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Bitcoin briefly tops $40,000 for first time since June as cryptocurrency rallies after sell-off

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Article originally posted on CNBC by Arjun Kharpal MON, JUL 26 2021 12:06 AM EDT / MST- Source:

 

Bitcoin surged above $40,000 for the first time in nearly six weeks on Monday as sentiment turned bullish following a recent sell-off.

The cryptocurrency traded above the key level briefly, reaching $40,245 by 3:30 p.m. ET, according to Coin Metrics data. Bitcoin last traded above the $40,000 level on June 16.

Bitcoin’s price retreated later Monday after Amazon denied City A.M.’s report that the retail giant would start accepting bitcoin for payments this year.

Amazon on Friday confirmed it is looking to add a digital currency and blockchain expert to its payments team, suggesting it could be taking a closer look at bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

“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,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.

Bitcoin traded at about $38,024, or about 10.4% higher, by 4:45 p.m. ET .

The moves in the cryptocurrency’s price comes after bitcoin recently fell below $30,000 after a global sell-off in stocks, sparking fears that it could plunge even further.

Musk, Dorsey, Wood in focus

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood all recently spoke during a closely watched bitcoin conference called “The B-Word.”

Musk said that Tesla would likely start accepting bitcoin for vehicle purchases again as a greater share of bitcoin mining switches to renewable energy. In May, Tesla suspended vehicle purchases using the cryptocurrency out of concern over the “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining.”

Bitcoin mining is the energy-intensive process of creating new coins, which involves solving complex math problems. The computational power required to do so also consumes a lot of energy.

“The Chinese trading day has opened up, and the Elon/Jack/Cathie talk was super bullish,” said Alex Brammer of Luxor Mining, a cryptocurrency pool built for advanced miners.

These bullish moves have also contributed to a so-called “short squeeze,” according to bitcoin mining engineer Brandon Arvanaghi.

Investors who short bitcoin are betting that the price will fall further. But if the price goes higher, these investors look to cut losses and exit their short positions, which helps to push the price even higher.

“I think the extent of the jump was probably driven by over-leverage shorts,” Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at cryptocurrency exchange Luno, said.

Meanwhile, some of the issues that have weighed on bitcoin’s price have begun to clear up. Over the past few months, China has renewed its crackdown on cryptocurrencies targeting mining and trading. And concerns over the carbon footprint of bitcoin mining are starting to wane.

Luxor Mining’s Brammer said the uncertainty around the environmental impact of mining and the Chinese regulatory concerns have “worn off.”

 

What Is ASIC Mining?

1066-50t-bitcoin-miner-3

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MUD BY JIE YEE ONG – Source: Makeuseof.com Technology Explained

 

You cannot mine Bitcoin with your CPU. For that, you’ll need an ASIC miner. Here’s why.

Bitcoin does not appear out of thin air. Cryptocurrency may be a digital entity made out of zeros and ones, but a lot of behind-the-scenes hardware work actually takes place when it comes to producing them.

To obtain a single Bitcoin, you have to mine for them using specialized hardware, known as an ASIC miner.

ASIC Mining and Blockchain

Before you get into ASIC mining, you first need to understand blockchain technology. In very simple terms, blockchain is a technology that generates a hash that is not repeatable or replaceable.

These hashes are then cryptographically linked and “stacked” on one another (hence “block”) to ensure that nothing is repeated, creating a chain (hence “chain”) of codes that guarantee uniqueness and security. Our article on how blockchain technology works explains the entire process in more detail.

All cryptocurrencies, including NFTs and Bitcoins, are built on blockchain technology. So, “mining” for cryptos actually refers to creating blocks and blocks of codes. Therefore, creating blockchains means mining for cryptos, and for that, you need ASIC miners.

Where and When Did ASIC Mining Originate?

ASIC stands for “Application-Specific Integrated Circuit miner.” It is basically a very powerful, high-performance hardware that is designed to mine for cryptocurrency.

The practice of ASIC mining began in 2013, when Chinese hardware company, Canaan Creative, manufactured the first ASIC miner of its kind.

It takes a lot of computational power to mine Bitcoin, so much that traditional CPUs and GPUs were no longer able to do so competitively, hence the need for a new type of hardware that could handle the demands of crypto mining.

