
<p>As an investor, it&#8217;s critical to comprehend the distinct approaches to studying stocks and other investments. Fundamental analysis and technical analysis are two commonly employed tactics, and it&#8217;s essential to grasp the discrepancies between them so you can make astute investment choices. With an eye towards fundamental analysis, one must be knowledgeable about macroeconomic forces, industry-specific trends, and the financial health of the underlying company. </p>



<p>On the other hand, technical analysis entails taking into account short-term price movements and chart patterns to identify potential entry and exit points. Thus, comprehending both approaches is paramount in order to make sound decisions when allocating capital.</p>



<h2>What is Fundamental Analysis?</h2>



<p>Fundamental analysis is a technique of determining the financial value of a security. This involves examining its economic and financial components, such as studying a corporation&#8217;s financial documents &#8211; e.g., income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. In this way, investors can gain a better understanding of a company&#8217;s financial health and its potential growth, helping them to decide if the stock is currently undervalued or overvalued.</p>



<p>It involves utilizing an organization&#8217;s historical and current information to create financial forecasts. This effort can have a number of possible objectives such as valuing a company&#8217;s stock, predicting its potential price, ascertaining its business performance, evaluating management, helping with internal business decisions, and calculating credit risk &#8211; all with the goal of determining the intrinsic value of the stock.</p>



<h2>What is Technical Analysis?</h2>



<p>Technical analysis is a way of evaluating securities by analyzing past trends, statistical data, and other relevant information. This includes interpreting chart patterns and price movements in order to make predictions concerning future market trends. By examining charts, trends, and other figures, technical analysts can identify profitable trading opportunities.</p>



<p>Fundamental analysts look at a broad range of factors, including earnings, dividends, assets, quality, ratios, new products, and research, to assess a security&#8217;s value. On the other hand, technical analysts deploy a range of techniques and tools, one of which involves interpreting charts. By examining price charts, they study potentially significant patterns and market trends, hoping to capitalize on lucrative trading opportunities. This includes analyzing archetypal price chart patterns, such as head and shoulders and double top/bottom reversal patterns, as well as technical indicators, moving averages, lines of support and resistance, channels, flags, pennants, balance days, and cup-and-handle patterns.</p>



<h2>The Key Differences?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Difference</td><td>Fundamental</td><td>Technical</td></tr><tr><td>Basic Difference</td><td>Analyzes a company&#8217;s financial health and future prospects</td><td>Analyzes market trends and price movements</td></tr><tr><td>Function</td><td>To determine the intrinsic value of a stock or security</td><td>To predict future price movements based on past performance</td></tr><tr><td>Relevant for / Time Frame</td><td>Long-term investment decisions</td><td>Short-term investment decisions</td></tr><tr><td>Data sourced from</td><td>Financial statements, earnings reports, economic data, industry trends</td><td>Historical price and volume data, chart patterns, market indicators</td></tr><tr><td>Indicators</td><td>Earnings per share (EPS), price-to-earnings ratio (P/E), dividend yield, revenue growth</td><td>Moving averages, relative strength index (RSI), Bollinger Bands, MACD (moving average convergence divergence)</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>While both fundamental and technical analysis have their strengths and weaknesses, there are several key differences between the two approaches.</p>



<h3>Time Horizon</h3>



<p>An important distinction between fundamental and technical analysis is the time horizon. Fundamental analysis takes a long-term perspective, factoring in a company&#8217;s financial health and future prospects over time. In contrast, technical analysis has a short-term focus, looking at market trends and price movements over days or weeks.</p>



<h2>Which Approach is Right for You?</h2>



<p>In the end, the choice between fundamental and technical analysis comes down to you, the investor. Everyone will have their preference and their desired investment philosophies. Some favor a more long-term view and use fundamental analysis to research a company&#8217;s financial health and future prospects. Others favor a short-term approach, using technical analysis and looking at charts to find profitable trading opportunities.</p>



<p>Ultimately, an optimal path could be to utilize a combination of fundamental and technical analysis in order to make informed investing decisions. As mentioned, each strategy has its own benefit and by leveraging the strengths of each approach, one can gain a comprehensive view of a company and the market, thereby enabling them to make educated decisions based on both short-term and long-term trends.</p>



<h2>Closing thoughts</h2>



<p>Understanding the difference between fundamental and technical analysis is an important part of becoming a successful investor. Whether you prefer a long-term or short-term approach, combining both fundamental and technical analysis can give you a comprehensive view of a company and the market, and help you make informed investment decisions.</p>


Understanding the Difference Between Fundamental and Technical Analysis


<p>Blockchain technology is used to create decentralized applications, or Dapps, on the Ethereum platform. As one of the most widely used cryptocurrencies today, many people are searching for the best place to store their ETH. We provide an extensive overview of Ethereum wallets in this article, including everything from fundamental definitions to sophisticated technical ideas and everything in between.</p>



<h2>What is an Ethereum Wallet?</h2>



<p>An Ethereum wallet is simply a secure digital wallet used to store, send, and receive Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform. Developed by Vitalik Buterin in 2013, Ethereum is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency platform after Bitcoin, with millions of users, billions of dollars in market capitalization, and an ever-expanding list of applications</p>



<h3>Types of Ethereum Wallet</h3>



<p>There are several types of Ethereum wallets available depending on your security needs</p>



<h3>Hardware Wallets</h3>



<p>Hardware wallets are physical wallets that store your private keys in a secure offline environment</p>



<h3>Web Wallets </h3>



<p>Web wallets are web-based services that allow you to store and manage your Ether</p>



<h3>Desktop Wallets</h3>



<p>Desktop wallets are desktop programs that let you manage your Ether</p>



<h2>How to Choose an Ethereum Wallet</h2>



<p>When choosing an Ethereum wallet, there are several factors to consider, including:</p>



<div class="is-layout-constrained wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p>1. Choose a wallet based on your needs. Some wallets are built for storing large amounts of Ether, while others are better for making frequent payments. </p>



<p>2. Look for a wallet that is user-friendly and has an easy-to-understand interface. How user-friendly is the wallet? And how easy is it to understand?</p>



<p>3. Check the security features of the wallet. Security: How secure is the wallet? What kind of security features does it offer? Look for two-factor authentication, encryption, and other measures that help protect your funds. </p>



<p>4. Check the wallet’s compatibility with other platforms. Does the wallet work on all platforms, or only certain ones? If you plan to use the wallet with another exchange or service, make sure it’s compatible. </p>



<p>5. Consider the cost. While many wallets are free, some charge fees for using the software. </p>



<p>6. Research the wallet’s reputation. Look for reviews from other users to ensure that the wallet is safe and reliable.</p>



<h2>The Best Ethereum Wallets</h2>



<p>sed on the factors listed above, some of the best Ethereum wallets include:</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>MyEtherWallet</strong>: MyEtherWallet is a popular web wallet that is easy to use and provides a high level of security.</li>



<li><strong>MetaMask</strong>: MetaMask is a popular browser extension that allows you to store and manage ETH and other Ethereum-based assets directly in your browser.</li>



<li><strong>Ledger Nano X</strong>: Ledger Nano X is a hardware wallet that provides a high level of security for ETH and other cryptocurrencies.</li>
</ul>



<h2>How to Store ETH Safely</h2>



<h3>Use a hardware wallet</h3>



<p>Hardware wallets are physical devices designed for the sole purpose of securely storing crypto. They are considered the safest option for storing ETH, as they are not connected to the internet, so there is virtually no risk of being hacked.</p>



<h3>Utilize a cold storage solution</h3>



<p>Cold storage refers to an offline wallet solution. It is a secure way to store ETH, as the private keys are not exposed to the internet and the funds are kept offline</p>



<h3>Secure the wallet with a strong password</h3>



<p>A vital step in maintaining the safety and security of your cryptocurrency is protecting your wallet with a strong password.</p>



<p><br>Consider utilizing two-factor authentication to provide the highest level of security (2FA).<br>Adding a second layer of security, 2FA prevents unauthorized access to your wallet by asking you to input both a password and a code that was delivered to your phone or email address.<br>This guarantees that your money will be safe even if your password is stolen.<br>Additionally, be careful where you save your password because forgetting it will prevent you from accessing your wallet and the money it contains.Ultimately no matter which wallet solution you choose, always use a strong, unique password that is not easily guessed. And make sure the password is stored securely.</p>



<h3>Backup your wallet</h3>



<p>Always keep a backup of your wallet on a secure drive, as you may need it to recover your funds in the event of a technical issue or an attack</p>



<h3>Keep your wallet private</h3>



<p>Never share your wallet information with anyone, as it can potentially lead to your funds being stolen.</p>



<h2>Storing in a cryptocurrency exchanges</h2>



<p>Rather than keeping your ETH in a private wallet, you could store them on a crypto exchange, most likely the one you purchased Ethereum from. Many exchanges offer to secure their clients&#8217; assets in joint wallets. However, this is not usually recommended for the majority of cryptocurrency users.</p>



<p>One of the most important lessons for those new in the crypto world is &#8220;not your keys, not your coins&#8221;. If an exchange is compromised or hacked, your funds are most likely gone too. Compared to fiat banking, crypto exchanges do not offer the same level of security guarantees for customer deposits.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re looking to buy, sell, or trade ETH, the majority of established reputable cryptocurrency exchanges that takes great security measures to ensure the safety of its users&#8217; funds. Storing some of your assets at the exchange is necessary if you wish to use it.</p>



<p>Nevertheless, remember to be careful with storing in an exchange, after all we all saw first hand what happened to FTX. Though most established exchanges seem secure to some degree, always remember that crypto is still an unregulated space with many grey areas and uncertain actors.</p>



<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>



<p>Ethereum wallets are a must-have for every crypto enthusiast! Choosing the right one can be the deciding factor in maximizing your ETH holdings. By taking into account all the crucial elements, you&#8217;ll be able to discover the perfect Ethereum wallet that fits your style. Whether you&#8217;re just starting out with Ethereum or already a seasoned pro, this ultimate guide to Ethereum wallets will provide you with all the information you need to make smart decisions and get the most out of your crypto journey. Don&#8217;t settle for just any wallet, elevate your ETH game to the next level!</p>
</div></div>


A Guide to Safely Storing Your Ethereum Assets


<p>The demand for cleaner and more efficient sources of energy has never been greater, and the nuclear industry is seeing an increase in interest as a result. The recent Russian invasion of Ukraine has only further highlighted the need for alternative energy sources, and uranium stocks have become an increasingly attractive investment target. From Cameco Corporation to Uranium Resources Inc., uranium stocks offer investors the chance to capitalize on the increasing demand for nuclear energy. In this blog post, we will discuss the current state of the uranium market, the advantages and disadvantages of investing in uranium stocks, and the top companies in the industry.</p>



<h2>Overview of the Uranium Market </h2>



<p>The uranium market can be divided into several key areas, depending on the type of uranium traded and the purpose of the transaction. These areas include: uranium mining, uranium ore processing, uranium-based fuel production, nuclear power plants, nuclear waste processing and disposal, and uranium trading. Uranium mining is the process of extracting uranium ore from the ground. The primary sources of uranium ore include underground and open-pit mines. Uranium ore processing involves refining the ore to produce a usable form of uranium, usually as pellets or powder. Uranium-based fuel production involves taking uranium ore and mixing it with other elements to form fuel assemblies. </p>



<p>These fuel assemblies are then loaded into nuclear power plants to generate electricity. Nuclear power plants use uranium-based fuel to generate electricity. The waste products of these plants must be treated and disposed of safely. Nuclear waste processing and disposal is an important aspect of the uranium market. Finally, uranium trading involves the buying and selling of uranium products on the world market. This includes both trading of physical uranium products, such as uranium pellets and powder, as well as uranium derivatives, such as futures and options. </p>



<h3>What is uranium used for?</h3>



<p>Uranium is a radioactive element that is primarily used as fuel for nuclear power plants. When uranium is bombarded with neutrons, it undergoes a process called nuclear fission, which releases a large amount of energy. This energy is used to generate electricity in nuclear power plants. Uranium is also used in some industrial and medical applications, such as in the production of medical isotopes for diagnostic imaging and cancer treatment.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="750" height="520" src="https://www.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uranuim-market-stocks-arcena-december22.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-924" srcset="https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uranuim-market-stocks-arcena-december22.jpeg 750w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uranuim-market-stocks-arcena-december22-300x208.jpeg 300w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uranuim-market-stocks-arcena-december22-218x150.jpeg 218w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uranuim-market-stocks-arcena-december22-696x483.jpeg 696w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uranuim-market-stocks-arcena-december22-606x420.jpeg 606w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/uranuim-market-stocks-arcena-december22-100x70.jpeg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px" /></figure>



<h3>Uranium as an Investment</h3>



<p>As seen in the image above <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/uranium">Uranium futures</a> fell to a seven-month low of below $48.5 per pound in December due to muted bidding in spot and futures markets, lower demand, and supply worries caused by corrosion problems in French power plants. However, countries such as the US, China, and Japan have pledged investments in new plant development, which could boost the nuclear energy supply. Overall, the uranium market is a complex one with various sectors and sectors of related activity. It is important to have a strong understanding of the different aspects of the market in order to make the most informed investment decisions.</p>



<h2>Advantages of Investing in Uranium Stocks </h2>



<p>Investing in uranium stocks can be a great way to diversify your portfolio and potentially benefit from the uranium market&#8217;s growth. There are several advantages to investing in uranium stocks, including: </p>



<h3>Potentially high returns</h3>



<p>Uranium stocks can provide investors with the potential for high returns, as the demand for uranium is expected to continue to grow over the coming years. </p>



<h3>Diversification</h3>



<p>Investing in uranium stocks helps to diversify a portfolio, bringing in a different source of income and protecting an investor from market volatility. </p>



<h3>Tax benefits</h3>



<p>Investing in uranium stocks may also provide certain tax benefits, such as deductions on capital gains taxes and other taxes related to uranium investments. </p>



<h3>Long-term investment</h3>



<p>Uranium stocks are typically considered to be a long-term investment, meaning that investors can benefit from their investments over the course of several years. </p>



<h3>Exposure to emerging markets</h3>



<p>Investing in uranium stocks can provide investors with exposure to emerging markets, as the demand for uranium is expected to continue to grow globally. </p>



<p>Overall, investing in uranium stocks can be a great way to diversify your portfolio and benefit from the uranium market&#8217;s growth. It is important to do your research and understand the risks associated with investing in uranium stocks before making any investment decisions.</p>



<h2>Disadvantages of Investing in Uranium Stocks </h2>



<p>Investing in uranium stocks can be a great way to diversify your portfolio, but as with any investment, it also comes with certain risks and potential disadvantages. These potential disadvantages include: </p>



<h3>Price volatility</h3>



<p>Uranium prices can be volatile due to factors such as supply and demand, political and economic conditions, and other market factors. This can lead to uncertain returns on uranium investments. </p>



<h3>Regulatory uncertainty</h3>



<p>Investing in uranium stocks can bring with it certain regulatory and environmental risks, as uranium mining and processing is subject to strict government regulations. </p>



<h3>Potential for radioactive contamination</h3>



<p>Uranium mining, processing, and nuclear power plants can all lead to radioactive contamination, which can have serious environmental and health effects. </p>



<h3>Long-term commitment</h3>



<p>Investing in uranium stocks is generally a long-term commitment, as the returns on these investments may take years to materialize. </p>



<p>Overall, while investing in uranium stocks can be a great way to diversify your portfolio, it is important to understand the risks associated with investing in uranium stocks. Doing your research and staying up to date on the uranium market can help you make informed investment decisions.</p>



<h2>Top Companies in the Uranium Market </h2>



<p>There are several large companies operating in the uranium market. Some of the top companies include</p>



<h3>Cameco Corporation (NYSE:<strong>CCJ</strong>)</h3>



<p>Cameco is a Canadian uranium-producing company with operations in multiple countries. It is one of the largest uranium producers in the world. It&#8217;s the world&#8217;s largest publicly traded uranium company, with 455 million pounds of proven and probable mineral reserves and a licensed capacity to produce over 53 million pounds of uranium concentrates annually. The company operates projects in Canada, the US, Australia, and Kazakhstan to reduce political and other risks, and is well-positioned to benefit from increasing global uranium demand.</p>



<h3>BHP (BHP)</h3>



<p>BHP&#8217;s Olympic Dam mine in Australia is one of the largest uranium deposits in the world, although copper is the primary resource mined. In 2021, output from the uranium asset decreased 11 percent year-over-year, and BHP instead opted to focus on &#8220;targeted debottlenecking investments, plant upgrades and modernization of infrastructure.&#8221; Currently, BHP is looking for new opportunities to add to its resource profile and has begun resource definition drilling at Oak Dam in South Australia.</p>



<p>BHP, one of the world&#8217;s largest mining companies, is a good option for investors who want to invest in the uranium market but also want exposure to other stable businesses. The company produced around 3.3 million metric tons of uranium in the year ending June 30, 2021, and also mines other relevant metals and minerals such as copper. Additionally, BHP&#8217;s forward yield of 13.7% makes it a good option for investors looking for passive income.</p>



<h3>Denison Mines (DNN)</h3>



<p>Denison Mines is a uranium exploration and development company that offers high potential rewards but also carries significant risks. Its flagship project is the Wheeler River in northern Saskatchewan, Canada, and it also has three other core projects. The company&#8217;s market performance has been poor, with its share price barely above penny-stock territory and a year-to-date decline of more than 15%. However, it is possible that increased demand for energy could lead to growth in the sector.</p>



<h3>Ur-Energy Inc. (URG)</h3>



<p>Ur-Energy is a US-based uranium mining company operating the Lost Creek uranium facility in south-central Wyoming. Since 2013, Ur-Energy has produced, packaged, and shipped approximately 2.6 million pounds U3O8 from Lost Creek. The Company also has all major permits and authorizations in place to begin construction at their second in situ recovery uranium facility, Shirley Basin, and is in the process of obtaining remaining amendments to Lost Creek authorizations for expansion. As a result, Ur-Energy is actively engaged in uranium mining, recovery, and processing activities, with operations based in the United States.</p>



<h3>Energy Fuels Inc. <a href="https://investingnews.com/company-profiles/energy-fuels-nyse-uuuu/">(</a>UUUU)</h3>



<p>Energy Fuels is the largest producer of uranium in the US, operating the White Mesa mill in Utah with a licensed capacity of over 8 million pounds of U3O8 per year. The company also owns the Nichols Ranch ISR project in Wyoming and the Alta Mesa ISR project in Texas, both of which are currently on standby. Energy Fuels has one of the largest uranium resource portfolios in the US, with a pipeline of uranium and uranium-vanadium mining projects in various stages of permitting and development.</p>



<p>The White Mesa Mill is a strategic facility located in southeast Utah that is currently the only fully licensed and operating conventional uranium mill in the United States. The mill also has the capability to produce a high-purity vanadium product and recently began production of an intermediate rare earth product. The mill has produced over six million pounds of uranium since 2013, and its licensed capacity allows for the production of over eight million pounds per year. The White Mesa Mill offers Energy Fuels a number of business opportunities, including the production of uranium, rare earths, and vanadium.</p>



<h2>Final thoughts</h2>



<p>The uranium market appears to be on the rise as demand for nuclear energy increases. Investing in uranium comes with both advantages and disadvantages, and it&#8217;s important for investors to carefully consider these before making any decisions. Leading companies in the uranium market include BHP, Denison Mines, and Ur-Energy, among others. Overall, the future of the uranium market looks promising, making it an interesting opportunity for investors.</p>



<p><em>As with any investment</em> <em>This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. Always conduct your own due diligence before making investments.</em></p>


Uranium Stocks: Exploring the Investment Opportunities in the Nuclear Market.


