Bitcoin and the blockchain are joined at the hip – so much so that a lot of people don’t distinguish between the two. Cryptocurrency and blockchain have almost become synonymous. But in fact, they are two different things, and it’s important to understand the distinction.
The blockchain is a technology. Cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange or a store of value that operates on that technology. You can have a blockchain without cryptocurrency, but you can’t have cryptocurrency without a blockchain. In fact, there are a lot of other possible uses for the blockchain beyond serving as a platform for bitcoin.
It’s no secret that Bitcoin has tumbled since its meteoric rise late last year. After nearly touching the $20,000 mark, the cryptocurrency is trading at around $6,600 today. Other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Ripple and Ethereum have also all shed big chunks of their value. But at least these cryptocurrencies are still alive and kicking. Hundreds have simply died.
Deadcoins.com lists over 800 cryptocurrencies that no longer exist or have a value of 1 cent or less.
Remember when Bitcoin was knocking on $20,000? Today it’s it’s in a freefall, trading in the $6,000 range.
Crypto markets tumbled again last week after Japan’s financial regulator ordered several cryptocurrency exchanges to beef up anti-money laundering practices. The move prompted the country’s largest crypto exchange to suspend creation of new accounts. Bitcoin fell nearly 9%.
In his most recent podcast, Peter Schiff hit a number of subjects including oil prices, bond prices, Bitcoin, the dollar and tariffs. Peter said he thinks we’re seeing a lot of movement in a number of markets that are counter to the long-term trends. For instance, oil dropped late last week, but he expects it’s long-term trend to continue upward. The dollar has picked up strength, but the broader trend is toward a weaker dollar. And bond yields fell, but the overall trajectory for interest rates is up.
Twitter has announced a ban on cryptocurrency ads.
The social media company’s announcement is more bad news in what has turned into several bad months for cryptocurrencies.
SchiffGold’s It’s Your Dime features “straight talk” interviews with movers and shakers in the world of precious metals, investing and economics.
In this episode, host Mike Maharrey talks with SchiffGold senior precious metals specialist Joel Bauman. In an interview recorded earlier this month, they discuss the current state of the precious metals market and Joel talks about where he thinks it’s heading in the near future. Along the way, Joel and Mike get into several interesting subjects including gold and silver’s role as a portfolio hedge, ETFs vs. physical gold, counterparty risk and the cryptocurrency phenomenon.
There have been numerous comparisons between Bitcoin and gold. In fact, a lot of people call Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies in general, “digital gold.” But are the two things really comparable? How is gold different from crypto? What are the advantages and disadvantages of both?
Peter Schiff was a guest with Nicholas Merten of DataDash and they explored these issues in an in-depth interview. DataDash is a well-known platform for all things related to cryptocurrencies, data analytics & science. Merten is an excellent interviewer and ads his breadth and knowledge of the world of cryptocurrencies to the discussion. They not only talk about cryptocurrencies, they also get into economics, the stock market, Fed policy and more.
The friendly interview features a lot of give-and-take between Peter and Nicholas and will leave you with plenty to chew on and mull over.
We knew it was only a matter of time.
Uncle Sam has suddenly become very interested in Bitcoin.
Over the last several months, we’ve reported on various countries announcing plans to regulate cryptocurrencies. Now Congress is looking to get into the act.
Peter Schiff recently appeared on Ivan on Tech for a wide-ranging interview. Ivan and Peter talked cryptocurrency, gold, government debt, fiat currency, the dollar and more.
Ivan is one of the foremost experts on cryptocurrency. He is an international speaker, blockchain educator, software developer and data scientist.
Ivan and Peter don’t see eye-to-eye on everything, but they did manage to find some common ground. If you are interested in cryptocurrencies and gold, you will find their friendly debate both entertaining and informative.
This hasn’t been a great week in the cryptocurrency world. Facebook announced it is banning all ads that promote cryptos, including Bitcoin. According to Zuck’s people, Facebook has to protect users from “financial products and services frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices.” By that rationale, Facebook should probably ban all political advertising. At any rate, the announcement sent the price of Bitcoin spiraling downward yet again. It is below $8,000 as I write this.
The Indian government added fuel to the fire, announcing it wants to “stamp out cryptocurrencies.” I say good luck with that. It will never happen. But I’m sure the government will make a lot of people miserable in the process.
So, anyway, a bad week for Bitcoin. And I’ve got some news that’s going to make it even worse for some of you crypto fans out there.