Soon after Canaan Creative, companies such as Bitman, Bitwats, and MicroBT started manufacturing ASIC miners.

An ASIC miner typically comprises a few important components: an ASIC chip that runs calculations for codes, a cooling fan, and a backup generator to protect against power disruptions during the mining process.

Technically, anyone can be involved in ASIC mining. If you are an individual looking to mine in exchange for money from the comfort of your own home, you will need to purchase an ASIC miner.

However, this equipment is not cheap. ASIC miners can range anywhere from $200 to over $15,000. Because of this, miners collaborate in “mining pools,” where a group of miners works together to mine for cryptocurrency, pooling the resources of their ASIC miners.

Profits from the activity are then split amongst the group, usually divided by work and energy.

 

Advantages and Disadvantages of ASIC Mining

The most obvious advantage of ASIC miners is the machine’s efficiency.

ASIC miners are much faster at solving the series of mathematical puzzles required for Bitcoin mining in ten minutes or less (the average time between blocks on the Bitcoin blockchain) when compared to a CPU.

When a puzzle is solved, the programmer behind the screen earns a block reward, which currently stands at 6.25 BTC. Therefore, this high efficiency translates to better money-making potential.

However, the high computational power of ASIC miners also means environmental destruction due to colossal energy consumption. Official estimates vary, but the Bitcoin mining network uses over 120 Terawatt-hours of energy per year, consuming around 0.6 percent of the global energy supply, or the equivalent to the entire energy consumption of Argentina or Norway.

Some people turn to the smaller, less energy-hungry Raspberry Pi to mine for cryptocurrencies in response to this. If the cost of electricity is so high, is it really worth it to mine for cryptos?

It all depends on the kind of crypto you mine for—if it is a mainstream cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, you may be in for bigger rewards, but it is harder to get your hands on the rewards in the first place.

If it is niche crypto, it may take longer to turn a profit. Energy consumption caused by ASIC mining varies according to location, but regardless, its environmental impact cannot be ignored.

The Biggest ASIC Mining Companies

The biggest publicly traded cryptocurrency mining companies are based in the US and Europe. They include Riot Blockchain, Hive Blockchain, and Northern Data AG. The former two are listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, whereas Northern Data AG is listed on Xetra, a German stock exchange market.

Besides these companies, several locations across the globe are known as “bitcoin farms.”

These are places where huge warehouses are built, and large numbers of ASIC miners are hauled inside to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies 24/7.

The largest bitcoin farms include Reykjavik, Amsterdam, Texas, Moscow, and the Liaoning Province in Northeast China (although many Bitcoin mining operations in Northern China are relocating due to environmental rules introduced in 2021).

 

Is ASIC Mining Worthwhile?

Thanks to surging cryptocurrency investments, ASIC mining is a booming industry, and it seems like the fever is not going away anytime soon. If you’re thinking of investing in an ASIC miner or starting a mining group with your mates, do plenty of research beforehand. After all, like many investments, crypto is still a volatile market.

 

Bitcoin Miners Are Again Stacking Coins in a Positive Sign for the Market

Photo from Coindesk article

“Miners may be holding in anticipation of a price rally,” one analyst said.

Article originally posted on Coindesk.com by Omkar Godbole – Apr 9, 2021 at 3:51 a.m. MST Updated Apr 9, 2021 at 6:24 a.m. MST – Source: Coindesk/ Digital Currency Group

 

Blockchain data shows bitcoin (BTC, -0.01%) miners are accumulating coins and adding to bullish pressures in the market for the first time since December.

Analytics firm Glassnode’s miner position change metric, which gauges the 30-day change in the supply held in the miners’ addresses, recently turned positive in a sign of renewed holding by those responsible for making coins.

The balance held in miner wallets has increased by 4,435 BTC to 1.806 million over the past two weeks, Glassnode’s data shows.

“Miners [now] have a net accumulation of liquid assets as they have enough cash in reserve to run their future operations, having liquidated holdings when the bitcoin price was between $20,000 and $40,000, or most of them are holding in anticipation of a price rally,” Flex Yang, CEO of Hong Kong-based Babel Finance, said in an email.

Miners predominantly operate on cash and liquidate holdings to meet expenses. However, the pace of miner selling varies from time to time depending on mining-specific factors and bitcoin’s price expectations.

