripple’s Legal Advice

The SEC has been in a legal battle with Ripple for a while, with certain developments seeming to lean in Ripple’s favour.

Last development sees Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn denying SEC’s request for Ripple “to produce all communications constituting, transmitting, or discussing any legal advice Ripple sought or received as to whether its offers and sales of XRP were or would be subject to federal securities laws”.

The judge’s decision seems to have made Ripple’s fair notice defense stronger. About a month ago, the SEC filed a request to the court demanding to strike the “fair notice” defence from the Ripple case altogether, calling it “legally improper”. Ripple invoked that claiming that SEC failed to warn them (and other market participants) about XRP being an unregistered security.

SEC Attorney Looking At Retiring

According to a report from only a few days ago, one of the SEC’s attorneys, Dugan Bliss, asked to withdraw from the case, leaving SEC.

If Dugan Bliss’s request is granted, the case will go on with the SEC continuing to be represented by Jorge G. Tenreiro, Daphna A. Waxman, Jon A. Daniels and others. The whole operation is being led by SEC attorney Preethi Krishnamurthy.

In April, Dugan Bliss stated that – as far as he knows – the SEC had not yet taken an official position on ETH either.

So I want to make clear that this is my understanding of the current situation and I don’t want to be overly technical, but the SEC, itself, my understanding, it has not taken an official position. There is no action that it took to say Bitcoin is not a security, Ether is not a security.

Dugan Bliss
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Basic Attention Token Binance Coin Bitcoin ChainLink Chiliz Coin Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Dogecoin Ethereum Qtum Ripple Theta

Sam’s Crypto HODL List – May 2021

Following on from my article about 5 Crypto Coins That Could Have a Great 2021, I’ve had a lot of questions lately about what cryptos I like at the moment. So here is the shortlist, and the reasons why I like them.

Disclaimer: Before you continue reading, please note that I am not a financial advisor, nor do not recommend you buy any of these cryptos mentioned below. I also change my positions constantly and may or may not be holding these coins. This is just a list of those coins which I like at the moment and providing some commentary for educational purposes only to help people learn about these exciting projects. For the latest coin prices see the cryptos page.

Bitcoin

BTC / Rank #1 / Price A$51,000

BTC is the first cryptocurrency and the godfather driving the market. Over the years, I’ve learned that it is foolish not to have some BTC in the portfolio, because it tends to act independently to the other cryptocurrencies. What percentage of BTC of the total portfolio is totally up to you, something around 50% is not unusual to see.

With its inelastic supply and growing demand, it’s hard not to see continued upside as it averages around 200% per year over the past 10 years. We’re also seeing lots of institutional money flowing into BTC as big companies add BTC to their balance sheets as a “hedge” and “store of value”.

I would also say that there is also speculation that BTC may eventually replace the US Dollar and become unit of account for the worldwide economy. Could we be comparing the price of goods in Satoshi’s in future years to come?

Ethereum

ETH / Rank #2 / Price A$3,800

While Bitcoin is seen as a “store of value”, Ethereum is powering the new crypto economy. Bitcoin currently has scaling and environmental issues while Ethereum is quickly evolving to address those issues.

As a computer programmer myself, as soon as I heard “Ethereum is programmable money”, my eyes opened wide and I saw the potential of cryptocurrencies for the future of the economy.

Ethereum has some very promising use cases especially with Decentralised Finance (DeFi), Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), and Decentralised Exchanges (DEXs).

Compared to Bitcoin’s 200% average return per year, Ethereum has averaged 400% per year so far and is on target to outperform BTC once again this year.

Binance Coin

BNB / Rank #3 / Price A$550

Binance has evolved into a worldwide cryptocurrency exchange juggernaut since it started in 2017. At the moment, it is the easiest and best place to do your crypto trading. Before it came along, other platforms were terrible and hard to use with high fees.

They are also starting to expand their services into other markets such as DeFi with Binance Smart Chain, crypto loans, and crypto debit cards coming to Australia later this year.