<p>One of the largest crypto exchanges has just filed for bankruptcy. Initially thought to be bought out by Binance, FTX has now been on a death spiral since. The leak of FTX balance sheet caused for a plummet in the FTT coin which then only lead to FTX to get in a liquidity crunch.</p>



<p>FTX&#8217;s recent collapse has revealed that the cryptocurrency exchange was using two US accounting firms, Armanino and Prager Metis, to audit its books. Notably, both of these auditing companies are highly reputable; Armanino is one of the 20 largest revenue-generating accounting firms in America while Prager Metis styles itself as the first accounting practice to open a headquarters in the metaverse. In the US, there is a race among several firms to win business from burgeoning crypto companies by touting expertise in digital assets. However, accounting rules for these assets are often unclear, and businesses remain in their infancy.</p>



<h2>From bad to worse</h2>



<p>The Wall Street Journal reported that FTX.com, an exchange, <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/news/3905771-ftx-used-half-of-its-customer-assets-to-fund-risky-wagers-report?source=content_type%3Areact%7Csection%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">loaned out</a> more than half of its customer funds to back risky wagers by Alameda &#8211; totaling at $10B of the customer&#8217;s $16B assets.</p>



<p>SBF went on Twitter and admitted his wrongdoings, promising to use &#8220;every penny&#8221; the liquidity-strapped exchange has to repay its users. He wrote that Alameda was &#8220;winding down trading&#8221; and &#8220;one way or another, soon they won&#8217;t be trading on FTX anymore.&#8221;</p>



<p>He said that he should&#8217;ve been more transparent with communication, and he also misjudged users&#8217; margin given &#8220;a poor internal labeling of bank-related accounts,&#8221; which was once of the main reasons why Binance backed away from its proposed FTX deal.</p>



<p>The 30-year-old claimed that FTX.com still has a chance to survive despite its current liquidity issues.&#8221;there are a number of players who we are in talks with, LOIs, term sheets, etc.”.</p>



<p>Towards the end of the week, FTX Group, made up of FTX.com, FTX.US, Alameda Research and around 130 other entities, submitted for <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/11/11/ftx-files-for-bankruptcy-protections-in-us/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chapter 11 bankruptcy</a> proceedings in America after its CEO SBF left his role due to the company&#8217;s multibillion-dollar deficit and being unable to pay an overwhelming number of customer withdrawals. FTX Exchange may not be fully shutting down, but it will have to make some changes in order to pay its creditors. The company was founded in 2019. It was later noted that FTX would stop processing withdrawals.</p>



<h2>Domino Effect?</h2>



<p>As it stands the current price of Bitcoin is around $16.5K. This is down from an all-time high of $64K exactly one year ago. Bitcoin&#8217;s price has had a vumpy 2022 regardless and this event might have just made things worse.</p>



<p>The meaningful influences for the extended crypto community are just beginning. For example, crypto lender BlockFi recently <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-11/blockfi-pauses-withdrawals-says-can-no-longer-operate-as-usual" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paused client withdrawals</a> citing a &#8220;lack of clarity&#8221; on the status of SBF&#8217;s crumbling empire. Similarly, Bloomberg reported that SoftBank Group had invested nearly $100 million in FTX.com but expects to write off the full value of its stake due to current market conditions.</p>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Terra LUNA<br />Celsius<br />Three Arrow Capital<br />Voyager<br />FTX/Alameda<br />Blockfi </p>
<p>Who in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/crypto?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#crypto</a> is next?</p>
<p>— Altcoin Daily (@AltcoinDailyio) <a href="https://twitter.com/AltcoinDailyio/status/1590885820944510977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>



<p>This week&#8217;s events in the crypto world were only the latest major setback. Last May, for example, saw the failure of Terra and associated ecosystem projects. This caused many different lenders and companies within the space to go bankrupt- which then led to depressed token prices across board, as well as more intense regulatory scrutiny from government authorities. Some experts have commented that this recent FTX drama will only exacerbate these previous negative developments.</p>



<p>It is clear that the crypto world is in a state of flux. These latest events will only serve to further shake up the industry and it remains to be seen how things will pan out in the coming weeks and months. One thing is for sure, though: the crypto world is not for the faint of heart.</p>


FTX. What went wrong and could it get worse?


<p>A little under a week ago, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that he has now closed on the Twitter acquisition. This week, Twitter has followed suit, announcing that it will would fire top executives and rearrange what goes on in the company especially when it comes to content moderation. As it stands <a href="https://www.arcena.io/blog/crypto/dogecoin-is-up-113-in-just-the-past-week/">Dogecoin is up over 100%</a> this past week. Musk, a prominent fan and promoter of the crypto token known as $DOGE, has not mentioned anything regarding the crypto, but rumors and price speculation have caused some to believe that the crypto might play a role in Twitter.</p>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="und">👀</p>
<p>— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1587634400426164225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>



<p>Musk as given subtle hints that Dogecoin could be used for Twitter. While these tweets don&#8217;t directly say that Dogecoin could be used on Twitter, they do suggest that Musk is a fan of the cryptocurrency and thinks it has potential. It&#8217;s possible that he could be working on a way to integrate Dogecoin into Twitter in some capacity, but nothing has been confirmed at this time.</p>



<h2>Dogecoin up over 100%</h2>



<p>Musk&#8217;s involvement with Dogecoin has led many to believe that his acquisition of Twitter could mean good things for the meme coin. Musk has been a long-time supporter of Dogecoin, and his influence has helped fuel its rallies in the past, making it one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.</p>



<p>Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that was created in 2013 as a parody of the then-popular Bitcoin. The coin&#8217;s logo is a Shiba Inu dog, and its mascot is a Japanese cartoon dog. Dogecoin began as a joke but quickly grew in popularity, with its value rising from $0.00026 to $0.018 in just one month.</p>



<p>While dogecoin started as a joke, there are now 28 billion coins in circulation—and the coin has a market capitalization of $4 billion. That&#8217;s because people see dogecoin as a fun, accessible alternative to Bitcoin. And since more businesses are beginning to accept it, its value is only likely to continue to rise.</p>



<p>As it stands (11/1/22) Dogecoin($DOGE) is currently trading at $0.1428</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="929" height="400" src="https://www.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/DOGE_1D_graph_coinmarketcap-lusera.png" alt="" class="wp-image-881" srcset="https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/DOGE_1D_graph_coinmarketcap-lusera.png 929w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/DOGE_1D_graph_coinmarketcap-lusera-300x129.png 300w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/DOGE_1D_graph_coinmarketcap-lusera-768x331.png 768w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/DOGE_1D_graph_coinmarketcap-lusera-696x300.png 696w" sizes="(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /></figure>



<p>So, what does this mean for Twitter? Well, for one thing, it could mean increased revenue. Twitter has been struggling financially in recent years, and this move could be a way to boost its bottom line. But there&#8217;s also a risk that accepting dogecoin could backfire if the coin&#8217;s value begins to drop sharply—something that is always a possibility with cryptocurrencies.</p>



<p>Musk has however stated his interest in potentially using Doge as a payment method. Dogecoin became bullish after it was confirmed that Musk would be taking over Twitter. A rally like this is usually due to investors buying a cryptocurrency, thus driving the price up. Of course, Musk has previously tweeted multiple times regarding Dogecoin, though not always with Twitter in mind.</p>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Maybe even an option to pay in Doge?</p>
<p>— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1512954808394731521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>



<h2>Should You Look Into Buying Doge?</h2>



<p>As it stands Dogecoin is the 8th biggest cryptocurrency by market cap. Since it is among the main 10 cryptos, a few people have contended that the resource has become too large for a meme coin with scarcely any use case, giving more reasons why it may never succeed.</p>



<p>Although Dogecoin didn&#8217;t have many use cases in the past, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has changed that. One of the most exceptional parts of recent history for Doge was when Musk convinced Tesla to start accepting Dogecoin payments.</p>



<p>Even though other companies that accept the meme coin have no ties to Musk, we cannot deny his impact. Now that Twitter is part of his empire, it&#8217;s probable Dogecoin will have even more use cases spring up, providing it with bonafide justification for growth instead of relying on memes and internet trends.</p>



<h2>Musk and plans for Twitter</h2>



<p>While The Chief Twit has grandiose aspirations for Twitter, substantial regulations might get in the way of his plans. Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner, told Musk, &#8220;In Europe, [Twitter] will fly by our rules.&#8221; Breton was taking a dig at Musk&#8217;s free speech statements.</p>



<p>Even though external regulation may pose a threat, Musk still needs to take care of his own business, and be on top of internal regulation.&nbsp;Musk has often spoken about Twitter’s moderation policies, which many see as censorship of political positions. Nonetheless, Musk&#8217;s goal for Twitter is to use a ‘content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.’</p>



<h2>Investing in Doge?</h2>



<p>It seems that the recent pump may only be the beginning for Dogecoin, and we could be on the verge of another big move for this popular cryptocurrency. Like every other digital currency, the bear market caused its price to plummet to $0.06, but it has since recovered somewhat and is now hovering around $0.118 after hitting a high of $0.15 in the sudden pump.</p>



<p>Although it has not come close to its all-time high of $0.6 in 2021, Dogecoin may easily regain and exceed this value if Musk&#8217;s proposed use of the currency on Twitter is carried out. Remember that you should never invest more money than you can stand to lose, since there is no foolproof way to predict whether or not a cryptocurrency will go up in price—even when someone as influential as Elon Musk supports it!</p>



<p>Dogecoin started as a joke but has since grown into a force to be reckoned with, with a market capitalization of $4 billion. As more businesses begin to accept it, its value is only likely to continue to rise. For Twitter, this move could lead to increased revenue—but there&#8217;s also a risk that accepting dogecoin could backfire if the coin&#8217;s value begins to drop sharply. Only time will tell how this all plays out.</p>



<h2>Closing Thoughts</h2>



<p>Right now it seems that Twitter &amp; Elon have a lot to deal with. It appears though that the FUD and FOMO is starting to appear. Even though Twitter has been trying to break into new markets, its future is still uncertain. In the past, whenever Twitter tried to venture into a new sector, it was met with regulation. And this scenario will continue in the future because no regulator wants a &#8216;free world.&#8217; Even in America- which likes to consider itself as the land of the free- regulatory agencies like SEC might get in its way and hinder Twitter&#8217;s growth. Crypto in general is very volatile &amp; risky and would seem crazy to be implemented right away, but then again it&#8217;s Musk so anything can happen.</p>



<p><strong>Disclaimer:</strong> <em>This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. Always conduct your own due diligence before making investments.</em></p>


Will Twitter accept dogecoin?


<h2>What Is a Digital Currency?</h2>



<p>You may have heard about Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, but what exactly are they? Bitcoin is a digital or virtual asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions and to control the creation of new units. Ethereum is a <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/what-is-decentralized-finance-defihow-does-it-work/">decentralized </a>platform that runs smart contracts. These apps run on a blockchain, which is a distributed public ledger. Litecoin is a cryptocurrency that Ripple with Option Trade was created with the intention of being faster and cheaper to transaction than Bitcoin. Now that you know what they are, let’s go over the pros and cons of using crypto currency.</p>



<h2>Features of a digital currency.</h2>



<p>Digital currencies only exist in digital form and can be centralized or decentralized. They can transfer value and extend the concept of what a currency can be used for.</p>



<p>Most digital currencies are decentralized, meaning there is no government or financial institution that controls them. Bitcoin, for example, is decentralized and no one can control it. Decentralized digital currencies are often more volatile than centralized ones.</p>



<h2>Some Characteristics of Digital Currencies&nbsp;are</h2>



<ul><li>Cryptocurrencies only exist electronically and do not have a physical form.</li><li>Cryptocurrencies can be centralized or decentralized.</li><li>Cryptocurrencies can be used to transfer value. Digital currencies can transfer value, which requires a mental shift in the existing framework for currencies. Digital currencies are associated with sale and purchase transactions for goods and services, but they can also extend the concept. For example, a gaming network token can extend the life of a player or provide them with extra superpowers. This is not a purchase or sale transaction but, instead, represents a transfer of value.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="780" height="1024" src="https://www.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Purple-Modern-Gradient-Steps-How-To-Start-A-Business-Tips-Infographic-780x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-873" srcset="https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Purple-Modern-Gradient-Steps-How-To-Start-A-Business-Tips-Infographic-780x1024.png 780w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Purple-Modern-Gradient-Steps-How-To-Start-A-Business-Tips-Infographic-229x300.png 229w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Purple-Modern-Gradient-Steps-How-To-Start-A-Business-Tips-Infographic-768x1008.png 768w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Purple-Modern-Gradient-Steps-How-To-Start-A-Business-Tips-Infographic-696x913.png 696w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Purple-Modern-Gradient-Steps-How-To-Start-A-Business-Tips-Infographic.png 794w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" /></figure>



<h2>Pros of crypto:</h2>



<p>•Faster Transactions- Crypto currencies are able to be sent anywhere in the world within seconds. There are no bank holidays or weekends when sending crypto currency.</p>



<p>•Lower Fees- When you send crypto currency, the fees are usually lower than if you were to send money through a bank.</p>



<p>•Decentralized- No one person or group controls crypto currency. It is not subject to government regulation either. This could be seen as both a pro and a con.</p>



<p>•Anonymous- When you set up a crypto currency wallet, you do not have to provide your name or any other personal information.</p>



<h2>Cons of crypto:</h2>



<p>•Volatile- The value of crypto currency can change very quickly. For example, in December 2017, the price of Bitcoin reached almost $20,000 USD. In March 2020, the price had dropped to around $3,700 USD. Then in November the price peaked at around $69,000. As it stands one year later Bitcoin is currently trading at $21,000.</p>



<p>•Not Widely Accepted- While there are many businesses that accept crypto currency as payment, it is not yet accepted everywhere. Most people still use fiat currency (government issued currency like USD).</p>



<p>•Hacking Risks- When you store your crypto currency in a digital wallet, there is always the risk that it could be hacked. If this happens, you could lose all of your money.</p>



<p>There are pros and cons to using crypto currency. Some people believe that it is the future of money while others think it is too risky. It is important to do your own research and decide if investing in crypto currency is right for you.</p>



<h2>The Bottom Line</h2>



<p>Cryptocurrencies have captured the imagination of some, struck fear among others and eluded the understanding of many. Nevertheless, as with any new and disruptive technology, it is important to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to investing in cryptocurrencies. While there are certainly risks involved in buying cryptocurrencies, there are also potential rewards. By understanding</p>


The characteristics of digital currency and their pros and cons.


<p>Dogecoin has increased 113% over the past seven days, trading at $0.1269. This surge appears to be caused by Elon Musk&#8217;s recent Twitter buyout. As of now there is no word on Dogecoin&#8217;s use on the platform or if it still has <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/does-dogecoin-have-utility/">valid utility</a>.</p>



<h2><strong>So What&#8217;s Happening?</strong></h2>



<p>People who are knowledgeable about Dogecoin and other meme cryptocurrencies know that the prices of these coins are often influenced by celebrities, such as Elon Musk.</p>



<p>Doge began to turn the corner&nbsp;along with the equity markets at the start of this week. After convincingly breaking above the $0.060 level on Oct. 25, there has been no turning back for the crypto. Since Oct. 24, it has soared over 90%&#8230;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/22/10/29470157/doge-rockets-higher-breaching-10-cent-level-first-time-since-may-watch-for-these-key-level" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><em>Read More</em></a></p>



<p>In a deal finalized today, Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. According to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, Musk plans to take over the role of Twitter CEO and reverse life bans. The report also states that he may remain CEO in the interim but is likely to give up the role in the longer term.</p>



<p>Musk has terminated Twitter’s CEO&nbsp;<strong>Parag Agrawal&nbsp;</strong>and Chief Financial Officer&nbsp;<strong>Ned Segal</strong>, and legal affairs and policy chief<strong>&nbsp;Vijaya Gadde</strong>,&nbsp;reported&nbsp;Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter.</p>


Dogecoin Is Up 113% In Just The Past Week.


<p>In recent years, there has been a growing movement in the financial world toward decentralization. This trend has given rise to a new form of finance known as decentralized finance, or DeFi for short. In this blog post, we&#8217;ll take a look at what DeFi is and how it works.</p>



<p></p>



<h2>What Is Decentralized Finance?</h2>



<p>Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a financial technology that enables the exchange and management of digital assets in a decentralized manner. DeFi is built on the Ethereum blockchain and enables the creation of decentralized applications (dApps) that provide a wide range of financial services. These services include lending, borrowing, trading, and payments. DeFi is an emerging field of finance that has the potential to disrupt the traditional financial system. DeFi applications are built on the Ethereum blockchain and are open source, transparent, and accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.</p>



<p>The DeFi ecosystem is growing rapidly and is currently worth over $13 billion. The rapid growth of the DeFi ecosystem is due to the many advantages it offers over the traditional financial system, such as:</p>



<ul><li>Openness: DeFi applications are open source and transparent. This allows for a level of accountability that is not present in the traditional financial system.</li><li>Accessibility: DeFi applications are accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. This makes DeFi applications accessible to a global audience.</li><li>Security: DeFi applications are built on the Ethereum blockchain, which is a secure and decentralized platform.</li><li>Innovation: DeFi applications are built on the Ethereum blockchain, which is a platform for innovation. DeFi applications are constantly evolving and improving.</li></ul>



<p><br>Decentralized finance is a form of finance that is built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. DeFi applications are open source and permissionless, meaning that anyone can use them. Additionally, DeFi applications are trustless, meaning that you don&#8217;t have to trust any central authority with your money.</p>



<p>As it stands, Ethereum is the most popular blockchain for DeFi applications, with more than <a href="https://news.bitcoin.com/total-value-locked-in-defi-nears-lifetime-high-ethereums-tvl-dominates-by-54/">54% of the total value</a> locked in DeFi ($125.7 billion) on Ethereum. There are a few reasons for Ethereum’s dominant market share. First, Ethereum’s smart contract functionality enables more complex applications. Second, Ethereum’s ERC20 token standard makes it easier for new tokens to launch on Ethereum. Finally, Ethereum’s network effects make it more attractive for developers, users, and investors.</p>



<h2>What is Centralized Finance?</h2>



<p>In contrast to decentralized finance, centralized finance (or CeFi) is the traditional financial system that we have today. In the centralized financial system, there are central authorities that control the flow of money and make all the decisions. For example, banks are central institutions in the CeFi system.</p>



<p>Because CeFi applications are centrally controlled, they are not as trustless as DeFi applications. This means that you have to trust the central authority with your money.</p>



<p>Additionally, CeFi applications are not inter-compatible because each application is its own silo. This lack of interoperability is one of the key limitations of CeFi.</p>



<p>The most prominent example of centralized finance is the banking system. The banking system is a network of financial institutions that provide services to customers. The services provided by banks include lending money, issuing credit, and holding deposits. The banking system is regulated by the government to ensure that it functions properly and to protect consumers.</p>



<p>One flaw of this is that the centralized banking system can be used to promote the interests of the government or a small group of wealthy people rather than the general population. For example, the government may use the banking system to bail out big businesses or to fund projects that benefit a small number of people.</p>



<h2>How Does DeFi Work?</h2>



<p>DeFi applications are built on Ethereum smart contracts. Smart contracts are programs that run on the Ethereum blockchain. They can be used to create financial contracts, like loans and deposits, that are stored on the blockchain and can be executed automatically.</p>



<p>Because DeFi applications are built on Ethereum, they can interact with each other. For example, you could take out a loan on one DeFi platform and then use the money you borrowed to trade on another DeFi platform. This inter-platform compatibility is one of the key features that makes DeFi so powerful.</p>



<h2>Disadvantages of DeFi</h2>



<p>The main disadvantages of DeFi are: </p>



<ol><li>There is the risk that you could lose your money if a<a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/crypto-hacking-is-setting-records-and-defi-is-most-in-danger/"> DeFi application is hacked</a>. Although decentralized applications are often touted as being more secure than traditional centralized applications, they are not immune to hacking. If a hacker is able to gain access to a DeFi application, they could steal the money that is stored in the application. If you lose your money due to a hack or other security breach, it is unlikely that you will be able to get your money back. This is because decentralized applications are often not regulated, and there is no central authority that you can contact to file a claim.</li><li> Lack of regulation: The decentralized nature of DeFi means that there is no central authority regulating or overseeing the activities of DeFi projects. This lack of regulation could lead to financial losses for investors if a DeFi project is not well-designed or is simply a scam. </li><li>Counterparty risk: When using DeFi applications, you are trusting that the other party involved in the transaction will not default on their obligations. If they do, you could lose your money. </li><li>Technical risks: DeFi applications are often complex and require a certain level of technical knowledge to use them. If you do not understand how a DeFi application works, you could lose your money. </li><li>Liquidity risks: Some DeFi applications may have low liquidity, which means that it may be difficult to sell your position in the application for cash. This could lead to losses if you need to sell your position but cannot find a buyer.</li></ol>



<h2>Conclusion:</h2>



<p>The DeFi ecosystem is still in its early stages and is constantly evolving. The future of DeFi is uncertain, but the potential for disruption is massive. DeFi is a new form of finance that is based on the Ethereum blockchain. DeFi applications are open source and permissionless, meaning that anyone can use them. Additionally, DeFi applications are trustless, meaning that you don&#8217;t have to trust any central authority with your money. If you&#8217;re looking for a more decentralize way to do your finances, then DeFi might be for you.</p>



<p><br><em>This article is not a recommendation by Arcena or the writer to invest in cryptocurrencies or other ICOs. Investing in cryptocurrencies and other ICOs is highly risky and speculative. Since each individual&#8217;s situation is unique, a qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions.</em></p>


What Is Decentralized Finance (DeFi)?How Does It Work?