 

The return to accumulation mode observed since March 31 comes after almost four months of largely negative readings – miners decreasing positions and taking profits. Peak distribution of roughly 17,000 BTC to 24,000 BTC was seen throughout January, according to Glassnode’s weekly newsletter, dated March 8.

While miner flows constitute a small part of the total network volume, as tweeted by Glassnode’s CEO Rafael Schultze-Kraft, accumulation by miners is analogous to increased promoter holding of corporate stock and is considered a positive indicator. “Their spending patterns provide insight into the sentiment of some of the biggest bulls in the Bitcoin market,” Glassnode said in a newsletter published on April 5.

Whales, or large investors with the ability to influence prices, have also stopped selling coins.

The number of whale entities – clusters of crypto wallet addresses held by a single network participant holding at least 1,000 bitcoin – has steadied above 2,000 since March 31.

The figure dropped from 2,230 to 2,004 in nearly two months to March 31, mainly due to quarter-end rebalancing, according to blockchain analyst Willy Woo. It remains to be seen if these positive on-chain developments fuel the next leg higher in the cryptocurrency.

 

Bitcoin’s daily chart Source: TradingView

While bitcoin is currently trading moderately higher on the day near $58,500, it remains trapped in a narrowing price range. A breakout would mark a continuation of the broader uptrend typically experienced in the seasonally strong month of April.



















  
Cryptocurrency Market Surpasses $2 Trillion for First Time Ever
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Article originally posted by Newsweek on BY ON 4/5/21 AT 1:11 PM EDT- Source: Newsweek


 


The combined market cap of all cryptocurrencies hit $2 trillion for the first time Monday, making cryptocurrency as a whole approximately as valuable as Apple, the second-largest company in the world.


Data released by CoinGecko and other cryptocurrency analysis groups revealed that the market as a whole pushed beyond $2 trillion on April 5. The milestone comes less than three months after it surpassed $1 trillion in overall value on January 7. Crypto investors and other supporters of decentralized finance factions, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, rejoiced at the news Monday morning, taking to social media to reiterate that cryptocurrencies are the future of world finance.


Institutional and retail investors have flocked to the cryptocurrency market since the start of the year, analysts said, pushing many blockchain backers to encourage others to join the massive movement into decentralized finance.


“#BTC is still just consolidating inside this range. It is this consolidation that has helped $ETH breakout to new All Time Highs. #ETH is arguably leading the market whereas $BTC is trying to catch up. Good sign so far is that orange resistance is struggling to reject #Bitcoin,” wrote the pseudonymous trader known as “Rekt Capital” on Monday.


Other top investors in cryptocurrency once again touted the market’s bullish ability to defy potential regulators and thrive moving forward.


“Decentralized finance (DeFi) is as significant an innovation as double entry accounting and is a great example of how Ethereum is leveraging blockchain technology,” said cryptocurrency investor and entrepreneur, Correll Lashbrook, to Newsweek on Monday, adding that he’s “more interested in tech than being greedy.”


 


Visa to Accept Cryptocurrencies for Payment Settlements
Article originally posted on Bitcoinist by San Lee – Source: Bitcoinist.com






According to Reuters, Visa announced today that it will begin accepting cryptocurrency USD Coin (USDC) to settle transactions on its payment network. The move by the fintech giant coincides with the growing institutional acceptance of digital currencies. The company has launched a pilot payment program with Crypto.com, and plans to roll out its services to various partners later this year.


Visa’s recent move is to no surprise, as rival merchants such as MasterCard began to embrace the potential uses of cryptocurrencies earlier this year. Back in mid-February, MasterCard announced its plans to incorporate cryptocurrencies into its digital payment infrastructure, citing that these digital tokens will become an “important part of the payments world.” To capitalize on the growing crypto user base that has largely gone unnoticed over the years, Visa will seek to gain an early foothold in the cryptocurrency payment market.


Visa Follows Tesla in Running Its Own Cryptocurrency Nodes 


Earlier last week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that customers could purchase its vehicles using Bitcoin — a breakthrough in cryptocurrency’s usage in commerce. What was so groundbreaking about the announcement, however, was the fact that Tesla would not convert its Bitcoin payments to fiat. Instead, it would be added directly to its growing $1.5 billion Bitcoin reserve on the balance sheet.