It’s crazy to think that BNB was only $2 back in 2018 and now it is over $600. I can only see upside for Binance as their ecosystem expands rapidly as they buy up big companies such as CoinMarketCap and are set to Acquire 20-30 Crypto Startups Yearly.

Chiliz Coin

CHZ / Rank #59 / Price A$0.48

Chilliz launched in 2020 to power the new sports fan token economy. These tokens act like a royalty program for fans and also can provide other benefits such as voting, connecting fans directly with clubs and players.

Since launching, CHZ has already increased over 7,000% in price and I can only see more upside for the project. My research into this coin revealed that there are currently no major competitors in the space. Their business model also looks quite clever, as they list new tokens (like in the case of UFC) on pre-sale, then the coin is actually added once the partnership is officially approved.

As clubs see the potential to raise funds through this new revenue stream, they will launch their tokens and form partnerships with Chilliz and Socios as a way to not only raise funds but engage with their fans. We’ve already seen big football clubs join such as Manchester City, Barcelona, Juventus and other sports such as UFC and Formula 1.

Chainlink

LINK / Rank #13 / Price A$47

Chainlink is a project that connects real-world data with blockchain data. As a computer programmer, I can see the power of this technology and the need for timely, accurate, and trusted data.

Moving forward I can see a huge demand to sync the real world and the virtual world. This could be something simple like a weather forecast, or more complicated like tokenized partial ownership of real estate.

Together with this and its exceptionally regarded oracles that manage the security and integrity of the network it can only be a very strong “middleman” for the further advancements of blockchain and decentralized finance.

Basic Attention Token

BAT / Rank #72 / Price A$1.26

Basic Attention Token is a decentralized platform built on Ethereum. It rewards you for your attention, if you see an ad, you get paid in BAT through the Brave Browser.

The utility of rewarding people for their attention is quite a powerful concept, especially if you are shown the ads your interested in.

The project is currently advancing by developing a DEX (decentralized exchange) which should add tremendous value to the project’s already 3 million monthly users.

Theta

THETA / Rank #20 / Price A$11

Theta is one of the leading projects that is providing decentraliszed bandwidth through peer-to-peer networking. Other features of Theta include Decentralised Video Streaming, Staking, Theta TFUEL, Guardian Nodes, CDNs, Voting, and more.

As more adoption comes to cryptocurrencies and blockchain, one would assume we will need more bandwidth to support scaling worldwide. Theta software was also included in the new Samsung Galaxy S20 smartphones to assist with video streaming and rewarding watchers with TFUEL tokens.

The hypothesis is that as crypto usage grows, then Theta adoption should grow with it.

Cardano

ADA / Rank #6 / Price A$2.26

Cardano is a decentralized blockchain platform, similar to Ethereum. It’s already a proof-of-stake platform which is more environmentally friendly and has implemented further unique scaling technology.

The project has recently impressed with their global inprovement initiatives such as Bringing Sustainable Internet Connectivity to users in Africa and 5 Million Students In Ethiopia Set To Get National Identity Solution. This might suggest it has a bright future in improving the world with the use of blockchain technology.

Qtum

QTUM / Rank #66 / Price A$20

The QTUM project is a decentralized platform and blockchain similar to Ethereum. Its purpose is not to compete with Bitcoin and Ethereum, but to bridge the gap between them helping scale transactions at low cost.

The project is heavily committed to DeFi and supporting DeFi projects offering $1 million dollars in rewards to developers who build applications using the Qtum blockchain.

Personally, I think Decentralised Finance (DeFi) is going to be a huge disrupt to how we currently do finance worldwide. Frameworks like Ethereum and Qtum, which support DeFi projects can only have an upside in the future as they contribute to the rise of DeFi.

Ripple (XRP)

XRP / Rank #7 / Price A$1.84

Ripple (XRP) is a cryptocurrency platform and blockchain similar to Ethereum. The project is attempting to become the facilitator for global payments between financial institutions.

XRP has had both good and bad press over the years. Initially, the sentiment was very bullish due to the rumors that banks may use it for liquidity and large global transactions. However, since then, it has been involved in lawsuits lessening its appeal.