<p>Cryptocurrencies have been in the news a lot lately, and for all the wrong reasons. Hackers have been busy stealing millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies from exchanges and individual investors. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at the current state of crypto hacking and explore why DeFi is most at risk.</p>



<p>If digital assets stolen in hacks this October continue on their current trajectory, the month will end up being the worst one yet&#8211;highlighting dangers involved with decentralized finance.</p>



<p>So far this month, $718 million has been stolen from 11 hacks of decentralized finance protocols, according to Chainalysis, a crypto intelligence firm.</p>



<p>“At this rate, 2022 will likely surpass 2021 as the biggest year for hacking on record. So far, hackers have grossed over $3 billion dollars across 125 hacks,” the firm said in a Twitter thread.</p>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">1/ After four hacks yesterday, October is now the biggest month in the biggest year ever for hacking activity, with more than half the month still to go. So far this month, $718 million has been stolen from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeFi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DeFi</a> protocols across 11 different hacks. <a href="https://t.co/emz36f6gpK">pic.twitter.com/emz36f6gpK</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Chainalysis (@chainalysis) <a href="https://twitter.com/chainalysis/status/1580312145451180032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>



<p>They also noted that. In 2021, digital thieves had a big year stealing $3.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency. However in 2022, they’re shaping up to steal even more.</p>



<p>In the first quarter of this year, Hackers have stolen a combined $1.3 billion from exchanges, platforms, and private entities&#8211; with victims in DeFi accounting for a disproportional amount.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="633" src="https://www.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-defi-graph1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-829" srcset="https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-defi-graph1.png 1024w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-defi-graph1-300x185.png 300w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-defi-graph1-768x475.png 768w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-defi-graph1-696x430.png 696w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>Decentralized Finance, or &#8220;DeFi&#8221;, alludes to economic services that don&#8217;t require central authorities. Rather than depending on brokers or conformity exchanges, the mechanisms rely on smart contracts like those provided by Ethereum or other blockchain systems.</p>



<p>In recent weeks, DeFi platforms or protocols &#8211; especially those called bridges that let users send crypto and information between different blockchains &#8211; have been commonly hacked. One of the most hacks happened to a blockchain network bridge run by Binance, which is the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. The hackers stole more than $100 million.</p>



<p>Three bridges have been breached this month by hackers, according to Chainalysis, accounting for more than 80% of losses this month and two-thirds of 2022’s total.</p>



<p>Going after DeFi platforms marks a relatively recent trend in crypto.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In the past, centralized exchanges—which are run by a company, such as&nbsp;Coinbase Global&nbsp;(ticker: COIN) or Binance—have been targeted by hackers. Major hacks on centralized exchanges in crypto’s history include attacks on Mt. Gox in 2011 and 2014, and the exploitation of a vulnerability at the Japanese exchange Coincheck in 2018. Salona and other coins have been heavily targeted as well.</p>



<p>“Crypto custody and security practices by centralized exchanges have improved over the years limiting potential attack vectors,” Stephane Ouellette, the CEO of crypto derivatives broker&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/FRNT?countryCode=CA&amp;mod=MW_story_quote" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">FRNT Financial</a>,&nbsp;said in a note Friday.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“DeFi proponents argue that the sub-sector will eventually develop more robust security which will lower the prevalence of hacks, similarly to how centralized exchanges responded to cyber risks over time,” Ouellette added. “However, given the unique technical nature of DeFi, it is unclear if the sub-sector will be able to minimize the occurrence of hacks to the extent centralized exchanges have.”</p>


Crypto Hacking Is Setting Records and DeFi is most in danger.


<p>In a world of trends and flops we only remember what impacted us. The Metaverse was a world that was far ahead of its time, and it seems to be troubling both financially and user-wise. We have been through these before when it comes to crypto, the metaverse and <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/web3-will-it-ever-go-mainstream/">web3 </a>in general.</p>



<h2>First off what is or was the Metaverse?</h2>



<p>The metaverse was once seen as the future of the internet. A place where we could all come together and interact in virtual reality. But did it really take off? Or was it a flop? Let&#8217;s take a look at some of the evidence and decide for ourselves.</p>



<h2>First off what is or was the Metaverse?</h2>



<p>The Metaverse is a term coined by Neal Stephenson in his science fiction novel Snow Crash. It refers to a virtual reality world where people can interact with each other and digital objects as if they were physical. Stephenson described it as &#8220;a shared, persistent space on the Internet where users can meet, interact and do business.&#8221;</p>



<p>So what happened to the Metaverse? Well, there are a few explanations.</p>



<p>Some say that it never really existed in the first place. That it was just a figment of our imagination, a product of science fiction. Science fiction often gives us a glimpse into the future, but it&#8217;s not always accurate. So it&#8217;s possible that the Metaverse was just an idea that never really came to fruition.</p>



<p>Others say that the Metaverse is still around, but it&#8217;s not as popular as it once was. This could be for a number of reasons. Maybe people got tired of it or lost interest. Or maybe the technology just wasn&#8217;t good enough to make it a realistic and enjoyable experience. A lot of others might have been in it for a &#8220;quick buck&#8221;.</p>



<h2>What went wrong with the Metaverse?</h2>



<p>There are a few possible explanations for why the Metaverse wasn&#8217;t as successful as people thought it would be. One reason could be that the technology wasn&#8217;t good enough to make it a realistic and enjoyable experience. Another possibility is that people lost interest in it or got tired of it. And a lot of others might have been in it for a &#8220;quick buck&#8221;. We are still not ruiling out the platform, but from what it seems the metaverse is hitting a few bumps.</p>



<h2>Meta has burned $15 billion trying to build the metaverse.</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-lost-15-billion-building-the-metaverse-reality-labs-money-2022-10">According to Business Insider,</a> Meta spent $15B on the metaverse since the start of last year. That’s a lot of money for what is essentially a virtual world with no real revenue model.</p>



<p>Meta has spent more than $15 billion on its Reality Labs metaverse venture since the beginning of last year, but so far, the company hasn&#8217;t shared what exactly that money is being spent on. Some experts are concerned that the company might be wasting its resources.</p>



<p>&#8220;The problem is that they spend the money, but the transparency with investors has been a disaster,&#8221; Dan Ives, a tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, said. &#8220;This continues to be a risky bet by Zuckerberg and the team because, for now, they&#8217;re betting money on the future while they continue to have massive headwinds on their core business,&#8221; he added.</p>



<p>Since beginning to disclose financial information for Reality Labs last year, Meta has revealed that it sunk more than $10 billion into the venture with no indication of when the losses might stop. In fact, so far, they&#8217;ve reported a loss of more than $5 billion in just the first six months of this year and there are some analysts who predict total losses this year will surpass those from last year.</p>



<p>The most likely explanation is that the Metaverse was just ahead of its time. The technology wasn&#8217;t quite there yet to make it a reality. But who knows? Maybe one day we&#8217;ll all be living in a virtual world and the Metaverse will finally be a success. Only time will tell.</p>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mark Zuckerberg of <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24META&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$META</a> said VR, the technology he bet his entire $340 billion company on a year ago, is entering “the trough of disillusionment.” </p>
<p>That’s a term folks in the tech industry like to use when excitement around a new technology drastically wanes, per CNBC.</p>
<p>&mdash; unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) <a href="https://twitter.com/unusual_whales/status/1582028164163076098?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>



<p>A couple more tweets.🙂</p>


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Zuck bet the company on the metaverse and changed its name to reflect that, even if no one else is in its metaverse, has been on an amazing downward spiral 🔥🔥🔥</p>
<p>Oh well &#8230; 😰 <a href="https://t.co/Tzini0fp5I">pic.twitter.com/Tzini0fp5I</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) <a href="https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1583397693539368961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>



<h2>Is Zuckerberg in it or the long-term vision?</h2>



<p>Could Zuck have just been too early? After all we heard the same thing about the internet and the countless applications that came with it, where they were resorted to just being &#8220;fads&#8221;. But as time went on, people started to realize the potential of it and slowly but surely, it became a part of our everyday lives.</p>



<p>The same could be said for the Metaverse. It&#8217;s possible that Zuckerberg is just too early and that the technology isn&#8217;t quite there yet. But he&#8217;s clearly in it for the long haul and is betting big on the Metaverse. Only time will tell if he&#8217;s right.</p>



<p>What do you think? Is the Metaverse a failure or is it just ahead of its time? Let us know in the comments below!</p>


Was the Metaverse a flop?


<p>What if there was a way to take back control of our finances without relying on centralized institutions? With the rise of decentralized finance, or &#8220;DeFi&#8221;, that&#8217;s now a reality. DeFi allows users to create and participate in financial applications that operate independently of traditional banking systems. This could be a game-changer for those looking to break free from the grip of big banks and other financial institutions. So what is DeFi, and how can you get involved? Read on to find out.</p>



<p>What is DeFi? Decentralized finance, or &#8220;DeFi&#8221; for short, describes a range of financial applications that operate independently of traditional banking systems. DeFi apps fall into two categories: those that allow users to create new financial products, and those that allow users to participate in existing financial products. Examples of DeFi applications include decentralized exchanges, peer-to-peer lending platforms, and prediction markets. These apps are made possible by blockchain technology and cryptographic security protocols, which allow transactions to take place without the need for a third party. How Does DeFi Work? In order to use a DeFi app, you first need to set up a cryptocurrency wallet. Once you have your wallet set up, you can then deposit funds into it using Bitcoin or another supported cryptocurrency. From there, you can start using the app to create or participate in financial transactions. The key advantage of using DeFI apps is that they&#8217;re not controlled by any central authority. This means that you don&#8217;t have to trust anyone else with your money &#8211; you retain complete control over it at all times! Why Use DeFI? There are many reasons why someone might want to use DeFI apps instead of traditional banking services. Perhaps the biggest advantage is privacy &#8211; since these apps operate independently of centralized institutions, your personal data is much less likely to be compromised. Additionally, many people believe that decentralization is essential for creating a more fair and equitable financial system. By taking back control of our finances from big banks and other centralized institutions, we can help ensure that everyone has access to basic banking services regardless of their location or socio-economic status.&#8221;</p>



<p>With DeFi, users can create and participate in financial applications that operate independently of traditional banking systems. This could be a game-changer for those looking to break free from the grip of big banks and other financial institutions. So what is DeFi, and how can you get involved? Read on to find out.</p>



<h2>DeFi is built on the Ethereum blockchain and uses smart contracts to automate financial transactions.</h2>



<p>This means that DeFi apps can run without the need for a central authority, which gives users more control over their finances. There are many reasons to use DeFi apps instead of traditional banking services. Privacy is one big advantage, since these apps operate independently of centralized institutions, your personal data is much less likely to be compromised. Additionally, many people believe that decentralization is essential for creating a more fair and equitable financial system. By taking back control of our finances from big banks and other centralized institutions, we can help ensure that everyone has access to basic banking services regardless of their location or socio-economic status.</p>



<h2>DeFi applications are called &#8220;dapps&#8221; and include things like lending, borrowing, and trading platforms.</h2>



<p>There are currently over 1,000 DeFi dapps available, and more are being created every day.If you&#8217;re interested in getting involved with DeFi, the first step is to set up a cryptocurrency wallet. Once you have your wallet set up, you can then deposit funds into it using Bitcoin or another supported cryptocurrency. From there, you can start using DeFi dapps to create or participate in financial transactions. The key advantage of using DeFI is that you retain complete control over your finances at all times! So if you&#8217;re looking for a more private and decentralized way to handle your money, DeFi is definitely worth checking out.</p>



<h2>The advantages of DeFi over traditional finance include lower fees, more transparency, and greater security.</h2>



<p>One of the biggest advantages of DeFi is that it cuts out the middleman. With traditional finance, you have to go through banks or other financial institutions in order to make a transaction. This can be both time-consuming and expensive. With DeFi, all you need is a cryptocurrency wallet and you can start making transactions without having to go through a third party. This not only saves you time, but also money in fees. Another advantage of DeFi is that it is built on the Ethereum blockchain, which is a public ledger. This means that all transactions are transparent and visible to everyone on the network.</p>



<h2>The disadvantages of DeFi include its complexity and the fact that it&#8217;s still in its early stages of development.</h2>



<p>One of the biggest disadvantages of DeFi is its complexity. Because it&#8217;s built on the Ethereum blockchain, DeFi requires a basic understanding of how blockchain works. Additionally, many of the dapps are still in development and can be difficult to use. This is especially true for those who are not familiar with cryptocurrency or smart contracts. Another downside of DeFi is that it&#8217;s still in its early stages of development, which means that there is a higher risk of hacks and scams. Despite its disadvantages, DeFi has the potential to revolutionize the way we handle our finances.</p>



<p>Ultimately, DeFi has the potential to revolutionize the way we handle our finances &#8211; but only time will tell if it will truly live up to its hype.</p>



<p><strong>Please note: This is not financial advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and risky investments. Do your own research before investing in any asset.</strong></p>


The revolutionary rise of decentralized finance


<p><br>OPEC&#8217;s decision to cut supply in order to prop up prices could have a positive effect on crypto markets. If oil prices increase as a result of the production cuts, it could lead to increased investment in cryptocurrencies as a hedge against inflation. In addition, higher oil prices could also lead to increased demand for energy-intensive cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which would potentially drive up prices.</p>



<p><br>Weiskopf said that “if oil prices go up, and they’re a significant part of the cost to mine Bitcoin, then you would think that would have some negative impact on the price of Bitcoin.” He added that “higher energy prices would also lead to increased demand for energy-intensive cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which would potentially drive up prices.”</p>



<p>On October 5, 2022. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-heads-deep-supply-cuts-clash-with-us-2022-10-04/">OPEC+ announced</a> that they will be cutting back on oil by 2 million barrels per day. Biden criticized the move saying he&#8217;s disappointed. Since then oil has jumped 4% and could reach back to $100. OPEC is cutting production by 2 million barrels per day in order to raise prices. This is because they fell short of their output target in August, meaning that less oil was produced than planned. The cuts will mainly come from Gulf OPEC producers such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.</p>



<h2>Effect on crypto miners</h2>



<p>Bitcoin miners will be affected by increasing oil prices in a few ways. First, if the price of oil goes up, the cost of electricity will also go up since most bitcoin mines are powered by oil-fired generators. This will increase the operating costs for bitcoin miners and reduce their profit margins. Second, higher oil prices could lead to political instability in countries where bitcoin mines are located especially in Russia &amp; China. This could create security risks and make it difficult for miners to access their rigs or receive payments.</p>



<h2>Bitcoin’s Correlation With Gold Hits Highest Level in Over a Year</h2>



<p>Bitcoin&#8217;s reduced tendency to move in tandem with U.S. stocks has refocused analysts on a correlation that&#8217;s suddenly strengthening: the cryptocurrency&#8217;s connection to gold. The two assets&#8217; merging paths follow a recent trend, branching away from stock prices, which have sunk dramatically this year, and buttressing arguments by bitcoin evangelists that so-called digital gold offers the same safe-haven advantages as the real stuff. BTC and gold will continue to travel in sync.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="548" src="https://www.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-gold-btc-corilation-1024x548.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-759" srcset="https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-gold-btc-corilation-1024x548.jpg 1024w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-gold-btc-corilation-300x160.jpg 300w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-gold-btc-corilation-768x411.jpg 768w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-gold-btc-corilation-696x372.jpg 696w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-gold-btc-corilation-1068x571.jpg 1068w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/arcena-gold-btc-corilation.jpg 1294w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption><em>Bitcoin’s rolling 30-day correlation of daily returns with gold hit the highest level in over a year (Kaiko).</em></figcaption></figure>



<p>The 30-day correlation between gold and bitcoin has ranged between positive and negative 0.2 since late last year, but last week it reached over 0.3, its highest in over a year. Even as cryptocurrencies decoupled from equities, the correlation between gold and bitcoin remained strong.</p>



<p><strong>BTC and stocks</strong></p>



<p>Gold prices have been volatile in recent weeks, falling about 5% since early September. In contrast, bitcoin prices have been relatively stable, falling about 1% over the same period. The paragraph above discusses the positive correlation between gold and bitcoin prices. Gold prices have been volatile in recent weeks, falling about 5% since early September. In contrast, bitcoin prices have been relatively stable, falling about 1% over the same period. Even as cryptocurrencies decoupled from equities, the correlation between gold and bitcoin remained strong.</p>



<p>The current BTC/gold correlation is weak and positive, but it is too early to tell if this will continue. BTC&#8217;s low volatility is likely responsible for the current correlation.</p>


How OPEC’s decision to cut supply could affect crypto markets.