 


 


Following Tesla, Visa announced that it would also utilise the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain to run its own nodes. This removes the need to convert cryptocurrency payments into fiat currency, which will likely reduce fees for customers and merchants.


The company also stated that it had partnered with digital asset bank Anchorage to run its Ethereum addresses. “We see increasing demand from consumers across the world to be able to access, hold and use digital currencies and we’re seeing demand from our clients to be able to build products that provide that access for consumers,” said Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa.




   
Bitcoin Miners Saw Record $1.36B Revenue in February
Article originally posted by Zack Voell on CoinDesk– Source: Coindesk.com


 


Miner monthly revenue increased 21% from January.


 




Bitcoin miners broke a record of more than three years in February, generating $1.36 billion in revenue, up 21% from January, according to on-chain data from Coin Metrics analyzed by CoinDesk.






The previous revenue record of $1.25 billion was set in December 2017 during the peak of the cryptocurrency’s previous bull market. Last month’s surge in revenue came as bitcoin (BTC, -1.93%)‘s price climbed during the month from $33,000 to a new all-time high of just above $58,000 before dropping sharply to $43,000 in the last week.






Revenue estimates assume miners sell their BTC immediately.






Monthly bitcoin miner revenue since January 2016 Source: Coin Metrics, CoinDesk Research




 




 


Measured by per terahash per second (TH/s), miner revenues bounced between $0.23 and $0.38 through February, ending the month near $0.30, per data from Luxor Technologies.






Network fees brought in $186 million in February, or 13.7% of total revenue, a significant percentage increase from the 10.3% of revenue represented by fees last month. Fee revenue hit its highest mark since January 2018, per Coin Metrics data.




Bitcoin fees as a percentage of monthly miner revenue since January 2016 Source: Coin Metrics, CoinDesk Research


 


Notably, fees as a percentage of total revenue continues a strong upward trend since April, prior to the network’s third-ever block subsidy halving in May. Increases in fee revenue are important to sustain the network’s security as the subsidy decreases every four years.


 


How Long Does it Take to Mine One Bitcoin?
Most Bitcoin miners join a mining pool, sharing the risks and rewards; a single mining rig could take several years to mine one Bitcoin.





























In brief


    

  • Bitcoin mining is a process that sees high-powered computers compete to discover a Bitcoin block and earn rewards for doing so.
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  • Miners generally use specialized equipment such as ASIC mining rigs.
    • 

  • Going solo can be slightly more efficient for miners, but is also riskier since the rewards come less frequently.
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Bitcoin (BTC) uses the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus algorithm as the basis of its security. This means that like many other cryptocurrencies, a network of cryptocurrency miners is used to discover blocks and add pending transactions to them, to render them irreversible.


The block discovery process, which takes approximately 10 minutes per block, also results in the minting of a fixed number of new Bitcoin per block. This is currently set at 6.25 BTC per block, but halves approximately every four years (210,000 blocks), reducing the number of Bitcoin minted with each newly discovered block.


This BTC is provided as an incentive to the miner (or miners if using a mining pool) that discovered the block.


How long it takes to mine 1 BTC




Although it takes 10 minutes to discover each block and each block yields a 6.25 BTC reward for the miner that successfully discovered it, it’s important to understand that the entire Bitcoin mining network is essentially competing in this block discovery process.


This means that only a single miner in the entire mining network will actually successfully discover the block—and since there are potentially tens of thousands of Bitcoin miners in operation, the odds of single-handedly discovering a block is quite low.


For this reason, the vast majority of Bitcoin miners work together as part of a mining pool, combining their hash rate to stand a better chance of discovering a block. Then, regardless of which miner in the pool actually discovers the block, the rewards are distributed evenly throughout the pool.


Consequently, a miner that contributes 1% of a pool’s hash rate, will also receive 1% of the block rewards it accrues.


Bitcoin Hash rate share
F2Pool is currently the most dominant Bitcoin mining pool, with a 16.6% hash rate share. (Image: BTC.com)


F2Pool is currently the largest pool by hash rate share, contributing around 26.73 EH/s of the total Bitcoin hash rate of 134.6 EH/s. This 19.9% hash rate share essentially means that around 19.9% of all newly minted BTC are mined by this pool—equivalent to 179.1 BTC per day (out of a total of 900 BTC distributed to all miners per day).