Recently they announced plans for Ripple To Go Public After Lawsuit Settlement which has shed some light that there may be some potential for a comeback in sentiment. After running crypto news for the past few years I’ve seen that the 2 most popular coins in Australia are DOGE and XRP.

Dogecoin

DOGE / Rank #5 / Price A$0.53

Dogecoin (DOGE) started as a joke when a developer cloned Bitcoin’s code and stuck a dog meme as the logo, back in 2013. Since then it has gained tremendous popularity and it seems you can’t go a single day without seeing that cheeky dog face.

I generally don’t invest in “jokecoins”, also referred to as “shitcoins” that have little to no utility. However, DOGE is an exception, due to its strong social appeal. Its “meme value” is so high within the crypto community and this provides free marketing for the coin.

Back in 2017, I underestimated the power of social media when DOGE was only $0.00023, and this year it almost reached $1 earlier this year – that’s over 400,000% gain in just 3-4 years.

As the crypto market grows and more people join in the frenzy, DOGE could be the one they buy as a speculation. However, I think it will only end badly for those people buying DOGE at all-time high prices, when the market turns, the shitcoins could drop to nothing, only the quality projects will survive long term.

Conclusions

It’s crazy how back in 2016 the prices were so low compared to now. I wonder if we will be shocked again in another 4-5 years from now…

If you’re interested in buying any of these coins then head over to one of our trusted Partners: CoinJar, Swyftx, or Binance to get started. You can compare the exchanges here.

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Binance Coin Bitcoin Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Dogecoin Ethereum Litecoin Markets Ripple

Top 10 Cryptos Prices in 2016 vs 2021

Crypto prices and market caps, 2016 (left) vs 2021 (right)
Crypto prices and market caps, 2016 (left) vs 2021 (right) [CoinMarketCap]

A lot has changed in the cryptocurrency market over the past five years. There have been many coin ranking reshuffles, with massive growth in the global market capitalization as more people got to know and invest in digital currencies.

Back in 2016, the top-ten digital currencies by market capitalization (according to data from CoinMarketCap) and their corresponding prices were:

  1. Bitcoin (BTC) at $455.25 USD
  2. Ethereum (ETH) at $9.82 USD
  3. Ripple (XRP) at $0.006069 USD
  4. Litecoin (LTC) at $3.98 USD
  5. Dash (DASH) at $6.89 USD
  6. DigixDAO (DGD) at $12.17 USD
  7. Dogecoin (DOGE) at $0.000233 USD
  8. MaidSafeCoin (MAID) at $0.052008 USD
  9. NEM (XEM) at $0.001491 USD
  10. FedoraCoin (TIPS) at $0.000029 USD

At the time, Bitcoin was only a three-digit price cryptocurrency ($455 USD), with a total market valuation of $7.075 billion USD. Also, Ethereum was less than $10 USD, while XRP traded around $0.006 USD, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Crypto prices and market caps, 2016 (left) vs 2021 (right)
Crypto prices and market caps, 2016 (left) vs 2021 (right) [CoinMarketCap]

As of May 2016, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization was $8.449 billion USD.

Crypto total market capitalization [CoinMarketCap]

The Crypto Market is up by Over 29,000% Since 2016

Fast forward to today, the crypto market has seen immense growth of over 29,000 percent in the market cap – in other words, more than 290 times. The total valuation of global cryptocurrencies now sits around $2.47 trillion USD compared to $8.4 billion USD cap in the past five years. This follows the wake of more retail and institutional investors.

The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) saw over a 12,300 percent increase from 2016 to date, with a market capitalization of over $1 trillion USD. This means that a $100 USD investment in BTC over the past five years would be worth more than $12,000 USD in today’s value. At the same time, the second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH) surged by over 41,000 percent, which is a much higher return compared to Bitcoin.

Some of the top-ten coins in 2016 are no longer ranking high on the list today, including DigixDAO and FedoraCoin. It remains to be seen how the list will change in the next five years. Do you think Bitcoin and Ethereum can be overthrown by the likes of Binance Coin (BNB) or even Dogecoin (DOGE)?