<p>Mastercard is taking crypto fraud seriously. The company has announced a new tool that will help to combat crypto-based crime. This is just the latest step in Mastercard&#8217;s efforts to get involved in the crypto world. With this new development, Mastercard is looking to make its mark in the crypto industry and stay ahead of the competition.</p>



<p>On Tuesday, Visa will release a new piece of software that aids banks in detecting and terminating transactions from fraudulent cryptocurrency exchanges. A source was told to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/04/mastercard-deepens-crypto-push-with-tool-for-preventing-fraud.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">CNBC</a>.</p>



<p>The system called Crypto Secure, uses AI algorithms to determine the risk of crime associated with crypto exchanges that use the Mastercard payment network. The system relies on data from the blockchain&#8211;a public record of all crypto transactions&#8211;as well as other sources.</p>



<p>Last year, Mastercard acquired CipherTrace, a blockchain security startup. Based in Menlo Park, California and headed by CEO David Jevans, the company investiges illicit transactions involving cryptocurrencies. Among its many services are providing tools to businesses and government agencies that help with forensic investigations of digital assets. Its main rivals are New York firm Chainalysis and Elliptic out of London.</p>



<p>Mastercard is launching the service in light of the increasing crime rates in the digital asset market. According to data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, last year saw a record $14 billion worth of crypto entering wallets with known criminal connections. This year has seen a spate of high-profile hacks and scams targeting crypto investors, and Mastercard hopes to help mitigate these threats.</p>



<p>The Crypto Secure platform has a dashboard that uses different colors to show how risky it is for banks and other card issuers to have suspicious activity. The riskiest is red, which means “high,” and the least risky is green, meaning “low.”</p>



<p>Crypto Secure doesn’t make a judgment call on whether to turn away a specific crypto merchant. That decision is down to the card issuers themselves.</p>



<p>Bitcoin is now worth less than $20,000 a coin — a roughly 70% plunge from its near-$69,000 all-time high — and in recent weeks has struggled to climb meaningfully above that level.</p>



<p>As it stands, Bitcoin is down about 70% since its peak of $69,000 back around a year ago. It has had a sloppy 2022 in general with a 58% YTD decrease.</p>



<p>$1.4 billion has been lost to blockchain bridge breaches this year, Chainalysis data shows. Despite the slump in digital token prices, crime related to cryptocurrency appears to be continuing unabated. These bridges are used to exchange assets from one crypto networkto another and have proven popular among swindlers looking to exploit investors of their funds.</p>



<p>In the face of this potential issue, major financial services firms and crypto platforms are investing in ways to lower the risk of illegal gains being transferred through their systems. Cryptocurrencies are often criticized for their use in money laundering and other forms of criminal activity — an issue that stems in part from the anonymous nature of participants on blockchain networks.</p>



<p>However, new software tools have made it simpler to track crypto criminals&#8217; ill-gotten gains. To study data on public blockchains using sophisticated data science and machine learning methods, businesses are employing cutting-edge analytics.</p>



<p>Mastercard is working to keep up with Visa, which has made numerous investments in the cryptocurrency world. In the first fiscal quarter of 2022, Visa said that it facilitated $2.5 billion worth of transactions from cards linked to an account at a crypto platform.</p>



<p>In 2021, Visa launched a crypto advisory practice to offer advice to clients on everything ranging from rolling out crypto features to exploring non-fungible tokens.</p>


Mastercard looks more into crypto with new ways for fighting fraud


<p>Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum—although it’s a very different animal than either of these popular coins. Dogecoin was originally created at least in part as a lighthearted joke for crypto enthusiasts, and took its name from a once-popular meme. But dogecoin isn’t just a meme coin; it has actual utility. Dogecoin is used as a tipping currency on social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter, and is also accepted by some online retailers as a form of payment including potential SpaceX.</p>



<p>Dogecoin’s fast transaction times and low fees make it a good choice for microtransactions, like tipping someone for a helpful post or buying something small online. And because dogecoin is mined using a proof-of-work algorithm, anyone with a computer can help process transactions and earn doge</p>



<h2><strong>How Does Dogecoin Work?</strong></h2>



<p>Dogecoin is based on the Litecoin protocol, which means it uses proof-of-work consensus. That means dogecoin miners (people with special computers) verify dogecoin transactions and add them to the dogecoin blockchain—similar to how Bitcoin or Ethereum miners work. As an incentive to do this work, miners are rewarded with dogecoin. The dogecoin block time is one minute, which is faster than both Bitcoin and Ethereum. That means dogecoin transactions are confirmed more quickly, but it also means there’s a higher chance of orphaned blocks (blocks that aren’t added to the blockchain).</p>



<h2>How are Dogecoin &amp; Bitcoin different?</h2>



<p>Dogecoin is different from Bitcoin in several key ways. First, dogecoin has a much faster block time, meaning transactions are confirmed and added to the dogecoin blockchain much more quickly than they are on the Bitcoin network. Dogecoin’s block time is only one minute, compared to Bitcoin’s ten minutes.</p>



<h2>How do you buy Dogecoin?</h2>



<p>You can <a href="https://ftx.us/home/#a=44409533" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">buy Dogecoin</a> through many exchanges including the most prominent ones, FTX, Coinbase and Binance. Buying Dogecoin is similar to that of other crypto currencies. You’ll need to set up an account on the exchange of your choice, deposit some fiat currency (like USD or EUR) and then you can start buying dogecoin.</p>



<p>As with other cryptocurrencies, once you’ve purchased Dogecoin it’s best to move your coins to a crypto wallet. Wallets take many forms, from online services offered by exchanges like Coinbase, to apps on your mobile device or even a physical hard drive. You secure the wallet with a private password. Since your coins are held outside of an exchange, there’s an extra layer of protection against hacks.</p>



<h2><strong>Should You Buy Dogecoin? </strong>What is Dogecoin’s future?</h2>



<p>Dogecoin’s future is hard to predict. The dogecoin community is very active and vocal, and has been able to successfully rally around causes in the past. For example, dogecoin was used to raise funds for the Jamaican Bobsled team to go to the 2014 Olympics. As should go without saying this isn&#8217;t investment advice, like any other asset, especially crypto currencies which can be very volatile and risky assets, please make sure to do your de diligence thoroughly. As it stands Dogecoin is still down dramatically, more than 80% since its peak back in May 2021. It&#8217;s tough to say what will happen, after all memes are a powerful force on the internet with a large enough community and momentum, anything is possible.</p>


Does Dogecoin Have utility?


<p>The US just had two consecutive quarters of negative gdp growth. However despite the results, the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/federal-reserve-meeting-interest-rates-july-2022/card/powell-we-re-not-in-a-recession-oJnEhZEXciXazu6NUbMo">White House doesn&#8217;t believe we&#8217;re in a recession</a>.  The same week that the federal reserve raised interest rates by 75 bps there was news that the us is now two consecutive quarters with negative gdp shrinking 0.9% in the past quarter. </p>



<p>The U.S economy has been shrinking for two consecutive quarters, but the White House is not calling it a recession yet&#8211;they say that&#8217;s an official definition from NBER which only happens during major depressive episodes in our country’s history (such as when unemployment reaches 10%). However many factors go into determining whether or not you have qualify as &#8220;recession&#8221; according them: 1) how long this period lasts 2)-the severity 3). Whether prices keep falling 4)) What kind of economic shock caused these events (trade war, natural disaster, etc)</p>



<p>Right now, the two biggest indicators of a recession are an inversion of the yield curve and high unemployment. The&nbsp;yield curve inverted last week–meaning that short-term U.S. Treasury bonds yield more than long-term ones. </p>



<p>This is significant because it’s often seen as a predictor of an upcoming recession. As for unemployment, it’s currently at 3.7%, which is near a 50-year low, but if layoffs start to happen and people can’t find jobs, that number will rise pretty quickly.</p>



<p>In terms of what this all means for bitcoin, it’s hard to say. In the past, recessions have actually been too good for Bitcoin, during the 2020 downturn Bitcoin bottomed to it&#8217;s lowest in years at around $3,000. Also Bitcoin hasn&#8217;t been around for too long so we don&#8217;t actually know how the asset behaves in recessions. Bitcoin wasn&#8217;t founded until 2009, after the recession. We have already seen that B<a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/bitcoin-plummets-regardless-of-high-inflation/">itcoin is not a hedge against inflation</a>. We are currently in uncharted territory with this particular recession, as it is being caused by a trade war–something that has never happened before.</p>



<h1>Where does Bitcoin play a role in this?</h1>



<p>Right now as it stands Bitcoin is at roughly $23K and is up 10% this week ending on July 30. The current &#8220;recession&#8221; that we are facing is a very unique one. We have high inflation, with low unemployment and many ongoing geopolitical conflicts. Bitcoin seemed to response positively during the recent rate hikes. Right now Bitcoin seems to be on a slow uptrend. Ultimately it will come down to the risk tolerance investors and speculators are willing to place. Bitcoin is still a volatile asset that can have huge swing and fast run-ups. Nonetheless it has a strong supportive community and with an uncertain market, investors may still prefer Bitcoin.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Binance CEO: High inflation and talks about recession drive adoption into <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bitcoin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bitcoin</a></p>&mdash; Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) <a href="https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1553462508890886144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h1>How the Latest Fed Rate Increase Could Impact Crypto Prices, Based on These 3 Charts</h1>



<p>While the cryptocurrency markets have shown some stabilization recently, prices are still well below their all-time highs. One possible reason for this is the interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. As rates rise, the cost of borrowing money increases, which can lead to reduced investment in riskier assets like cryptocurrencies. This is evident in the first chart, which shows that Ethereum prices tend to move inversely to US interest rates. The second chart shows that when the Fed raises rates, Bitcoin prices tend to fall as well. This is likely due to reduced demand from investors seeking to avoid losses in other asset classes. Finally, the third chart shows that Ethereum prices have tended to correlate closely with Bitcoin prices in recent months. This suggests that if Bitcoin prices fall in response to higher interest rates, Ethereum prices are likely to follow suit. Ultimately, the direction of crypto prices will largely depend on how investors react to the Fed&#8217;s latest rate increase. If history is any guide, it seems likely that prices will continue to experience volatility in the short-term.</p>


Is the US in a recession? What this means for Bitcoin and other factors going into Q3


<p>If you&#8217;re new to Ethereum, you may be wondering what gas is and how it works. In this article, we&#8217;ll explain everything you need to know about Ethereum gas fees and why they are necessary for the health of the network. We&#8217;ll also cover how to calculate gas fees and some of the criticisms that have been leveled against Ethereum&#8217;s gas system.</p>



<h2>How Do Ethereum Gas Fees Work?</h2>



<p>Ethereum gas fees are a way of paying for transaction fees on the Ethereum network. When you make a transaction on the Ethereum network, you need to specify a gas limit and a gas price. The gas limit is the maximum amount of gas that you are willing to pay for the transaction, and the gas price is the amount that you are willing to pay per unit of gas. If your transaction is successful, then you will be charged the specified gas price for each unit of gas that was used. If your transaction is not successful, then you will only be charged for the units of gas that were actually used.</p>



<p>The reason that gas fees are necessary is because they help to keep the network from becoming bogged down by malicious users spamming the network with transactions. Gas fees also help to compensate Ethereum miners for their work in verifying transactions and securing the network. </p>



<p>If there were no gas fees, then there would be no incentive for miners to verify transactions or to secure the network.</p>



<p>The amount of gas that you need to pay for a transaction depends on the complexity of the transaction. The more complex the transaction, the more gas it will require. The current gas prices are set by the miners and can vary depending on network conditions.</p>



<h2>Gas Fees in Ethereum 2.0/&#8217;The Merge&#8217;</h2>



<p>Ethereum&#8217;s mainstay protocol, Proof of Work (PoW), is facing challenges. Its scalability is poor, PoW is expensive to secure, and increasingly centralized. ethereum&#8217;s developers have been working on a long-term solution to these problems called Ethereum 2.0, or &#8220;The Merge.&#8221; Ethereum 2.0 will replace ethereum&#8217;s existing PoW protocol with a more scalable and environmentally friendly Proof of Stake (PoS) protocol. One key change in Ethereum 2.0 is the introduction of gas fees. In the current PoW protocol, miners are rewarded with ethereum for verifying transactions and adding them to the ethereum blockchain. In Ethereum 2.0, validators will be rewarded with ethereum for staking their ethereum and committing those funds to serve as collateral for the network. These validators will also earn interest on their ethereum deposited in form of rewards paid out by the ethereum network. The amount of ethereum earned as a reward will depend on two factors: the amount of ethereum staked, and the length of time it is staked. The longer ethereum is staked, the higher the reward will be. For example, if a validator stakes 1 ETH for 10 days,</p>



<h2>Why You Need to Know About Ethereum Gas Fees</h2>



<p>Ethereum gas fees are important because they help to regulate the ethereum network and prevent spam transactions. By including a fee, end users are able to prioritize their transactions and ensure that they are processed in a timely manner. In addition, ethereum gas fees help to support the ethereum network by funding miners who process transactions. Without adequate fees, miners would be less likely to process ethereum transactions, leading to slower transaction times and less reliable service. As a result, ethereum gas fees play an essential role in ensuring the stability and efficiency of the ethereum network.</p>


How does Ethereum gas work?


<p>We are living in the era of the internet. It has completely revolutionized how we live and do business. The next big development is web3, which will take internet to a whole new level. But what is web3 and what can we expect from it? Let&#8217;s explore! When it comes to the internet, we are living in exciting times. Every day, there are new developments and innovations that are reshaping how we live and do business. The next big development on the horizon is web3, which promises to take the internet to a whole new level.</p>



<h2>Web3 and the Metaverse are set to become big business</h2>



<p>In the near future, the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/metaverse-will-be-good-for-business/">Metaverse will be a big business</a>. This virtual world will be a place where people can interact with each other and explore different environments. It will be a place where businesses can conduct transactions and where people can play games. Web3 technologies will play a big role in making this happen. Web3 technologies include blockchain, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. These technologies will allow businesses to create virtual worlds that are secure and efficient. They will also allow businesses to create platforms that are easy to use and that offer a variety of features. The Metaverse will be a place where people can shop, work, play, and learn. It will be a place where businesses can thrive. Web3 technologies will make this possible.</p>



<h2>What is Web3 and what are the expectations for it?</h2>



<p>Web3 is the next generation of the internet, where users are in control of their own data. With Web3, there is no need for centralized intermediaries like Google or Facebook. Instead, users can connect directly with each other using decentralized applications (dapps). There are high expectations for Web3 as it has the potential to revolutionize the way we use the internet. For example, users will be able to own their own data and decide who can access it. This could lead to a more private and secure internet experience. In addition, Web3 could enable new applications that are not possible with today&#8217;s web. For example, dapps could allow users to trade cryptocurrencies or create decentralized marketplaces. While the full potential of Web3 is still unknown, it is clear that it has the potential to change the way we use the internet for the better. We are seeing this today as well with <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/the-current-state-of-nfts-is-it-over-or-is-it-just-beginning/">the rise of NFTs</a>. Will NFT live up to their expection and become a mainstream component of web3? Time will tell.</p>



<h2>How is Web3 different from the current web we use today?</h2>



<p>Web3 is the future of the internet. It is a more decentralized, secure, and censorship-resistant internet. Unlike the current web, which is controlled by a few large corporations, Web3 will be powered by millions of users around the world. With Web3, users will be able to control their own data and privacy. They will also be able to access new applications that are not possible on the current web. For example, Web3 applications can be used to create trustless contracts, or to store data in a decentralized way. Web3 is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to radically change the way we use the internet.</p>



<h2>What challenges must be overcome to make Web3 a reality?</h2>



<p>If the internet is Web2, then Web3 is the internet of the future. Just as Web2 is an interconnected network of computers, Web3 is a decentralized network of devices that can interact with each other without the need for a central authority. This promises to revolutionize the way we interact with the internet, but it also presents a number of challenges. One major challenge is security. Without a central authority to oversee data transactions, it becomes much more difficult to prevent fraud and protect users&#8217; information. Another challenge is scalability. As more devices are added to the network, it becomes increasingly difficult to ensure that all of them can communicate with each other efficiently. Finally, there is the question of governance. Who will make decisions about how the network should be run, and how will those decisions be enforced? Overcoming these challenges will be essential to making Web3 a reality.</p>



<h2>How will Web3 benefit businesses and consumers alike?</h2>



<p>The arrival of Web3 is set to revolutionize the internet as we know it. Web3 is a decentralized web where data is stored on a network of computers, rather than on central servers. This new infrastructure will have a number of benefits for businesses and consumers alike. For businesses, Web3 will offer a more secure way to store data, as well as improved scalability and data privacy. For consumers, Web3 will mean greater control over their personal data and a more open internet experience. In addition, the arrival of Web3 is likely to lead to new business models and economic opportunities, as well as increased innovation in the tech sector. Ultimately, Web3 promises to usher in a new era of internet use, with benefits for all.</p>



<h2>What obstacles stand in the way of this new technology becoming mainstream?</h2>



<p>At present, web3 technology is still in its early stages of development, and there are a number of obstacles that need to be overcome before it can become mainstream. One of the biggest challenges is scalability. In order for web3 to be widely adopted, it needs to be able to handle a large number of users and transactions without slowing down or becoming overloaded. Another obstacle is security. As web3 is built on blockchain technology, it is vulnerable to the same types of hacks and security breaches that have affected cryptocurrencies. Finally, there is the issue of user experience. At present, many web3 applications are difficult to use and understand, which will likely dissuade most people from using them. While these obstacles may seem daunting, there is reason to believe that they can be overcome with time and effort. With the right team in place, web3 could one day become the new standard for the internet. <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/bitcoin-is-it-the-future-of-money-the-latest-developments-in-bitcoin/">Even Bitcoin today</a>, one of the most prominent and essential components of web3 is still seen as a scam and has a lot of uncertainty.</p>



<h2>Will regulations hit web3 hard?</h2>



<p>The web3 sector is still in its early stages, and many elements are still being finalized. Regulations could have a significant impact on the development of web3 technologies. For example, if regulations require all data to be stored centrally, it would limit the ability of web3 technologies to decentralize data. Additionally, regulations could impose limits on the use of encryption, which would hinder the development of privacy-centric web3 applications. While regulations could have a negative impact on web3 development, it is also possible that they could provide a boost by clarifying the legal status of these technologies. Ultimately, the effect of regulations on web3 will largely depend on their specific nature.</p>



<h2>What is the public perception on web3?</h2>



<p>The web3 is the third generation of the internet, where data is decentralized instead of being centrally located on large server farms. So far, the general public&#8217;s reaction to this new development has been overwhelmingly positive. People are drawn to the idea of having more control over their data and being able to access it from anywhere in the world. In addition, they appreciate the increased security and privacy that comes with a decentralized internet. While there are still some concerns about the scalability of web3, overall the public seems very excited about this new phase of the internet. In a tweet Jack Dorsey jokingly mentioned working on <a href="https://twitter.com/jack/status/1535314738078486533?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1535314995650498560%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcryptonews.com%2Fnews%2Fmove-over-web3-and-web4-jack-dorseys-tbd-is-building-web5.htm">web5</a>. The joke is that there is a lot fuss around web3 to the point where it has gotten cliché and many don&#8217;t even know what they&#8217;re talking about.</p>



<p>So, what is web3? In a nutshell, it’s the next step in internet evolution. It promises to be more user-friendly, secure and efficient than ever before. With its launch, we can expect a whole new level of innovation and progress in the online world. How will web3 impact businesses? That remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that it will have a profound effect on how we interact with the digital world. Are you excited for web3? Do you think it will go mainstream? Let us know in the comments below!</p>


Web3: Will It Ever Go Mainstream?