An individual miner that contributes 1% of the pool’s hash rate (~267 PH/s) would earn approximately 1.79 BTC per day. This means a miner would need close to 149.2 PH/s of hash rate to mine an average of 1 BTC per day at current difficulty levels.







 


To put this into perspective, this is the equivalent of running 2,331 of the latest 64TH/s Antminer S17e ASIC miners, which were released in November 2020. This setup would likely cost somewhere in the order of $1.86 million, assuming an average unit cost of $799/ea. This would also prove somewhat challenging, since the Antminer S17e is currently sold out (as of December 2020), and is only available at a markup via resellers.


For those with a smaller budget, it would take a single Antminer S19 Pro (an older generation, but widely available unit) a total of 1,356 days to generate 1 BTC in rewards when working with a mining pool—that’s the equivalent of generating 0.00073 BTC/day in rewards, or around $13.28/day at current prices ($18,200/BTC).


To calculate how long it would take another mining rig to generate 1 BTC in rewards, you can simply plug its hash rate into the following equation: 1 / (hash rate (in PH/s)) * 0.0066. This result will produce the number of days it will take to generate 1 BTC in rewards at current difficulty levels.


Can Bitcoin miners go solo?




Although most Bitcoin miners tend to focus their efforts as part of a mining pool, it’s also possible to go it alone.


Unlike Bitcoin mining pools, which essentially guarantee smaller regular payouts and eliminate most of the risks involved with Bitcoin mining, solo mining is more of a gamble—but can also be more rewarding. Since solo miners don’t need to pay any mining pool fees, the overall mining profitability can be slightly higher than working with a pool, particularly for those running a sizeable mining operation.


Statistically speaking, a solo miner looking to generate 1 BTC per day would need to contribute just over 0.11% of the total Bitcoin hash rate. As we previously mentioned, this is equivalent to around 149.2PH/s or the combined output of 2,334 Antminer S17e mining units. On average this mining operation would discover a block yielding a 6.26 BTC reward every 6.25 days, which averages out to 1 BTC/day.


Because even gigantic mining operations with over 2,000 rigs would take almost a week to discover a single block, miners with just a few machines would likely go years without discovering a block, making the practice extremely risky in most cases.


Bitcoin mining in 2020 and beyond




Previously one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools by hash rate, the OKEx pool saw a 99.5% drop off in activity between October and November 2020, after the exchange halted withdrawals following reports that a crucial private key holder could not be reached.


The OKex pool has since seen its SHA256 hash rate recover considerably, and currently sits at 196.8 PH/s with over 3,400 active miners—a more than tenfold increase over its November lows.


With massive institutional investors like Grayscale, PayPal, and Cash App now buying up more than 100% of all newly-issued Bitcoin, and increasing sums of BTC locked up as wrapped tokens on other blockchains (such as Ethereum and Tron), demand for Bitcoin has increased considerably in 2020.


As a result, the price of Bitcoin has been driven up by more than 150% since the start of the year, reaching new all-time highs value on some platforms.






 
Bitcoin Price Smashes Through $20,000 as Bull Run Gets Underway
Bitcoin reaches 2k
Bitcoin recently hit an all-time high, and now it’s breaking even more records. Where does it go from here?








ARTICLE ORIGINALLY POSTED BY SCOTT CHIPOLINA|  DECEMBER 16, 2020| SOURCE: DECRYPT




























In brief


    

  • The price of Bitcoin has gone above $20,000 for the first time ever.
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  • Bitcoin recently hit an all-time high price of $19,783.
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  • Within a month of Bitcoin’s December 2017 bull run, BTC’s value dropped 50%—might that happen again?
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Bitcoin’s price has broken the $20,000 barrier, doing so less than a month after recording a new all-time high of $19,850. Its price just rose up to $20,100 in a sudden surge.


It has been an eventful few months for Bitcoin. After embarking on a bull run starting this September—which saw the cryptocurrency’s price increase from about $10,000 to $19,000—Bitcoin crashed during the US Thanksgiving Day weekend, dropping to the $16,351 mark. On November 30, Bitcoin finally broke its all-time high.







Now, it’s set another record, pushing up and beyond the $20,000 mark.


At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price is $20,000, according to data from Messari. That marks a 3% increase in the last 24 hours, as well as a 28% increase from $16,351, the lowest point of Bitcoin’s recent price correction.















 


There are multiple reasons for Bitcoin’s recent success, including mainstream investment from institutions like MicroStrategy. But, according to Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, there is more to it than big-name investors.


“With better liquidity, better fiat on- and off- ramps and institutional investors getting involved now that there’s more regulatory certainty, it’s heartening for those of us who believe in the long-term power of cryptocurrencies to increase the freedom of money globally,” Zhao said.


Bitcoin Price with Arrow
Bitcoin’s price has gone up. Image: Shutterstock


What’s more, regulatory certainty has been praised by others who have become high-profile Bitcoin investors. Raoul Pal, former hedge fund manager who recently invested 75% of his liquid assets in Bitcoin, tweeted about how important regulation of Bitcoin is.


“You might hate regulation of BTC, you might have a MASSIVE philosophical aversion to it, and that is fine, but they are going to regulate the fiat on ramps and off ramps and it will make you RICH,” Raoul Pal tweeted on November 29.







 


That being said, it’s important to remember Bitcoin is officially in uncharted territory. Nobody truly knows where Bitcoin goes from here.


“People will now be wondering how sustainable these prices are for Bitcoin given the sharp declines in value we’ve seen near these levels before,” Zhao added.


Bitcoin has never been above $20,000, but the last time Bitcoin got near these heights—during the famous Christmas bull run of 2017—it crashed from just under $20,000 on December 17, 2017, to $9,674 on January 17, 2018. That’s a 50% drop.


That historical data might imply Bitcoin is set for yet another crash, but there remains a belief that 2020’s bull run, and subsequent all-time high, have come at a time when Bitcoin is far more resilient than in 2017.


“This reinforces Bitcoin’s position as one of the best stores of value of the internet age. We remain bullish on Bitcoin’s fundamentals and its outlook in the long term as we continue to build the hardware infrastructure that secures the Bitcoin network,” Tim Rainey, CFO of Greenidge Generation, told Decrypt.


But with 100% of Bitcoin holders in the green, it’s no surprise that many are feeling confident.




















 
7 of the Best Cryptocurrencies to Invest in Now
Cryptocurrency
Article originally posted by U.S. News & World Report |  Sept. 30, 2020, at 4:49 p.m.


U.S. News & World Report


By Mark Reeth, Contributor








































The best cryptocurrency to buy depends on your familiarity with digital assets and risk tolerance.


These are seven of the best cryptos on the market.




It has been over a decade since the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin, the first and by far most popular form of cryptocurrency in the world. Despite its fame, Bitcoin isn’t the final word on cryptocurrency – imitators, innovators and spinoffs have emerged in huge numbers, and there are more than 7,000 cryptocurrencies on the market today. With such a broad range of cryptocurrencies to choose from, how do investors know which is the best cryptocurrency to invest in? From the most popular cryptocurrencies making headlines around the globe to lesser-known digital currencies you may never have heard of, here are seven of the best cryptocurrencies to buy in 2020.




















Bitcoin (BTC)


Man working on laptop at home.
Getty Images




The closest thing you’ll get to a blue-chip cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has dominated the market since the first bitcoins were mined in January 2009 – but that doesn’t mean it has always been smooth sailing. Bitcoin prices hit a high of nearly $20,000 in December 2017 before collapsing in 2018, bottoming out at $3,234 by the end of that year. Since then, however, Bitcoin has enjoyed something of a comeback as prices have risen back to more than $10,000, and with a market cap around $200 billion, bitcoins account for more than 57% of the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin has its fair share of volatility, but being the biggest name in crypto gives it a worldwide acceptance that lesser-known rivals don’t have, arguably making it the best cryptocurrency to buy for investors new to the asset class.
























Bitcoin Cash (BCH)




Woman working on porch on a sunny fall day with laptop
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Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are predicated on blockchain technology, which stores information about crypto transactions within “blocks” of data that can contain 1 megabyte of data. As the currency grew more popular, these data blocks filled up, slowing down bitcoin transactions and increasing transaction fees. Some Bitcoin developers proposed a solution that would effectively reduce the amount of data needed in each block, but others believed this would compromise the integrity of the cryptocurrency – so they created their own version of Bitcoin in August 2017 and called it Bitcoin Cash. Bitcoin Cash has blocks that can store 8MB of data, allowing for faster and more frequent transactions with lower fees. Bitcoin Cash may be newer and less popular than its predecessor, but its scalability means it has incredible potential for growth and puts it in the running for best cryptocurrency.