<p id="427a504f-a0b0-4b24-9d5e-b35141b6fa10">In 2021, NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) were all the rage. They were being touted as the next big revolution in the world of cryptocurrency. But is that still the case? Or has the hype died down? In this blog post, we will take a look at the current state of NFTs and try to answer that question.</p>



<p id="427a504f-a0b0-4b24-9d5e-b35141b6fa10">NFTs first came to prominence in early 2021. At that time, they were being hyped up as the next big thing in the world of cryptocurrency. And for good reason. NFTs offered a way to tokenize just about anything. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities for digital assets.</p>



<h2>Latest Trends</h2>



<p id="894430a4-e78a-4286-bad8-2767773ee602">According to recent Google Trends, NFTs seemed to have peaked at around January of 2022. There has since been a steady decline in search volumes for the topic. This could be indicative of a few things. Firstly, it could simply mean that the hype around NFTs has died down. Or, it could also mean that people are losing interest in them. This is not entirely surprising given the number of scams and projects that have been associated with NFTs.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="468" src="https://www.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-1674-1024x468.png" alt="" class="wp-image-622" srcset="https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-1674-1024x468.png 1024w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-1674-300x137.png 300w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-1674-768x351.png 768w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-1674-1536x701.png 1536w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-1674-696x318.png 696w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-1674-1068x488.png 1068w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-1674-920x420.png 920w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-1674.png 1901w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p id="894430a4-e78a-4286-bad8-2767773ee602">Another possibility is that the current bear market has caused people to lose interest in NFTs. This is because the prices of many NFTs are directly correlated with the prices of cryptocurrencies. So, when the crypto markets go down, the NFT markets usually follow suit. Don&#8217;t get it wrong ultimately search volume doesn&#8217;t tell the whole story, but it could be a leading indicator as to their growth.</p>



<h2>Bill Gates on NFTs: &#8216;I&#8217;m Not Involved in That&#8217;</h2>



<p id="894430a4-e78a-4286-bad8-2767773ee602">One of the most prominent figures in the tech industry, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/15/bill-gates-says-crypto-and-nfts-are-based-on-greater-fool-theory.html">Bill Gates</a>, was recently asked about his thoughts on NFTs. He responded by saying that he was not &#8220;involved in that&#8221;, and that he did not have any &#8220;opinions&#8221; on the matter. This is a pretty significant statement coming from someone of Gates&#8217; stature. He further stated that NFTs are &#8220;A greater&#8217;s fools theory.&#8221; This could be interpreted in a number of ways. Firstly, it could simply mean that Gates is not interested in NFTs. Or, it could also mean that he thinks the whole craze is nothing more than a bubble. Only time will tell what his true intentions were with this statement. One could argue that NFT are not necessary a revolutionary technology.</p>



<h2>Is there actual value in NFTs?</h2>



<p id="908ef07a-49b6-42cb-b586-1e0aa1fdad95">This is a question that is still up for debate. Some people believe that NFTs are nothing more than a fad. Others believe that they could have actual real-world value. Personally, I believe that there is potential for NFTs to have real-world value. This is because they offer a way to tokenize just about anything. This could be anything from digital art to real estate. And, as more and more industries move towards the digitization of assets, NFTs could play a big role in that.</p>



<p id="908ef07a-49b6-42cb-b586-1e0aa1fdad95">Of course, there are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to NFTs. For example, we don&#8217;t know how easy it will be to actually use them in the real world. We also don&#8217;t know how well they will be received by regulators. But, I think that the potential for NFTs is there. And, as more and more projects launch and adoption grows, we will start to get a better idea of their true value. </p>



<p id="894430a4-e78a-4286-bad8-2767773ee602">There is still a barrier with the technology. Some are still unaware of how they actually work, let alone used for everyday use cases. Nonetheless they seem to build great communizes Bored Ape Yacht Club is a great example.</p>



<h2>Are scams and illicit actives hurting NFT growth?</h2>



<p id="119e74f9-fad6-40e3-a486-e3b08dc7a21f">The short answer is yes. The long answer is a resounding yes. There have been a number of high-profile NFT scams and projects associated with illicit activities. This has led to a lot of bad press for NFTs, and has cast a shadow over the entire industry. This is one of the main reasons why skepticism for NFTs have been increasing.</p>



<p id="119e74f9-fad6-40e3-a486-e3b08dc7a21f">As more and more people become aware of the risks associated with NFTs, the less likely they are to get involved with them. This is especially true when you consider the fact that there have been fraudulent cases when it comes to NFTs. For example, we don&#8217;t know how <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/06/technology/nft-opensea-theft-fraud.html">market makers</a> are doing behind close doors where they monitor transactions. We also don&#8217;t know how well they will be received by regulators.</p>



<p id="119e74f9-fad6-40e3-a486-e3b08dc7a21f">All of this uncertainty has led to a lot of people losing interest in NFTs. And, until the industry can clean up its act, I think that this trend is likely to continue.</p>



<h2>Most were in it for a &#8220;get rich quick scheme&#8221;</h2>



<p id="894430a4-e78a-4286-bad8-2767773ee602">As the prices of many cryptocurrencies surged it led to a lot of people becoming interested in NFTs, as they saw it as a way to make quick and easy money. However, as the prices of cryptocurrencies started to fall, so too did the interest in NFTs. This is because most people were only interested in them for the money. And, when the prices started to fall, many bailed and went on to the next thing. This is one of the main reasons why I think that the current state of NFTs is not good. There are still a lot of people who are only interested in them for the money. And, until the industry can show that there is more to NFTs than just flipping them, I think it will continue to struggle. Don&#8217;t get me wrong a lot of crypto enthusiast did make money with NFTs.</p>



<h2>It&#8217;s differently not all gloom. Big players and companies are getting in on NFTs</h2>



<p id="b3f61194-3f75-4295-bb7e-fc602179169e">Despite the current state of NFTs, there are still some big players and companies that are getting involved with them. For example, Microsoft recently announced that they are launching an NFT marketplace called &#8220;Artists in Residence&#8221;. This is a big deal because it shows that even a company like Microsoft sees the potential in NFTs. And, as more and more companies get involved, I think we will start to see the industry grow. Every week you hear a new celebrity getting in on the action. Although some might argue that that is inductive of a red flag and that we may be in an <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/are-nfts-in-a-buuble/">NFT bubble</a>.</p>



<h2>NFTs are in full swing in NYC despite market slowdown</h2>



<p id="48e69893-f277-44e2-9b92-ebad6241ca0b">Despite the recent market slowdown, NFTs are still in full swing in NYC. The NFT NYC conference this week has brought hordes of web3 enthusiasts to Times Square in an extravagant celebration that stands out against the much-less-exuberant crypto market. There have been yacht parties, celebrity cameos and even a Snoop Dogg impersonator running around the event. While some people are concerned that the current hype surrounding NFTs is unsustainable, others believe that this is just the beginning of a new and exciting era in digital art and collectibles. Only time will tell whether the current enthusiasm for NFTs will be able to weather the current market conditions.</p>



<h2>Will NFTs provide more value than just a jpeg?</h2>



<p id="05e95ed4-a5bb-4c35-9531-444f1c7e7b15">Until recently, most people saw non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as little more than digital collectibles with no real-world value. However, NFTs are starting to gain traction as a way to represent ownership of digital assets in a more secure and convenient way. For example, event ticketing platform Aventus is now using NFTs to sell tickets to concerts and festivals. The benefits of using an NFT are that the tickets cannot be counterfeited and they can be easily resold or transferred. In addition, NFTs offer a level of exclusivity that is not possible with traditional tickets. For example, the Bored Ape community is selling memberships that give buyers access to exclusive content and experiences. The use cases for NFTs are still in their infancy, but the potential for growth is evident. With more platforms and businesses exploring how to use NFTs, it is only a matter of time before they become mainstream. </p>



<p id="05e95ed4-a5bb-4c35-9531-444f1c7e7b15">There are a few utilities for NFT that make them unique and more than just a digital asset. One of the most popular uses for NFT is in the gaming industry. Games like CryptoKitties allow players to own digital cats that are stored on the blockchain. These cats can be traded or sold for real money, and each one is unique. Another use case for NFT is in the music industry. Artists can create digital art or music that is stored on the blockchain. These pieces can then be sold or traded like any other NFT. The last use case that we will cover is event tickets. Tickets for events like concerts or festivals can be stored on the blockchain and then transferred to someone else if the original owner can&#8217;t go. This transfer can happen without going through a third party like Ticketmaster, which saves both time and money. While there are many utilities for NFT, the question remains whether or not they will take off and become mainstream. Only time will tell.</p>



<h2>What&#8217;s the verdict?</h2>



<p id="16f5771d-5abc-4bcb-abbe-7111845cc21a">NFTs can be more than just a jpeg and whether you like them ior not they&#8217;re likely here to stay. NFTs can be more than just a jpeg and whether you like them or not they&#8217;re likely here to stay. Crypto critics in general are not sure if <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/bitcoin-is-it-the-future-of-money-the-latest-developments-in-bitcoin/">Bitcoin in general will survive</a>, let alone NFTs. NFTs are more than just a digital asset. They are a representation of something that has value to the holder. Whether it is exclusivity, like you see with the Bored Ape community, or event tickets, the underlying technology seems to have utility. The only question is whether they will take off and become mainstream. One of the reasons NFTs are huge right now is because of community building. Do you think NFTs will be relevant in the future? Let us know what you think!</p>


The current state of NFTs. Is it over or is it just beginning


<p>Bitcoin was first introduced in 2008, but it has exploded into mainstream consciousness in the last few years. The question is whether Bitcoin will be able to maintain its popularity and use as a currency. Some experts are skeptical, but the latest developments might have changed their minds! </p>



<p>Bitcoin has been in the news a lot lately. It seems like everyone is talking about it – even people who don’t usually pay attention to financial news. So what is bitcoin, and why all the fuss? This article will attempt to explain all that, and also look at the latest developments in bitcoin. With high inflation and a choppy stock market<a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/bitcoin-climbs-above-key-level-after-us-inflation-jump/"> Bitcoin seems to still be lagging in 2022</a>. What can we conclude? No asset seems to be safe and with the fears of a recession and uncertain monetary policy, one could seriously consider that Bitcoin may be going to the moon. </p>



<h2>The growth of Bitcoin is unstoppable</h2>



<p>The latest developments in bitcoin have shown that the growth of Bitcoin is unstoppable. Despite the volatility in the market, Bitcoin has continued to grow at an exponential rate. This is due to the increasing adoption of Bitcoin by businesses and individuals all over the world.</p>



<p>The use of Bitcoin is not limited to just buying and selling goods and services. There are now a number of businesses that accept Bitcoin as a payment method. This includes major retailers such as Overstock.com and Microsoft. The acceptance of Bitcoin by these mainstream businesses is a huge vote of confidence in the currency.</p>



<p>As more and more people begin to use Bitcoin, the price is likely to continue to rise. This will make it an even more attractive investment for those looking to get involved in the cryptocurrency market.</p>



<h2>Bitcoin&#8217;s current popularity is due to the fact that many people see it as a way to get rich.</h2>



<p>The current popularity of Bitcoin is due to the fact that many people see it as a way to get rich. Some people have gotten rich with Bitcoin, and they&#8217;re willing to preach to their friends about how great it is. It&#8217;s not hard to understand why: you don&#8217;t have to study up on investing or read any books on finance in order to make money with cryptocurrency. All you need is some free time and an internet connection, and you can cash out your first gains within minutes—or even seconds!</p>



<p>Not only is Bitcoin a way to gain and store wealth, it&#8217;s also been one of the best performing financial assets in the past decade. Unlike investing in traditional companies, one can invest in a crypto project the day it&#8217;s launched. Don&#8217;t get me wrong there are a lot of scams and terrible projects out there, that&#8217;s why it&#8217;s up to us as the investor to carefully do our due diligence. Investing in crypto can be done on day of launce. If I wanted to invest in a small business or startup than I would have to be considered an &#8220;angel investor&#8221;. Essentially what this means is that you need to have an income exceeding $250K per year or have over a million dollars in assets. Imagine if in the begging of Bitcoin only angel investors could invest? That would create a massive burden for those who are not angel investor and ironically are the ones trying to get more money and potentially strike it rich with the right investment. Crypto allows anyone regardless of income to invest in potentially impactful companies that could go big.  </p>



<h2>Crypto in general is the future</h2>



<p>There is no doubt that cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, are the future of money. Crypto has been around for a long time now and there&#8217;s plenty of evidence to support this assertion. First and foremost, cryptography is the technology that underpins bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Cryptography is one of the oldest techniques in security and it has always served as a foundation for more modern security measures such as digital signatures. As we&#8217;ve seen recently with online scams like Petya ransomware attacks , cryptography can be used to</p>



<p>The latest developments in bitcoin are just a small part of the larger story of cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is the future of money, and bitcoin is leading the way. The advantages of cryptocurrency are numerous, and the potential for growth is vast. Bitcoin is just the beginning – the future of money is digital, decentralized, and secure.</p>



<h2>Losing trust in fiat</h2>



<p>It&#8217;s no secret that people are losing trust in fiat currencies. Inflation is on the rise, and central banks don&#8217;t seem to be doing anything about it. Bitcoin presents a solution to this problem. With its finite supply and decentralized nature, bitcoin is immune to inflationary pressures. This makes it a more attractive option for people who are looking to store their wealth in a safe place.</p>



<p>Another reason why people are turning to bitcoin is because of the increasing number of financial crises around the world. From the collapse of Lehman Brothers to the Greek debt crisis, it seems like there&#8217;s always something going on in the financial world that can cause havoc. Bitcoin provides a way to protect your wealth from these kinds of events.</p>



<p>So, what does the future hold for bitcoin? It&#8217;s hard to say for sure, but it looks like it could be a very bright one. As more and more people lose faith in fiat currencies, they are likely to turn to bitcoin as an alternative. With its many benefits, it&#8217;s hard to see how bitcoin could lose its place as the leading cryptocurrency.</p>



<h2>The future of bitcoin is uncertain​.</h2>



<p>There are a number of pundits who are quick to point out that bitcoin is a bubble, a fad, or even worse: a fraud. But these arguments are based on assumptions about what bitcoin is and how it came to be. In reality, there’s no way for anyone to know whether or not bitcoin will fail or become obsolete in the future. If you look at it from this perspective—that we can’t see into the future—then maybe it makes sense that some people choose to be skeptical about cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.</p>



<p>But let’s take this another step further: if we assume that any technology has potential value (and therefore could be worth something), then would it make sense for you as an individual consumer or company owner not invest in it? The answer is no! What would your reaction be if someone told you not to invest in any kind of tech because “it might fail one day?” You wouldn&#8217;t listen obviously because failure isn&#8217;t an option when talking about investments; only success can happen here!</p>



<h2>Drawdowns are normal</h2>



<p>One of the main purpose of investing in bitcoin is that it is a long-term investment. This means that there are generally drawdowns – or periods where your investments decrease in value – which can be very frustrating for investors who are used to traditional stock markets. Crypto drawdown can fluctuate drastically much more than typical assets. Take 2022 for example where Bitcoin is down over 50% compared to the S&amp;P 500 that&#8217;s down around 20%.Instead, prices on bitcoin exchanges generally rise and fall over time, just like regular currencies. However, this unpredictability can be exciting for those who are willing to gamble on a revolutionary technology. Yes some coins can be complete nonsense or meme coins that have little merit value, but a huge fan base. Overall though cryptocurrencies have seen their fair share of ups and downs, many experts believe that Bitcoin is here to stay. While the crypto markets are notoriously volatile, the recent drawdowns are not cause for alarm. In fact, they&#8217;re to be expected. Cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy, and as they become more mainstream, we can expect to see more volatility. However, this doesn&#8217;t mean that Bitcoin isn&#8217;t a viable investment. On the contrary, many believe that now is a great time to invest in Bitcoin. As noted Bitcoin is not the only crypto that&#8217;s been down lately. Ethereum, the 2nd largest crypto, <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/ethereum-sell-off-fears-are-rising/">has had its fair share of losses</a> recently and has caused a domino effect onto other projects as well.</p>



<h2>Is Bitcoin&#8217;s energy consumption a concern?</h2>



<p>Many people are concerned about bitcoin&#8217;s energy consumption, which is enormous. It takes a lot of electricity to run the computers that solve the complicated mathematical problems necessary for mining bitcoins. That&#8217;s because miners are competing against each other to be the first to find the solution.</p>



<p>Some estimates put bitcoin&#8217;s annual carbon footprint at more than 500 kilotons per year—the equivalent of 0.5 percent of global electricity generation, or enough electricity to power almost 9 million homes in America alone! If this trend continues, it could mean bad news for climate change efforts as well as your wallet: It&#8217;ll cost you $5 just to send someone $1 worth of bitcoin across town on your computer (which will cost you more in lost time).</p>



<p>So long as demand remains high, bitcoin will continue to use lots of energy. And that is okay! As long as it&#8217;s legal and safe, you have the right to choose how you spend your money. If you want to buy a car or pay for college or go on vacation, that&#8217;s all great—but it doesn&#8217;t mean you have to stop using cryptocurrency when the time comes.</p>



<p>Bitcoin offers a number of advantages over traditional currency because it operates outside of government control. The currency is decentralized (meaning no single entity controls its supply), peer-to-peer (meaning computers connect directly with each other rather than through a central server), digital (rather than physical), and open source software (meaning anyone can view or contribute). It also has low transaction costs, fast transfers, and little risk of fraud because transactions aren&#8217;t reversible like credit card purchases are—good news for both merchants and consumers!</p>



<h2>Bitcoin might not be a sustainable investment, but countries and companies are exploring using it in new ways.</h2>



<p>Bitcoin might not be a sustainable investment, but countries and companies are exploring using it in new ways.</p>



<p>Bitcoin can be used to make payments, transactions, purchases and pay for goods or services. It&#8217;s this last point that could make bitcoin an attractive alternative to credit cards in the future.</p>



<p>In 2021 El Salvador was the first country to fully recognize Bitcoin as a legal tender. Although there has been some controversies behind that, overall it has allowed a nation filled with unbanked civilians to send, receive and store Bitcoin. Tesla also added $1.5B in Bitcoin to their balance sheet. MicroStrategy, a company of Michael Saylor has also added Bitcoin to their balance sheet. Ultimately there are many more companies small and large that are accepting Bitcoin as a payment and even other cryptos. From here on out it seem that it will only continue to grow. <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/investors-are-set-to-invest-billions-into-crypto-metaverse-projects/">Investments into crypto and web3 in general are expected to grow </a>as innovators and investors see huge opportunity. </p>



<h2>Bitcoin has a worldwide community</h2>



<p>Bitcoin has been around for a long time, and its community is very active. This means that there are a lot of experts available to help you if you need it. Moreover, the community is always willing to help newcomers learn about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. This is a huge benefit, especially since so many people are still unfamiliar with this technology. You go anywhere around the world and the community of Bitcoin is like no other. Yes once in a while you&#8217;ll run into an annoying fan, but overall the community seems to be very supportive and growing by the day.</p>



<p>Bitcoin is global currency</p>



<p>In addition to being decentralized (so nobody can control its value or regulate how it works), bitcoin is also borderless: it works the same way all over the world. This means that anyone with an internet connection has access to bitcoin—no matter where they live or what language they speak. This makes bitcoin extremely easy for users who want their money accessible while traveling abroad, since fiat currencies often have restrictions on them depending on where you are located at any given time (see below).</p>



<p>The rise of bitcoin has been nothing short of meteoric, and it seems that this cryptocurrency will continue to grow in popularity. It may also be used as a way for companies and governments to create their own digital currencies. Some believe that Bitcoin could even one day replace traditional money altogether!</p>


Bitcoin: Is it the Future of Money? The latest developments in bitcoin.


<p>Solana is a smart contract platform that&#8217;s meant to be able to support up to 10,000 transactions per second. But it also claims to be both decentralized and secure &#8211; can they claim this and still offer the scalability they&#8217;ve promised?</p>



<p>Is Solana a dying crypto? While the current state of the Solana network may not be as strong as it once was, there are still many people who believe in the future of the platform. In this blog post, we&#8217;ll take a look at the current state of Solana and what the future may hold for the project. </p>



<p>Down 80% YTD, that&#8217;s just how big the Solana price has dropped since the beginning of the crashing market, according to crypto analysts. Solana has been one of the large cryptocurrencies that has succumbed to the ongoing crash. We are seeing this as well <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/ethereum-sell-off-fears-are-rising/">with the Ethereum ecosystem</a>.</p>



<p>Following a roughly 4 and a half hour outage after the network failed to reach consensus, Solana Status&#8217;s Tweets Validator operators successfully completed a cluster restart of Mainnet Beta at 9:00 p.m. UTC. Network operators were able to continue and restore client services over the next several hours. This caused significant disruption to the coin-issuing process and raised questions over the longterm viability of this project.</p>



<h2>Current State of the Solana Network</h2>



<p>The Solana network is currently in a state of flux. There are a lot of changes happening within the network, and it is hard to say what the future holds for this cryptocurrency. While some believe that Solana is a dying crypto, others believe that it still has a lot of potential. Only time will tell what the future holds for Solana. </p>



<p>Solana is not dead. However, its current state is somewhat uncertain.</p>



<p>The network has been through a number of challenges in recent months. This includes a series of incidents that have disrupted its services and left some participants sidelined. As a result, the consortium has been working to shore up these weaknesses while also seeking ways to redefine their operations so they can better meet the needs of participants.</p>



<h2>Is Solana a Dying Project?</h2>



<p>Solana has been one of the most talked about crypto projects in the past year. The project has ambitions to become a major player in the industry, but it faces stiff competition. So, is Solana a dying project?</p>



<p>There are a few things to consider when trying to answer this question. First, let&#8217;s look at the current state of the Solana network. The network is still in its early stages, and it has yet to launch its mainnet. This means that there is a lot of development work that still needs to be done.</p>



<p>Second, we need to consider the competition that Solana faces. There are a number of other projects that are aiming to provide similar solutions. These include Polkadot, Cosmos, and Tezos. Each of these projects has its own strengths and weaknesses, and it&#8217;s hard to say which one will come out on top.</p>



<p>Third, we need to consider the overall market conditions. The cryptocurrency market has been in a bearish trend for most of 2018, and this has had an impact on all projects. Solana is no exception. The value of the SOL token has been declining since the beginning of the year.</p>



<p>Fourth, we need to consider the overall development of the project. The team has been working on this project for five years, and they have made steady progress. However, it is not clear when the mainnet will be released. Based on our analysis, we maintain a cautious stance on Solana. This project has some good potential in terms of technology, but there are a lot of factors that could affect the value of its token. It&#8217;s hard to say whether or not it will continue to decline or rise during this bear market.</p>