Litecoin (LTC)


Two best friends relaxing in apartment on weekend using technology and having good time.  They are friends who sharing living space
Getty Images




Cryptocurrencies tend to seem obscure and complex to those who don’t understand the underlying technology, but Litecoin was created to help fix that. In fact, founder Charlie Lee wanted to create the “lite” version of Bitcoin and develop a cryptocurrency that could play the role of “silver to Bitcoin’s gold.” Lee did just that with Litecoin in 2011, creating a cryptocurrency that adopted many of the best features of Bitcoin with some twists. For instance, while bitcoin transactions take about 10 minutes to confirm, litecoin transactions are far faster, taking under three minutes. In addition, while it takes specialized hardware and impressive raw computing power for users to mine bitcoin, Litecoin has much lower system requirements – in fact, ordinary PCs are capable of mining for it. Faster and easier is a powerful combination for users and investors alike.




Ethereum (ETH)


Japanese woman paying bills on laptop
Getty Images




One of the main philosophies behind cryptocurrencies is the decentralization of currency. Ethereum takes that a step further – rather than decentralizing money, Ethereum’s goal is to decentralize the internet by replacing servers with a worldwide system of nodes, creating “one computer for the entire world.” Ethereum is a software platform based off blockchain technology in which users can exchange a cryptocurrency called ether. Ether has become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world, with a market cap around $40 billion that puts it second only to Bitcoin in market share. But the real draw is the platform itself, which has become wildly popular as a host for other cryptocurrencies – in other words, not only do investors profit from one of the best and most popular cryptocurrencies on the market, but also from the wider uses of Ethereum itself.




 


Binance Coin (BNB)


Senior couple doing home finances on their laptop in their kitchen 
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Like Ethereum, Binance Coin is much more than a cryptocurrency – as a matter of fact, Binance Coin was originally hosted on Ethereum until the Binance decentralized exchange, or DEX, went online in 2017. The Binance DEX is a platform much like Ethereum, albeit with a different mission. The Binance DEX is a decentralized platform where users can not only buy and sell binance coins, but can also use BNB to convert other cryptocurrencies from one to another. This has made the Binance DEX the biggest cryptocurrency exchange on the planet by volume and has helped fuel the popularity of the digital asset. Most importantly, the Binance DEX offers a discount to users who pay transaction fees on the exchange with BNB – a smart strategy that keeps users on the platform and helps sustain Binance Coin’s growth.




Tron (TRX)


Confident woman in her 50s smiling with natural skin, no make up, beauty, carefree, wellbeing, healthy lifestyle
Getty Images


This has been a year of extreme upheaval for the entertainment industry, leaving it ripe for disruption. This is exactly the sort of opportunity the founders of Tron must have been hoping for when they built a decentralized, blockchain-based platform for sharing content. Whereas many of the biggest entertainment companies in the world profit from gathering and selling data about their users, using Tron leaves no such footprints behind. While it protects users, Tron also allows creators to monetize their content directly via Tronix, Tron’s form of cryptocurrency. The platform has gained fame and notoriety in equal measure over the last few years due to the antics of Tron Foundation founder Justin Sun, but no matter how you feel about him, it’s undeniable that Tron is an ambitious idea – and while it isn’t going to overthrow Netflix (ticker: NFLX)tomorrow, it is an excellent speculative investment.


Chainlink (LINK)


Father working at home in the living room
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The Ethereum platform is predicated on smart contracts, or agreements between two parties on a blockchain network with the transaction recorded in blocks of data. The problem is that these transactions can only occur on a platform like Ethereum, and they need some way to draw real-world data into the platform in order to execute smart contracts when certain conditions are met. The solution is data providers called oracles, and while several crypto platforms have created ways for oracles to retrieve data for their network, Chainlink has come up with a reputation system that guarantees the data is accurate, ensuring the validity of smart contracts – and once an oracle’s data is verified, they are paid with Link, Chainlink’s cryptocurrency of choice. This system builds confidence in the platform, and the growing popularity of decentralized finance, or DeFi, helps make Link a contender for best cryptocurrency.