<h2>Is Solana a credible platform?</h2>



<p>The questions that needs to be answered in order to assess whether or not the Solana Network is a credible platform are:</p>



<p>&#8211; Does it have the ability to scale?</p>



<p>&#8211; Is its technology reliable and up-to-date?</p>



<p>&#8211; What fees do participants have to pay?</p>



<p>These are important considerations, as any shortcomings could lead to low adoption rates &amp; outages and therefore ultimately failure for the project. However, on balance, there are many positive points that make the Solana Network. In terms of its strengths, the Solana Network is an interesting proposition. Its technology is reportedly reliable and up-to-date, and it offers a variety of features that could be particularly useful for participants in the financial sector.</p>



<h2>The Strengths of Solana</h2>



<p>Solana is a unique blockchain project that has a lot to offer users and investors. The Solana network is fast, scalable, and secure, making it a great option for those looking to get involved in the cryptocurrency space. Here are some of the strengths of Solana that make it worth considering:</p>



<p><strong>Speed</strong>: The Solana network is able to process thousands of transactions per second, making it one of the fastest blockchains in existence.</p>



<p><strong>Scalability</strong>: The Solana network is highly scalable, meaning it can handle a large number of transactions without running into any scalability issues. By using the Proof of History and a number of other breakthrough technologies, Solana has demonstrated excellent scalability.</p>



<p><strong>Security</strong>: The Solana network is very secure, thanks to its proof-of-stake consensus algorithm and its use of trusted hardware.</p>



<p>These are just some of the reasons why Solana is a great option for those looking to invest in or use a cryptocurrency. Solana has achieved economies of scale and kept application costs extremely low with billions of users on board. With its fast speeds, scalability, and security, Solana is sure to continue growing in popularity in the years to come. </p>



<h2>What can be done to improve the project?</h2>



<p>The Solana network is in a state of flux, with many users and investors wondering what the future holds for the project. While some believe that the current situation is not sustainable, others remain optimistic about the potential for Solana to rebound. In this blog post, we&#8217;ll take a look at the current state of the Solana network. We&#8217;ll explore some of the options that may be available to improve its prospects.</p>



<p>There are a number of things that could be done to improve the Solana Network.</p>



<p>Some key areas for improvement include strengthening the platform&#8217;s reliability and performance, improving its communications mechanisms, and developing better ways for participants to access resources. Additionally, efforts should be made to attract new members and develop innovative strategies for fundraising. At its current position, Solana is obviously nowhere near the Ethereum ecosystem.  All of these measures will require significant effort and dedication on behalf of the consortium, but they may well be necessary in order to save this project from imminent failure.</p>



<p>The first thing to note is that the Solana team has been hard at work over the past year or so, making significant progress on both the technical and business fronts. While the project has faced some challenges, it has also made significant strides in terms of development and adoption.</p>



<p>One of the most important things that can be done to improve the long-term prospects for Solana is to continue building out the ecosystem around the project. This includes working with exchanges, wallets, and other service providers to make it easier for users to get started with Solana. Additionally, it will be important to continue growing the community of developers working on Solana-based projects.</p>



<p>Finally, it is worth noting that Solana still has a large amount of untapped potential. While the current situation may not be ideal, just note that<a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/bitcoin-plummets-regardless-of-high-inflation/"> even Bitcoin is down almost 60%</a> YTD. A lot of us forget that large drawdowns seem to be common in the crypto markets unlike the stock market.</p>



<p>With such repeated setbacks, it seems that the crypto may be still be facing an uncertain future &#8211; although there is always hope that new improvements can be made in order to save it. Will it bounce back? Cryptos come and go, but given Solana&#8217;s ecosystem and size it&#8217;s tough to say if it&#8217;s truly dying.</p>



<p>What are your thoughts? Overall 2022 so far has been brutal for the crypto markets. Time will tell what where Solana and many others will end up.</p>


Is Solana A Dying Crypto? The Current State of the Solana Network


<p>If there’s one thing to make sure about Bitcoin is that it is likely not the hedge against inflation that many maximalists thought. 2022 is not the first time we have seen this thought. Earlier this year we saw that inflation may not be transitory like many thought and with high CPI reports <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/bitcoin-climbs-above-key-level-after-us-inflation-jump/">Bitcoin still continued to show bearish results</a>. </p>



<p><strong>The key for Bitcoin bulls may be the Consumer Price Index (CPI), but results are mixed.</strong></p>



<p>The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a key economic indicator that tracks the price of consumer goods and services. If bitcoin was an investment vehicle, then you&#8217;d think it would be closely correlated with the CPI; after all, it&#8217;s supposed to be a currency for everyday use—like money. But recently released statistics show that Bitcoin has not been behaving like money as far as stock prices are concerned.</p>



<p>In fact, according to Bloomberg data on Bitcoin trading volume and its relationship with inflation, there appears to be no relationship at all between these two factors:</p>



<p><strong>The whole world is watching the CPI, which is released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).</strong></p>



<p>The whole world is watching the CPI, which is released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).</p>



<p>CPI is a measure of inflation, or how much prices are rising. It’s used to help set prices and wages and serves as one indicator of economic health. Inflation helps determine interest rates—the amount that banks charge you to borrow money—and affects your savings rate, too.</p>



<p><strong>This month&#8217;s CPI inflation soared to 8%, making it the third consecutive month.</strong></p>



<p>The consumer price index, or CPI, is a measure of the average change over time in the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services. It is defined as the weighted average of prices at which different categories of goods and services are sold by retailers.</p>



<p><a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi">This year, CPI</a> inflation has averaged between 7-8%..</p>



<p><strong>Bitcoin&#8217;s price has been negatively correlated to inflation over the past several months, and this relationship is currently tracking at -0.55.</strong></p>



<p>The correlation between the bitcoin price and inflation has been -0.55 since early 2019, suggesting that there’s a strong negative relationship between them. This is likely because higher interest rates make it more attractive to hold dollars instead of investing in digital assets, which have no yield and don&#8217;t offer any sort of protection against inflation or market crashes.</p>



<p>Higher interest rates are a sign that the Fed has confidence in its economy (and therefore doesn&#8217;t expect inflation to rise). Therefore, when you see low inflation paired with rising interest rates, it means that investors believe they can get better returns buying stocks or bonds than they would by holding cash or gold—or even buying cryptocurrencies.</p>



<p><strong>Higher inflation could also lead governments to seize or limit the use of Bitcoin in an effort to prevent financial speculation.</strong></p>



<p>Bitcoin is not a legal tender, which means it&#8217;s not backed by the government and that you can&#8217;t be forced to accept it. However, this does not mean that governments are likely to want to control the use of bitcoin.</p>



<p>Governments usually don&#8217;t like decentralized currencies because they&#8217;re hard to regulate and governments don&#8217;t like losing control over their nation&#8217;s money supply. The main reason why bitcoin has been able to exist as a currency thus far is because it hasn&#8217;t had much of an impact on people&#8217;s daily lives yet; however, if inflation starts getting out of hand (which seems inevitable) then these same people will start looking elsewhere for better ways of managing their money.</p>



<p><strong>Despite high inflation and CPIs throughout the world, bitcoin prices have not yet rebounded from their mid-May crash</strong></p>



<p>Bitcoin is not a legal tender, which means it&#8217;s not backed by the government and that you can&#8217;t be forced to accept it. However, this does not mean that governments are likely to want to control the use of bitcoin.</p>



<p>Governments usually don&#8217;t like decentralized currencies because they&#8217;re hard to regulate and governments don&#8217;t like losing control over their nation&#8217;s money supply. The main reason why bitcoin has been able to exist as a currency thus far is because it hasn&#8217;t had much of an impact on people&#8217;s daily lives yet; however, if inflation starts getting out of hand (which seems inevitable) then these same people will start looking elsewhere for better ways of managing their money.</p>


Bitcoin plummets regardless of high inflation


<p>While Bitcoin is more popular than ever, there are still some concerns about the cryptocurrency&#8217;s scalability and overall usability. While there are pros and cons to using the Bitcoin Lightning Network (LN), it has brought a lot of attention to how this problem can be solved. Here is an overview of the pros and cons of utilizing the LN.</p>



<h2>Transaction speeds and costs</h2>



<p>When you use the Lightning Network to make a payment, it&#8217;s faster than using Bitcoin as-is. When you send a transaction on the network, it only needs to be confirmed by two of the parties involved in that payment. This means you don&#8217;t have to wait for the entire blockchain to confirm your transaction before moving on with your day.</p>



<p>Unlike Bitcoin&#8217;s original network, which can take 10 minutes or more to complete transactions due to its low processing speed and large number of miners verifying each block of transactions (which results in slow speeds), Lightning Network transactions are often completed within seconds—and they aren&#8217;t verified by miners at all!</p>



<h2>Security</h2>



<p>The Lightning Network is a critical aspect of Bitcoin’s security. Like other cryptos, Bitcoin is not 100% safe. But it’s more secure than most other cryptocurrencies. As a result, the Lightning Network has been embraced by many crypto exchanges and businesses as the best way to keep their users&#8217; money secure while they&#8217;re trading and buying goods.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s also important to know how the Lightning Network works because it&#8217;s crucial to understanding how Bitcoin works in general—and what makes it different from traditional currencies like dollars or euros.</p>



<h2>Privacy</h2>



<p>Since the Lightning Network is still in testing, it&#8217;s difficult to determine how private the network will be. The testnet for Lightning has not been very successful in terms of privacy. Transactions on the testnet did not use Tor or onion routing and some transactions were found by researchers to reveal their IP addresses.</p>



<p>While the Lightning Network may provide some level of privacy, it does not compare to other cryptocurrencies such as Monero (XMR), which was designed specifically with privacy in mind. If you want a truly private cryptocurrency, you should look elsewhere than Bitcoin and its offshoot technologies like LN</p>



<h2>Benefits of increased privacy in the crypto space</h2>



<p>Another great benefit of increased privacy in the crypto space is that it allows users to have a better, more secure experience.</p>



<p>As we&#8217;ve mentioned before, privacy is important as it helps people with sensitive medical or financial information keep their data private.</p>



<p>Privacy can also help protect you from government surveillance, which is one reason why some people choose not to use digital currency.</p>



<h2>Increased usability, volume and liquidity</h2>



<p>What is the Lightning Network?</p>



<p>The Lightning Network is a second-layer payment protocol that aims to increase the speed and lower the cost of transactions made on Bitcoin. It was first proposed in 2015 by Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja and has since been developed by several different groups of developers. The lightning network allows users to open payment channels between each other, meaning they can transact with each other instantly even if they don&#8217;t have immediate access to their funds or if there isn&#8217;t enough liquidity available on chain. Once you have completed your transaction (or &#8220;payment channel&#8221;), it will be recorded on the blockchain at some later point in time when both parties agree it should be recorded there.</p>



<h2>Scalability</h2>



<p>Scalability is a large problem for Bitcoin, and its limitations have been a topic of discussion for years. In the early days of Bitcoin, it could process around 3 transactions per second. Today, this number has increased to 7 transactions per second; however, it still pales in comparison to centralized payment methods such as Visa (which boasts 24000 tps).</p>



<p>One way to address scalability issues is Lightning Network. The Lightning Network is an off-chain solution that allows users to transact with one another without having their transaction broadcast across the entire blockchain. This means that only party involved in each transaction needs to know about them—it doesn’t need everyone else on the network knowing about it too!</p>



<p>However, while this technology may make bitcoin more scalable in theory, there are still some kinks left to iron out before it can be considered ready for mass adoption:</p>



<h2>Bitcoin is an exciting currency, but it is not perfect.</h2>



<p>The Lightning Network is an exciting technology, but it is not perfect.</p>



<p>Bitcoin is a great technology, but it is not perfect. Although many people have praised the Lightning Network as being &#8220;the solution&#8221; to Bitcoin&#8217;s scalability problems, there are still some drawbacks to consider:</p>



<ul><li>Bitcoin itself is only one cryptocurrency on top of many blockchains and payment networks out there. If you&#8217;re interested in experimenting with other cryptocurrencies (which can be cheaper or faster), then this isn’t something to get too worked up about; however if you really want the best value for your money then using bitcoin may not always be the best choice since there are other coins that could potentially offer better speed at lower cost (but they might also be more risky). In short: consider all possibilities before making any decision!</li></ul>



<h2>Conclusion</h2>



<p>There are many benefits of the Bitcoin Lightning Network. It has the potential to increase transaction speeds, reduce costs, and improve privacy in Bitcoin transactions. However, there are some downsides as well including lower transaction rates on LN compared with other coins like Ethereum or Litecoin. We hope this article helped you understand how it works and why people use it! Where do you think this will lead for the future of Bitcoin? As of recently Bitcoin and Ethereum, the top two cryptos, have been in a bear market so far this year. We will have to wait and see how much improvements this will add to Bitcoin and how it will reflect on the asset&#8217;s performence.</p>


The Pros and Cons of the Bitcoin Lightning Network: a blog on the pros and cons associated with Bitcoin.


<p>The period of consolidation for ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, and the broader market is coming to an end. And according to technical analysis, the price of ether (ETH) could soon plunge by 50 percent. Ethereum has been trading sideways in a range between $1,500 and $1,800 since the start of May. The technical charts show that Ethereum&#8217;s price is now being held up by its 200-day moving average – a closely watched long-term trend indicator. That&#8217;s a sign of strength as it indicates the support level provided by large traders and is often used as a benchmark for determining investment opportunities. Ethereum&#8217;s price is now being held up by its 200-day moving average.</p>



<p>Crypto in general has had a rough year so far BTC is down roughly 33% from the beginning of the year and many other cryptos follow the same path. This has even been a <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/are-nfts-in-a-buuble/" data-type="post" data-id="455">growing concern for the NFT market</a>. </p>



<h2>The period of consolidation for ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, and the broader market is coming to an end.</h2>



<p>The period of consolidation for ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, and the broader market is coming to an end. The markets are now on the move and it&#8217;s likely that we&#8217;ll see significant downward movement from where they are today.</p>



<p>I want to make it clear that this isn&#8217;t necessarily a correction or reversal—it could also be both. But what I do know is that after months of relative stability, ether looks set for a drop in price as confidence in its future fades away amidst uncertainty about whether there will be any use case for Ethereum&#8217;s planned blockchain upgrade known as Serenity (or &#8220;Ethereum 2.0&#8221;).</p>



<h2>And according to technical analysis, the price of ether (ETH) could soon plunge by 50 percent.</h2>



<p>Now, before we delve into the details of the Ethereum hard fork, let’s take a look at some technical analysis to see what might happen to its price if this occurs.</p>



<p>The chart below highlights ETH-USD since January 25th and it has been on a downward trend since then. This can be attributed to two major events: The first one was when Coinbase announced that it would add support for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) on its platform and the second one was when Bithumb – one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges – lost 200 million dollars worth of crypto due to a hack.</p>



<h2>Ethereum has been trading sideways in a range between $1,500 and $1,800 since the start of May.</h2>



<p>The trend could continue as more and more large traders are likely to be attracted by the low volatility, high liquidity, and slow but steady growth that is characteristic of this market.</p>



<p>More importantly, Ethereum&#8217;s price has been trading sideways in a range between $1,500 and $1,800 since the start of May. While this may seem like a long time for prices to stay within such a tight range, it actually suggests strength because it indicates that there are large traders supporting these levels. In fact, if you look at other cryptocurrencies or assets like gold or oil that often trade with very low volatility (for example when they are in a bull market), most of them also have had similar periods where their price moved very little over several weeks or even months at once before starting to move up again.</p>



<h2>The technical charts show that Ethereum&#8217;s price is now being held up by its 200-day moving average – a closely watched long-term trend indicator.</h2>



<p>If a security&#8217;s price is above its 200-day moving average, it is considered to be in an uptrend. If it&#8217;s below, then the trend is down.</p>



<p>The 200-day moving average has long been a key benchmark for investors and traders when making investment decisions. It offers a sense of context for traders and investors who may not be familiar with price charts or technical analysis. The chart below shows that Ethereum&#8217;s recent fall has carried it below its 200-day moving average for the first time since November 2017 – which could be interpreted as an indicator of weakness heading into 2019.</p>



<p>This doesn&#8217;t mean much on its own; many cryptocurrencies have been caught up in this downward trend over the past few weeks and months due to market uncertainty around China&#8217;s crypto crackdowns and other regulatory measures across Asia and Europe (as well as political turmoil here at home). But if you look closely at Ethereum&#8217;s chart, there are some signs that suggest positive things ahead:</p>



<h2>That&#8217;s a sign of strength as it indicates the support level provided by large traders and is often used as a benchmark for determining investment opportunities.</h2>



<p>You&#8217;ve probably heard of the 200-day moving average, but what is it and what are the implications for Ethereum?</p>



<p>The 200-day moving average is a trend indicator used to determine investment opportunities. It&#8217;s often used as a benchmark for determining investment opportunities because it provides an indication of how long investors have been holding on to positions without closing them. That&#8217;s a sign of strength as it indicates the support level provided by large traders and is often used as a benchmark for determining investment opportunities. The 200-day moving average can be calculated using daily prices or trading volumes &#8211; whichever offers more clarity about investor sentiment at that time.</p>



<p>So why does this matter? Because if you&#8217;re looking at whether or not investing in ethereum will yield good returns then understanding how people are feeling about their investments could help you make your own decision about whether now is the right time for you as well!</p>



<h2>Ethereum&#8217;s price is now being held up by its 200-day moving average.</h2>



<p>The 200-day moving average is a popular technical indicator because it&#8217;s easy to identify and follow. The longer the time frame, the more significant this level can be in determining investment opportunities and future trends. To put things into perspective, the 200-day moving average is one of the most popular metrics because it represents a long-term trend indicator. It&#8217;s also used as a benchmark for investors to determine their investment opportunities or whether they should sell their positions before they plummet further into bear territory (i.e., when prices are trending downward). Large traders often use this level as support for their trades and will prop up shares if need be by buying large quantities of stock if it falls below its 200-day moving average.</p>



<h2>Conclusion</h2>



<p>Ethereum&#8217;s price is now being held up by its 200-day moving average. That&#8217;s a sign of strength as it indicates the support level provided by large traders and is often used as a benchmark for determining investment opportunities. However, if the cryptocurrency fails to break above $1,800 in the next few days then prices could fall by half to $900 – which would be a big blow to investors who have already lost over 80 percent since January.</p>


Ethereum sell-off fears are rising


<p>The hype on blockchain tech may be real after all. According to Morgan Stanley they are reporting that the metaverse is estimated to be an $8 trillion market. That is right trillion with a T. The idea is taken due to the expected mass adoption of crypto, metaverse and blockchain technologies. As discussed, many web3 products such as NFTs are a hot topic right now and the attention they have gotten throughout varies social platforms is astonishing. Of course a lot if this web3 <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/are-nfts-in-a-buuble/" data-type="post" data-id="455">NFT fluff could be a bubble</a> waiting to burst. This news has to spark excitement within the web3 community. A massive  new industry is emerging and it could be set to create new wealth like never seen before. I mean, just look at the crypto markets. While they may not be off to the best start in 2022, there is no doubt that many have created enormous wealth in just holding crypto and a lot of this has only been within the last couple years. Of course the same thing is happening with NFTs, but that is another story.</p>



<h2 id="where-could-capital-be-deployed">Where could capital be deployed?</h2>



<p>While there isn&#8217;t a clear idea of where exactly VCs, and all like-minded investors are looking to bet their money, one thing is for sure and that is that blockchain, crypto and web3 are filled with diverse industries ready to be disrupted. There is a great amount of capital flowing in an some VC</p>



<p>the safekeepers of crypto assets are attracting billions of dollars from investors betting that the influx of Wall Street players into digital markets will lead to a surge in demand for custody services.</p>



<p>Fireblocks became the highest valued crypto asset custodian on Thursday after raising $550m in a new funding round that put an $8bn price tag on the company. The figure matches the valuation achieved by FTX, one of the world’s largest crypto trading exchanges, which announced a $400m funding round on Wednesday.</p>



<p>Fireblocks has secured new investment from a group of venture capital companies, including D1 Capital Partners and Spark Capital. The deal comes after private investors ploughed $4.5bn into digital asset custodians last year, representing a fifth of total capital that flowed into the blockchain industry in 2021, according to research by Blockdata.</p>



<p>The inflow of capital comes on the back of expectations that large professional investors will grow their presence in the digital asset space, fuelling a market for lending, borrowing and other trading activities that require crypto tokens and coins to move around safely.</p>



<p>Investors have also been pouring money into the broader blockchain industry, as the abundance of private capital makes its way into the rapidly growing industry.</p>



<p>Custody is a key service for professional investors to be able to access digital markets, and total assets under custody grew rapidly in the past few years to stand at $223bn in January this year, according to Blockdata.</p>



<p>Crypto custody providers initially focused on safekeeping and storing assets such as bitcoin. But as the market has developed, custodians have evolved to act as security guards for assets moving around in the digital world, protecting coins and tokens from hackers, and ensuring that funds are safe and get to where they need to be.</p>



<p>Coinbase and PayPal are just two of the companies that have acquired custody service providers recently, as part of an expanded offering for professional investors.</p>



<h2 id="vcs-see-the-metaverse-as-a-trillion-dollar-oppurtunity">VCs see the Metaverse as a trillion dollar oppurtunity</h2>



<ul><li>Crypto giant Grayscale said the metaverse is a $1 trillion annual revenue opportunity.</li><li>It comes as pieces of virtual land inside metaverse projects have sold for upwards of $2 million.</li><li>Grayscale said the metaverse is a big opportunity for the crypto world, with investment accelerating.</li></ul>



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<p>The metaverse has the potential to become a $1 trillion annual revenue opportunity across the worlds of advertising, digital events, e-commerce and hardware, according to a new report from crypto giant Grayscale.</p>



<p>Grayscale&#8217;s report, released Wednesday night, comes during a surge in interest in the metaverse after Facebook officially&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-new-name-meta-rebrand-metaverse-zuckerberg-apps-2021-10#:~:text=Facebook%20said%20Thursday%20it%20was,the%20company's%20Oculus%20Connect%20event.&amp;text=The%20company%20will%20begin%20trading,said%20in%20a%20press%20release.?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">changed its name to Meta</a>&nbsp;as it focuses on the virtual immersive world it says is the future of the internet.</p>



<p>This week, there have been early indications of the potential size of the metaverse economy, with parcels of virtual land inside crypto-based metaverses Decentraland and Axie Infinity selling for&nbsp;<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/metaverse-property-decentraland-sale-price-mana-coin-cryptocurrency-2021-11?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">more than $2 million</a>.</p>



<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-execs-said-about-the-metaverse-earnings-calls-2021-11?utm_medium=ingest&amp;utm_source=markets">metaverse</a>&nbsp;refers to a range of online 3D virtual environments, in which people can play games, build things, socialize, work and even trade and earn crypto assets.</p>



<p>The most well-known individual metaverses right now are in gaming, with Fortnite and Roblox booming in popularity over the last few years. Grayscale estimated that revenue from virtual gaming worlds could grow to $400 billion in 2025, from around $180 billion in 2020.</p>



<p>Yet Grayscale, which runs the world&#8217;s biggest cryptocurrency fund, said the metaverse is still &#8220;in its early innings.&#8221; It said Facebook&#8217;s plans to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/25/22745381/facebook-reality-labs-10-billion-metaverse">spend $10 billion</a>&nbsp;this year on the metaverse is a sign of the potential of the market.</p>



<p>&#8220;The market opportunity for bringing the Metaverse to life may be worth over $1 trillion in annual revenue,&#8221; the report said, although it did not specify a timeframe.</p>



<p>The report&#8217;s authors, Grayscale&#8217;s head of research David Grider and research analyst Matt Maximo, argued the metaverse is a huge opportunity for crypto companies.</p>



<p>Many current metaverse projects, such as virtual realities or games, are run by so-called Web2 companies, which are centralized and operate for profit. Facebook, which has launched the virtual reality space Horizon Worlds, is an example.</p>



<p>But increasingly, metaverse projects are created on or are heavily tied to crypto technology, which can give users more control and allow them to earn money that they can use in the real world. This is known as the Web3 metaverse.</p>



<p>Grayscale listed the opportunities for monetization of consumers within the Web3 metaverse. These include art galleries launching NFTs, games and casinos where players win crypto, digital advertising billboards, and music venues where DJs and artists hold concerts.</p>



<p>In the third quarter, total Web3 and NFT fundraising hit $1.8 billion, out of overall crypto fundraising of $8.2 billion, Grayscale said. It added that investment has &#8220;recently started to accelerate.&#8221;</p>



<p>Grayscale&#8217;s report focused on Decentraland. In that metaverse, people log in to play games, earn the native cryptocurrency mana, purchase NFTs including virtual land and collectibles, and vote on the governance of the economy.</p>



<p>The crypto investment company recently created a Decentraland trust that invests solely in mana. The cryptocurrency is up around 550% in the last 30 days, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/decentraland">Coingecko</a>.</p>


Investors are set to invest billions into crypto & metaverse projects.


<p>This is the question we&#8217;re all asking. It seems that everyday there are hundreds of new NFT projects coming put. Some are legit with real teams and a long-term vision, where as others are not and engaging in &#8220;rug pulls&#8221; taking advantage of those less educated on the subject. NFTs have had a hot start to 2022. A year ago almost no one knew what an NFT was and now they are the hot new crypto investment filled with thousands of communities on Twitter, Discord and many other social apps. The rise of NFTs however has sparked an interesting question. Are we in a bubble? This is the million dollar question and obviously nobody knows. However there is pointing evidence that suggest we may be in an inflated environment which is leading to a lot of hype, FUD and FOMO. NFTs are complex, but essentially they are&nbsp;digital tokens stored on a blockchain that point to a web address or another location, containing a piece of art, audio, video, or even&nbsp;physical works&nbsp;— literally anything anyone is willing to “acquire”. They’re basically another type of cryptocurrency, except they cannot be replicated on the same blockchain.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 id="are-alternative-investments-being-sought-out">Are alternative investments being sought out?</h2>



<p>An an age where inflation is at an <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/30/inflation-at-its-worst-some-ticket-prices-are-up-as-much-as-100percent.html" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/30/inflation-at-its-worst-some-ticket-prices-are-up-as-much-as-100percent.html">all time high</a>, people are looking to alternative investments. NFT are sought to be a potential asset that may play a crucial role in the upcoming web3, blockchain and metaverse revolution. With stock markets and valuations at an all-time high as well this could be a potential investment with high returns that one can&#8217;t find elsewhere. </p>



<h2 id="the-hype-is-continuing">The hype is continuing</h2>



<figure class="is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-2 wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped">
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="448" data-id="459"  src="https://www.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-1540-1024x448.png" alt="" class="wp-image-459" srcset="https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-1540-1024x448.png 1024w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-1540-300x131.png 300w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-1540-768x336.png 768w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-1540-1536x673.png 1536w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-1540-696x305.png 696w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-1540-1068x468.png 1068w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-1540-959x420.png 959w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-1540.png 1564w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
<figcaption class="blocks-gallery-caption">&#8220;NFT&#8221; Google Trend</figcaption></figure>



<p>The hype for NFTs has only been growing and growing Whether this is all FOMO or not is another question. However on cannot doubt that this is what everyone is talking about from celebrities to fortune 500 companies making bets on it. Twitter recently announced an NFT profile picture, where </p>



<p>As of now the price of BTC has seemed to have not much of an impact on the hype of NFTs. BTC has been on a <a href="https://www.arcena.io/posts/crypto-continues-to-plummet-is-now-a-buying-opportunity/" data-type="post" data-id="300">downward trend</a> recently, but that hasn&#8217;t stopped the NFT craze. If you go on Twitter or reddit, it&#8217;s constant NFT talk and one could use that as a bullish indicator. You either hate or love NFTs. The crypto community has had some very successful projects such as Bored Apes and CryptoPunks that have seen NFTs sold for over 100 ETH. </p>



<h2 id="the-technology-is-here-to-stay">The Technology is Here to Stay</h2>



<p>There is no doubt that web3 is revolutionary technology that is still in the works. Blockchain, the technology powering NFTs, has now been around for over a decade. There has been an ever-growing community and many developers seem to be pivoting to web3 in waves. If this trend continues and some of tech&#8217;s best minds start working on web3, then that has to tell us something. The whole point of blockchain is to have a decentralized system that has no one central owner. This model obviously has its pros and cons and there will most likely still be a   centralized version of a product to ensure stability and security, Solona is a great example of this. Whether its NFTs, DeFI, smart contracts you name it, having a distributed ledger that is immutable and has no one party saying what you can and cannot do is still a technology that I would not be against.</p>



<h2 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h2>



<p>Current art related NFT trend can be considered as a bubble, but the tech itself is not. The blockchain, web3 and crypto is here to stay. Only time will tell what will happen with a lot of these NFT &amp; crypto projects because yes, let&#8217;s be honest a lot of these are scams and have no real team or product backing them. Is there fundamental value for NFTs? That is for the market to decide, after all this was a major product to come out of web3 use case</p>


Are NFTs in a Buuble?


<p>Ethereum has been from the start one of crypto&#8217;s biggest success. It is essential a blue-chip crypto along with of course Bitcoin. </p>



<p>L1 Ethereum blockchain network is a proof of work (PoW) protocol which for the most part can cause substantial gas fees when it comes to transactions. In Ethereum they are handled individually so this ultimately means that the gas fees are higher, Now when you compare that to another blockchain say for example Solana, the transactions are vetted by a small group of people, however fees are incredibly lower and faster. In L2 Polygon transactions are handled in bulk, this reduced the gas fees and UD covers gas fees. This is a critical component especially those who have tried DeFi recently or trading NFTs. The gas fees can become astronomical and frustrating.</p>



<h2>How Does L2 fix this?</h2>



<p>Layer 2 is a collective term for solutions designed to help scale your application by handling transactions off the main Ethereum chain (layer 1). When the network is busy it slows down the transactions which hamper the user experience for certain types of dapps, especially in DeFi and those related to gaming. And as the Ethereum network gets busier, gas prices increase as transaction senders aim to outbid each other. This can make using Ethereum very expensive.</p>



<p>So to summarize, we need Layer 2 because:</p>



<ul><li>Some use-cases, like blockchain games, make no sense with current transaction times</li><li>It can be unnecessarily expensive to use blockchain applications</li><li>Any updates to scalability should not be at the expense of decentralization of security – layer 2 builds on top of Ethereum.</li></ul>



<p>Without going into the weeds, some of the most common Layer 2 solutions that have been worked on for years are:<br><br><a href="https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/layer-2-scaling/#rollups">Rollups</a></p>



<ul><li><a href="https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/layer-2-scaling/#zk-rollups">ZK rollups</a></li><li><a href="https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/layer-2-scaling/#optimistic-rollups">Optimistic rollups</a></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/layer-2-scaling/#channels">State channels</a></li><li><a href="https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/layer-2-scaling/#plasma">Plasma</a></li><li><a href="https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/layer-2-scaling/#validium">Validium</a></li><li><a href="https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/layer-2-scaling/#sidechains">Sidechains</a></li><li><a href="https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/layer-2-scaling/#hybrid-solutions">Hybrid solutions</a></li></ul>



<p>With all the brilliant minds working on these solutions, all you need to know is that you can expect many of your favorite DeFi apps to begin building on Layer 2 solutions, enabling near instant transaction settlement times for fractions of a penny in gas costs.<br><br>Synthetix is building with optimistic rollups on Optimism and has already begun testing with Synthetix users.<br><br>Loopring, a popular DEX built with zkRollups, has been live for over a year with over $35M in total value locked trading for fractions of a penny in gas costs.</p>


How does L1 Ethereum & L2 Polygon compare?


<p>Latin America is no stranger to working with cryptocurrencies. Last year El Salvador became the first nation to adapt Bitcoin as a legal tender. High inflation rates combined with unstable governments make Latin America a top contender to be the first amongst adapting Bitcoin. It was announced this week that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-14/rio-de-janeiro-wants-to-become-brazil-s-cryptocurrency-capital" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-14/rio-de-janeiro-wants-to-become-brazil-s-cryptocurrency-capital">Rio de Janeiro will be putting Bitcoin on their balance sheet</a>.</p>



<p>As Brazil&#8217;s second largest city, it&#8217;s estimated that they will allocate roughly 1% of their treasury to crypto. The announcement confirms a 2022 prediction from Fidelity Digital Asset researchers: that more governments and central banks will acquire digital assets. It comes down to keeping up appearances and staying on top of new innovations, they said.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“We also think there is very high stakes game theory at play here, whereby if bitcoin adoption increases, the countries that secure some bitcoin today will be better off competitively than their peers,” Fidelity Digital Asset researchers wrote in a <a href="https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/articles/2021-trends-impact" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> published on Jan. 6, 2022.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Other cities and sovereign states are going to have to start thinking ahead if they want to maintain an edge, even if the value proposition of cryptocurrencies is not immediately clear, researchers said.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“While Rio de Janeiro is a city, and technically the mayor mentioned cryptocurrency, not bitcoin specifically, we see the overall game theory as the same,” said Chris Kuiper, head of research at Fidelity Digital Assets. “In other words, entities are viewing bitcoin acquisition now as a small insurance premium to pay.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>Paes also mentioned plans to offer citizens who pay property taxes (known in Brazil as IPTU) in bitcoins a discount, according to a report from the Brazilian newspaper <a href="https://oglobo.globo.com/economia/eduardo-paes-quer-aplicar-parte-do-tesouro-do-rio-em-criptomoeda-dar-desconto-para-iptu-pago-em-bitcoin-25353018" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">O Globo</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Long-time cryptocurrency fan Miami Mayor Francis Suarez also spoke at the Rio Innovation Week summit where Paes made the announcement. Suarez is looking to allocate a portion of Miami’s treasury to digital assets, he said last year.&nbsp;So far Miami has become a top tech hub after Mayor Suarez and his business friendly policies has lured many founder, especially from Silicon Valley. </p>



<p>A question one could ask is whether this could lead to more FOMO. Do you think this will lead to more cities and eventually nations adopting it? Time will only tell and whether this will benefit the people of Rio is another thing to keep an eye on. It&#8217;s good to remember that we&#8217;re still in the early days and one can only assume where politicians will take this.</p>


Rio de Janeiro set to adapt crypto


<p>CPI reports have come back stated <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/12/cpi-december-2021-.html" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/12/cpi-december-2021-.html">Inflation has climbed 7%</a>. What of course does this mean for Bitcoin? Many Bitcoin enthusiast have stated that Bitcoin is the hedge against inflation and a store of value, similar to the way Gold is. Only 21 million Bitcoin will be put into circulation under the computer protocol that governs issuance, though that figure isn’t expected to be reached for several decades. As of January 12, Bitcoin has seen a 3% increase. Not necessarily the biggest increase, but something to take note of.</p>



<p>The largest digital asset by market value rose as much as 3.3% to $44,085 Wednesday, following the release of the consumer price index, which climbed 7% in 2021. That means inflation in the U.S. registered its biggest annual gain since 1982. Some market participants had speculated that the increase would be higher, helping to send other so-called risk assets such as stock higher.</p>



<p>Still, Wednesday’s advance was a welcome reprieve to anyone who had been watching prices slump over the past few weeks as the Federal Reserve turns more hawkish. New retail investors haven’t been piling in since the early-December Bitcoin crash, according to a Blockforce Capital analysis that used Glassnode data. Making matters worse is that most of the short-term market participants — who have largely come into the market in recent months — are underwater their investments. As of Tuesday, the average price they paid was higher than the price of a single Bitcoin, Blockforce’s Brett Munster wrote in a note.</p>



<p>There&#8217;s still a lot of uncertainty regarding Bitcoin&#8217;s role with inflation. According to CNBC, Investors largely expect the Fed to start raising rates in March. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, at his confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate banking panel, did not provide any specific dates but acknowledged that as long as current conditions persist, rate hikes are on the way.</p>


Bitcoin climbs above key level after US inflation jump.


<p>The first week of 2022 has brought bleak news to the crypto world. BTC and many other &#8220;blue chip&#8221; stocks are down more than 10% leading to 3-month lows. The question now arises, do we buy the dip? As cheesy as it sounds, the best time to buy is during fear and constant down days. Now the question of course is what do you do if it continues to dip. Do you buy more? That sound like   the obvious plan. </p>



<p>The largest cryptocurrency has been struggling to gain momentum in every attempted rally in the past couple of months, and dropped Friday to nearly $41,000. The latest declines come after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting showed a potential for earlier- and faster-than-expected rate increases, up to three could be expected this year, as well as considerations about balance-sheet runoff.</p>



<p>According to a Bloomberg analysist, Lack of interest and demand due to the holiday season, tax-based selling and concern in the markets about the Fed’s potential actions are resulting in turn-of-year weakness, said Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and international at crypto exchange Luno in Singapore. He expects levels between $38,000 to $40,000 to come into focus. </p>



<p>Others have contributed the sharp decline of crypto because of recent political turmoil in Kazakhstan, where internet has been completely shutoff. Although this seems to be a small catalyst overall to the crypto market. No doubt however, if tensions keep rising than this may be an increasing factor.</p>



<p>Right now crypto is going through a correction. Whether this is a long-term correction or temporary, is up to you to decide. In the last decade, Bitcoin has undergone several large corrections, including the current one. Each time, the dip has been smaller than the last, for instance the 2021 version resulted in a 56% decline. Market watchers should pay attention to $30,000, the point where the slide from the record high of nearly $69,000 would be equal in size to the previous correction. </p>


Crypto Continues to Plummet. Is now a buying opportunity?