 


Seven contenders for the best crypto to buy for 2020:


Man using computer in home office
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    Bitcoin (BTC)
    

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    Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
    

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    Litecoin (LTC)
    

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    Ethereum (ETH)
    

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    Binance Coin (BNB)
    

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    Tron (TRX)
    

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    Chainlink (LINK)
    

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Refresher-What is Cryptocurrency?
Bitcoins
Cryptocurrency is a digital based medium of exchange that uses cryptographic functions to conduct financial transactions. Through blockchain technology, it achieves decentralization, transparency, and immutability. Simplified, cryptocurrency can be compared to casino chips or arcade tokens. It’s a form of payment, like the U.S. dollar and can be used to buy goods and services. But, unlike fiat money, it’s digital and uses encryption techniques to control the creation of monetary units and to verify funds that are transferred. Unique to cryptocurrency are the following:  


    

  • It is decentralized which means that supply is not determined by a central bank.  
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  • It has no physical form like a dollar bill or coin, and only exists in the network. 
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  • It has no essential value, meaning it can’t be traded and it is not redeemable for another commodity such as gold. 
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  • It is nearly impossible to counterfeit or double spend.  
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The term cryptocurrency is derived from the encryption techniques used to secure the network. They function using blockchain, a decentralized technology spread across many computers that manages and records transactions with immense security. Without blockchain, cryptocurrency would cease to exist.  In simplified terms, the “block” is the digital information, and the “chain” is the public database in which it is stored. They are like a spreadsheet containing information regarding a transaction. Every transaction generates a hash, which is a unique string of letters and numbers created by special algorithms to distinguish one block from another. The computers (also known as nodes) in the network will inspect the transaction and either confirm or reject it. If most of the computers approve the transaction, it is written into a block that joins the chain. Once the new block is added to the blockchain, it becomes public information for anyone to view.   


Several popular blockchain-based cryptocurrencies include: Ethereum, Litecoin, and NEO. But the first and most recognized digital currency is Bitcoin. An anonymous entity named Satoshi Nakamoto developed Bitcoin in 2008. According to Coinmarketcap.com, there are now thousands of different ones being traded publicly, but Bitcoin remains the single most well-known cryptocurrency to date. So, what is it exactly? Simplified, Bitcoin is like a computer file that is stored in a ‘digital wallet’ app on either a smartphone or computer. You can transfer Bitcoins to your wallet or to other people like you can with real money. However, unlike money you send through your bank or a digital payment service, the transfer goes to a network of computers which confirm your transaction (as explained above). Moreover, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are created through a process called mining. This is not the same as mining for gold. This process involves powerful computers solving complicated problems.   


Miners
Miners


Miners are a crucial tool for cryptocurrencies. Without them, transactions would not be verified, and users would not be able to make payments. Miners like Canaan Avalon 1066 and 1047 are remarkable, sophisticated machines designed to mine blocks. Their roles are to secure the network and process every Bitcoin transaction.  


For some, the paper dollar is outdated. Cryptocurrency has emerged as the more progressive and secure medium of exchange, though many people have yet to fully convert to the digital eco-system. Nonetheless, since its inception, the debate to shift to cryptocurrency has advanced. Some of the arguments for the digital dollar and against traditional government-based money include:  


    

  • Overturn corruption: through traditional government-based money, we are giving all our power to one centralized entity to control how it is used and moved. It aims to resolve the issue of absolute power by dispensing power among many people rather than one.  
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  • Eliminate extreme money printing. 
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  • Return absolute power: All assets are transferred to the government when you die without having a legal will in place or having owned a business. With cryptocurrencies, you and only you have access to your funds.  
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  • Eliminate the middleman: Whenever you make a payment or transfer, the middleman (your bank or digital payment service) will take a cut. With cryptocurrencies, all the network members in the blockchain are the middleman.  
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  • Serve the unbanked:  A large sector of the world has no access to payment systems like banks. With cryptocurrency, the spread of digital commerce around the globe will enable anyone with a mobile phone to begin making payments.  
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Globally, the economy continues to move toward a digital eco-system. Everything from money transfers to investments, the world is going paperless. Cryptocurrency has become the most promising addition to the digital payment sector. Blokforge is proud to be a part of the economic progression by providing state-of-the-art miners for mining Bitcoin cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Blokforge is currently working to develop nodes. These are computers in the network that communicate with each other to transmit information.