<p>Rumors of video game retailer<strong> GameStop Corp</strong> <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/gme" target="_blank"><strong>GME+1.26%</strong></a> entering the non-fungible token space started in back in April 2021 with job postings seeking someone with experience in NFTs, cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies. A new report shows an NFT marketplace from the company could be imminent.</p>



<p><strong>What Happened:</strong>&nbsp;GameStop is launching a division to develop an NFT marketplace and launch cryptocurrency partnerships, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/gamestop-entering-nft-and-cryptocurrency-markets-as-part-of-turnaround-plan-11641504417">Wall Street Journal report</a>.</p>



<p>Over 20 people have been hired to run the unit, which will serve as a marketplace to buy, sell and trade NFTs of virtual video game goods that could include avatar outfits and weapons.</p>



<p>“The company is asking select game developers and publishers to list NFTs on its marketplace when it launches later this year,” WSJ reports.</p>



<p>GameStop is also nearing two partnerships in the cryptocurrency space, according to the report. The company would co-invest in the development of games that use blockchain and NFT technology and also share technology.</p>



<p>“We believe our emphasis on the long term is positioned us to build what will ultimately become a much larger business,” GameStop CEO&nbsp;<strong>Matt Furlong</strong>&nbsp;said on the company&#8217;s recent earnings call. Furlong mentioned&nbsp;GameStop was exploring business opportunities in the NFT space.</p>



<p><strong>Why It’s Important:&nbsp;</strong>NFT marketplace&nbsp;<strong>OpenSea&nbsp;</strong>is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/22/01/24891917/opensea-valuation-hits-new-record-13-billion-with-increased-surge-in-volume-report">valued&nbsp;</a>at $13.3 billion in a recent $300 million funding round this week.&nbsp;Fellow meme stock darling&nbsp;<strong>AMC Entertainment Holdings</strong>&nbsp;<strong></strong><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/amc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/amc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>AMC</strong><strong>-1.32%</strong></a><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/profile/portfolio/?add_ticker=AMC" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">+ Free Alerts</a><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/11/24334279/amc-entertainment-crashes-movie-ticket-sites-thanks-to-spider-man-demand-and-nfts-what-inv">entered&nbsp;</a>the NFT space in 2021 with Spider-Man themed NFTs to coincide with &#8220;Spider-Man: No Way Home.&#8221;</p>



<p>The video game sector is seen as one of many that will grow in the NFT space with&nbsp;<strong>Ubisoft Entertainment&nbsp;</strong><strong></strong><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/ubsfy" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/ubsfy" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>UBSFY</strong><strong>+0.65%</strong></a><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/profile/portfolio/?add_ticker=UBSFY" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">+ Free Alerts</a>&nbsp;one of the largest video game companies&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/12/24562764/ubisoft-launching-in-game-nfts-what-gamers-and-investors-should-know">launching&nbsp;</a>in-game NFTs. Gamers have been known to spend money on digital avatars and in-game purchases like virtual goods.</p>



<p>GameStop has been rumored to be working on NFT offerings for many months including being&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/11/23782340/gamestop-effect-why-loopring-lrc-crypto-is-going-up-today">linked&nbsp;</a>to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/how-to-buy-loopring/"><strong>Loopring&nbsp;</strong></a><strong><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/lrc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"></a></strong><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/lrc" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>LRC</strong></a>&nbsp;cryptocurrency and a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/21/05/21291084/gamestop-is-building-nft-platform-over-ethereum-what-you-need-to-know">potential&nbsp;</a>to use the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/how-to-buy-ethereum/"><strong>Ethereum&nbsp;</strong></a><strong><a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/eth" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong>ETH</strong></a></strong>&nbsp;ERC-721 standard.</p>



<p>GameStop supposedly launched&nbsp;an&nbsp;<a href="https://nft.gamestop.com/">NFT website</a>&nbsp;last year that lists “request to be a creator.” The website lists “power to the players, power to the creators, power to the collectors.”</p>



<p><strong>Jim Cramer </strong>tweeted in support of the plan by GameStop to enter the cryptocurrency space, a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/04/19/why-jim-cramer-believes-gamestop-has-to-go-crypto.html">suggestion </a>he had in 2021.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24GME&amp;src=ctag&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$GME</a>&nbsp;using my crypto suggestion! I want a royalty or a banking fee.. Or at least a shout out! You guys rock!!!</p><p>— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer)&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jimcramer/status/1479205380488110081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2022</a></p></blockquote>



<p><strong>Price Acton:&nbsp;</strong>GME shares are up 28.6% to $168.50 in after-hours trading. Loopring is up 9% to $2.00.</p>


GameStop Set to Add NFT Marketplace: Shares Surge


<p>We all know that in the past two years, the only constant for small business owners has been change. Ever since the start of the pandemic, many have opted to start their own venture as opposed to look for new employment opportunities. Thousands of businesses adopted to a new business model at the onset of the pandemic, introducing new products or services and embracing new channels to reach their customers. Thousands more launched new businesses altogether, spotting untapped opportunities in our collective “new normal.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>Now, as we head into 2022, we see the impacts of the past two years crystallizing and new trends emerging, like the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/news/metaverse-business-opportunity-insights">beginnings of the metaverse</a>&nbsp;to changing how we define small businesses and how small businesses operate —&nbsp;online, offline and in-between.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>The changing of entrepreneurship</h2>



<p>One fortunate byproduct of the pandemic was an outpouring of creativity. Around the world, people reexamined previously held assumptions &#8212; like the need to conduct some business exclusively in-person —&nbsp;and new, exciting ideas and businesses were born. This effectively redefined what it means to be an entrepreneur, adding more diversity to the small business space. In 2022, this trend will accelerate further as a record number of businesses are forecasted to be started. One of the most interesting evolutions is the increasing frequency we’re seeing creators turn their passion into a living. For example, Emily Delaney, the Cheese Board Queen, started with a humble Instagram showcasing her love of cheese and charcuterie boards in 2019. Now, just three years later, she hosts virtual classes and workshops, partners with brands regularly and has a book coming out with Penguin’s DK Books in the Spring. Her story of sharing a passion online and turning it into a bonafide business is not unique, and one we’ll only see more of in the future.</p>



<h2>A new wave of creativity</h2>



<p>Over the last couple years, small business owners have had no choice but to become increasingly creative with their digital presence. Many new small businesses were created along the way as well. And for many, this opened new doors for driving sales and building their brand in the process. One example of new digital technology is live shopping which has helped businesses showcase their offerings while also infusing their brand’s unique personality into an online experience. And for many, the beauty of fun live video combined with the convenience of online shopping has opened up new revenue streams that will persist beyond the pandemic.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Consider Illinois boutique owner Kelley Cawley, who credits regular streams on Facebook Live with making her customers more engaged than ever, driving more online and in-person traffic to her store. To make Live Shopping a success, Kelley mixes the art of a fun Live experience with the science of digital tools and insights that help her understand what keeps her customers engaged. In fact, Crawley knows her sales have jumped 88% since she’s implemented the Live Shopping strategy. Combining the art of creativity and the understanding digital tools provide of what drives the most success enables businesses like Crawley’s to experiment, innovate and make strategic decisions based on real data. In 2022, we can expect businesses that have found a home online to experiment further&nbsp; —&nbsp;combining the art of creativity with data science tools —&nbsp;ultimately discovering the strategies that work best for them.</p>



<h2>Messaging paves the way for the next era of communication</h2>



<p>Another interesting development is how businesses are using messaging to personalize into their customer communications. People’s preferences for how they want to talk with companies are evolving. In this digital era, 75% of adults globally say they want to communicate with businesses via messaging, in the same way they communicate with friends and family, this is especially true with younger people. As we transition from the mobile Internet to the Metaverse, we know we’ll see businesses large and small working with more immersive formats to forge personal connections online. While this may sound far off, the groundwork is already underway. For example, small businesses can now conduct video calls via Messenger, allowing them to speak and see their customer, helping them to answer questions faster, provide better customer service, and of course, truly connect person-to-person.</p>



<h2>Bringing the physical and digital world together</h2>



<p>Many businesses are now operating in a hybrid model —&nbsp;meaning they’re maintaining a physical presence while also selling via ecommerce platforms that became a necessity during the pandemic. In a way, we see the pandemic having accelerated what ‘digital’ actually means, and as a result, there is no longer a binary divide between online or offline or digital and non-digital. Take Akila McConnell, owner of Unexpected Walking Tours in Atlanta as an example. Prior to the Pandemic, Akila’s business provided walking tours focused on Black History in Atlanta. When the pandemic hit, she lost 100% of her revenue overnight. Akila pivoted online to sell gift boxes on Facebook and Instagram Shop that represented the best Atlanta had to offer and introduced virtual tours —&nbsp;bridging her physical offering with a new online experience. Figuring out how to balance and maintain both in-person and digital experiences, and infusing the two experiences together will ensure small businesses are reaching the largest possible customer base, not restricting them based on their geographical footprint, while also providing the convenience that local customers desire.</p>



<p>Despite all the changes and innovations we’ve seen over the past few years and that lie ahead in 2022, some things remain the same. The ability to watch, listen and connect with your customers will always be paramount to small business success, and now digital tools make this easier than ever.&nbsp;</p>



<p>That’s the topic of this special presentation which looks at 7 clean energy stocks that look like strong buys as the Biden administration looks to pass its sweeping infrastructure bill.</p>



<p>Overall how this ultimately plays out will be very interesting. There are some that consider assets such as virtual real estate and NFTs to be absurd. One could even argue that there is a bubble within the crypto market. One thing is for sure, and that is that the digital world will continue to play a vital role in the way small businesses are ran. </p>


4 Trends that Will Reshape the Small Business Landscape in 2022 and Beyond


<p>As of October 28, Shiba has officially surpassed the market cap of Robinhood and has become a top 10 crypto coin. The increase and so called &#8220;meme coins&#8221; have seen astronomical gains in 2021. Shiba is no exception, it has soared and has been the talk of the internet for the past couple weeks. </p>



<p>Dogecoin got a boost from its best-known advocate Elon Musk on Thursday, but it wasn&#8217;t enough to completely fend off a skyrocketing shiba inu, as the meme tokens battle for market value supremacy.</p>



<p>The self-proclaimed &#8220;dogecoin killer&#8221; shiba inu gained as much as 60% to<strong> </strong>hit a record high of $0.00008616 on Wednesday, according to CoinMarketCap data. Its gains took it to the 8th-biggest cryptocurrency spot as it overtook dogecoin in market value, but has now gone back to 10th after a recent pullback.</p>



<p>The battle continued Thursday as shiba inu added to its epic rally with a 36% rise,<strong>&nbsp;</strong>while dogecoin moved up 29% to 30 cents after Musk mentioned it in a Twitter exchange about cryptocurrency-related scams.</p>



<p>The Tesla and SpaceX CEO was responding to dogecoin creator Billy Markus, who&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BillyM2k/status/1453417395310239751" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;Wednesday that &#8220;there are no promises in crypto, except from scammers.&#8221;</p>



<p>Musk jokingly&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1453418189862342660" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>: &#8220;If I send you 2 Doge, will you promise to send me 1 Doge?&#8221;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://images2.markets.businessinsider.com/617a564538046100183f0924?format=jpeg" alt="Dogecoin Elon Musk tweet"/><figcaption>@BillyM2k/@elonmusk/Twitter</figcaption></figure>



<p>Dogecoin has transformed this year from an obscure and novel coin to a household name after being championed by Musk and fellow group of fans. The Tesla billionaire once referred to it as his <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1113009339743100929?lang=en" target="_blank">favorite cryptocurrency</a>.</p>



<p>He also recently revealed he doesn&#8217;t have any personal investment in shiba inu. This later went on to send the crypto plummeting only to rebounce the next day.</p>



<p>The ethereum-based alternative to dogecoin has shot up <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/shiba-inu" target="_blank">about 1,000%</a> in the past month as the &#8220;SHIBarmy&#8221; rallied behind the token. Its blistering<strong> </strong>gains have been partly driven by an online petition calling on Robinhood to add shiba inu to its list of tradeable cryptocurrencies. By comparison, dogecoin is up 60% in the past month.</p>



<p>Created in August 2020, shiba inu has taken less than two years to become a contender for a top 10 cryptocurrency spot. On Thursday, $SHIB&#8217;s market cap of $43 billion&nbsp;<a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_LKPjYAKxLJPjikm0t12KzUs0x0pKtybwxFa3Jvk5lEA-1635425391-0-gqNtZGzNAhCjcnBszQq9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trumped</a>&nbsp;$DOGE&#8217;s $40 billion as of 8:50 a.m. ET.</p>



<p>Major cryptocurrencies reversed losses after declining earlier in the day. Bitcoin rose 3% to about $61,142. <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/eth-usd?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest" target="_blank">Ether</a> rose 4% to $4,174, and cardano&#8217;s ada rose 1% to $2.02.</p>



<p>What is your opinion on Shiba? Is it a fad? Is it a bigger than most people think? Whether it&#8217;s early or late is hard to tell. After all Robinhood as yet to add it to its platform which could further send the coin rocketing. It also has less overall momentum than Dogecoin had at the height of it&#8217;s price. Overall as it should be said without saying, don&#8217;t invest more than you can afford to lose. It&#8217;s a risky bet and you ultimately don&#8217;t want to get caught holding the bag.</p>


Dogecoin struggles to keep up with shiba all-time-high even as cryptocurrency gets boosts.


<p>The electric vehicle (EV) market is no longer a niche market. Let me reiterate. The EV market is no longer a niche market. What was once a side gig and nod to the green movement is fast-becoming a revolution and double-digit growth opportunity for investors.</p>



<p>To help put this opportunity into perspective let’s look at some numbers. The EV industry has been growing at a double-digit CAGR for the last several years. It is expected to grow at a high double-digit CAGR for the next two decades, at least, and eventually dominated what is now a $3 trillion dollar industry.</p>



<p>IHS forecast a 52% compound annual growth rate for the 2021-2025 period with much of that growth on the front end. The forecast for 2021 is calling for a 70% increase in EV sales that will be underpinned by growth in all three major markets; the U.S., China, and Europe. By 2025, the total sales will top 12.5 million and account for 10% of the addressable car market. Beyond that, the average annual growth will continue to slow until EV takes over the bulk of new vehicle sales.</p>



<p>In that time, the net of EV sales is going to grow from an estimated $90 billion in 2020 to over $15 trillion by 2050. That’s a lot of growth and investors who get in now will be able to cash.</p>



<h2>The EV Industry Is Supported By Regulations</h2>



<p>Regulations are supporting the EV industry worldwide and should continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  Although the quantity and scope of subsidies have shrunk from their peaks in the earlier portion of the century they are still attractive enough to spur both consumers and manufacturers into action.</p>



<p>The new <a href="https://www.arcenacapital.com/2021/08/26/where-could-the-infrastructure-bill-lead-to-high-returns/">infrastructure bill</a> has put a massive emphasis on EV and renewable energies in general. In the U.S., the newly inaugurated Biden administration is expected to unveil a swath of regulation and legislation intended to support the industry and that has the entire market moving higher. Emerging markets especially China are heavily investing into EV as well and are starting to pump out brands that can compete with the US. Among the many plans put forth is a switch to 100% electric within the federal fleet along with subsidies and tax credits for buyers.</p>



<p>China has also extended its policy of dual subsidies in 2020, one for the maker and one for the buyer, for another three years at least. This move is in support of China’s push to electrification and its leadership status in the global EV market. China’s EV market is expected to be 14.6% of the country’s total auto market by 2025 and that estimate could be too low. Sales of domestic EVs in China have begun to surge due to ramping production among the leading manufacturers, some of which are posting triple-digit YOY increases.</p>



<p>In Europe, the story is even rosier in terms of regulations. The EU has some of the strictest regulations of CO2 emissions which by themselves are driving demand for EVs. The EU enacted new regulations in 2019 that sparked a boom in the first half of the year despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest estimates have EV market share in the EU in the 8% to 9% range versus the 3% global average and that figure will grow over the coming year. Some regions within the union have already reached a 10% EV market share in the second half of the year after buyer incentives kicked in.</p>



<h2>Sizing Up The Competition In The EV Industry</h2>



<p>As it stands Tesla is by far the most prolific of all the EV manufacturers but the competition is heating up. In terms of its annual sales, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is still just a drop in the bucket compared to GM’s (NYSE: GM) total sales but GM is lagging when it comes to EV. GM, the number two producer in the U.S., only commands about 12% of the market compared to Tesla’s 53% but plans to spend up to $27 billion to correct that. Part of the plan is to have a full line of EV vehicles by 2025 making it the most serious of the big automakers and that is saying something. All of the major manufacturers are planning or in-progress of expanding their EV lineups right now. We will also see how Nio performs in EU markets and if it can compete with Tesla, Toyota &amp; others.</p>



<p>Aside from the major OEM manufacturers, the EV market is filled with start-ups and early-phase production companies. Some are producing revenue while others are not so beware of what you buy. There are also many verticals in EVs, for example some are just working on battery components, others on software and some are working on car manufacturing.</p>



<p>The growth into EV are varied for the big automakers but can be separated into three categories; internal investment in electrification, investment in third party technology, or acquisition of third-party technology. In the end, all the big manufacturers are going to employ a combination of the three which is why a diversified approach to EV investing is such a good idea.</p>



<p>Today’s fractured EV market is moving higher in a rising-tide-lifts-all-ships scenario but not all will be winners. EVs are the future, there is no doubt about that. The question is, will there be multiple winners in a highly completive and capital intense industry? The smaller start-ups that prove their utility will either make their deals for expansion and growth or get scooped up by their larger counterparts. If they don’t, they’ll fall by the wayside while the big players&#8217; success is all but assured.&nbsp; Either way, investors will come out ahead but which EV manufacturer will ultimately come out on top? The most likely scenario has the major automakers plus Tesla maintaining their dominance but who really knows?</p>


What Is The Future For EV Stocks?


<p>2021 has brought FOMO to the NFT market like never before and has brought many new buyers &amp; sellers to the market. If you are intrigued by non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and want to learn more about buying or selling them, you’re probably wondering how to use&nbsp;OpenSea. That’s because OpenSea is the leading&nbsp;decentralized exchange (DEX)&nbsp;for NFTs. There’s no better time to learn than now.</p>



<h2 id="what-is-opensea">What is OpenSea?</h2>



<p>OpenSea is a decentralized marketplace for buying, selling, and bidding on virtual assets. These assets include in-game items, digital art, and crypto collectibles. OpenSea was founded in early 2018 with the mission of bringing transparency and liquidity to the virtual asset economy. The team is based in San Francisco and is backed by investors such as a16z, Boost VC, AngelList, and Gitcoin.</p>



<p>OpenSea has built the largest marketplace for virtual assets. The platform supports over 20 different asset types and has a community of over 500,000 users. OpenSea is also the most popular destination for NFTs (non-fungible tokens), with over $50M in monthly NFT trading volume.</p>



<p>In addition to being a marketplace, OpenSea is also a discovery platform for virtual assets. The OpenSea team curates lists of digital art, in-game items, and crypto collectibles. These lists feature some of the most interesting and rare assets on the platform.</p>



<p>OpenSea is changing the way people think about virtual assets. By providing a centralized place to discover, buy, sell, and bid on virtual assets, OpenSea is making it easy for anyone to get involved in the</p>



<p>As noted, it&#8217;s the largest digital marketplace for NFTs. In a way it&#8217;s similar to eBay, but instead of selling physical products to the highest bidder, you can sell or buy digital goods instead. These products are typically collectibles like art, music or games but there are hundreds of other categories.</p>



<h2 id="opensea-basics">The Basics of Opensea</h2>



<p>OpenSea has millions of NTFs to choose from in categories including art, music, domain names, virtual worlds, trading cards, collectibles, sports and utility. Each category has a seemingly endless number of listings that can seem overwhelming. Fortunately, there are ways to narrow things down.</p>



<p>Click on Filter and you can select All Items, Single Items or Bundles. You can also sort by price, when an item was listed and other options. You can also just type something into the search bar at the top of the page.</p>



<p>Sometimes you’ll see blue checkmarks on an account or collection. This means that it has been verified by OpenSea, in much the same way that you see verified accounts of public figures on Facebook or Instagram. The blue checkmark means it’s legit.</p>



<p>When you browse a particular collection, you will see the Floor Price listed in the status section. This is a feature for power users to see the lowest price any NFT is available for in a specific collection. This price is updated by the hour.</p>



<h2 id="how-to-use-metamask-with-opensea">How to Use MetaMask with OpenSea</h2>



<p>Anyone can browse around OpenSea to test the waters, but if you want to participate, you’ll need a few things. First you’ll need an OpenSea account. Then you’ll need a Web 3.0 wallet like MetaMask. This is important because any NFT that you buy or sell won’t be stored on OpenSea; it’s only a marketplace that facilitates transactions. The NFT is kept on a blockchain address that you own. This is much like storing your cryptocurrency in a wallet.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Download MetaMask and be sure to save your keyphrase somewhere safe, because this is the key to unlocking your wallet. If you lose the keyphrase, everything in your wallet is also lost. You’ve probably heard the phrase “no keys, no crypto” or some variation of it. Well in this case it’s “no keyphrase, no collectibles.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>Next, you’ll need to fund your wallet. On OpenSea you can use&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/money/is-ethereum-a-good-investment/">Ethereum</a>&nbsp;as well as stablecoins like DAI or USDC. Make sure you fund your wallet to sufficiently cover your transactions as well as the network transaction fees (gas fees) for them.</p>



<p>Now just connect MetaMask to OpenSea by clicking on My Profile on the OpenSea website. Follow the prompts and you will be walked through the connection process. Personalize your account by clicking the gear icon at the top right side on the page. Once you’ve finished setting up your account, you’re ready. To sail…on the OpenSea!&nbsp;</p>



<h2 id="placing-bids-on-the-opensea-marketplace">Bidding on the OpenSea Marketplace</h2>



<p>Placing bids on OpenSea is simple. Click on the NFT you want and then click on Make Offer. Sometimes you’ll also have the option to Buy Now. If the collection isn’t safelisted, you’ll be asked to view the collection details and then check the box verifying that this is indeed the correct collection that you wish to purchase from.</p>



<p>When you continue you’ll be able to select your payment method. Your options will be Wrapped ETH (wETH), DAI or USDC. If your desired item is on Polygon, you must pay in Polygon ETH. If this is your first time making a purchase with the chosen&nbsp;cryptocurrency, you may be required to pay a one-time gas fee.</p>



<p>Now you can place your bid with the desired&nbsp;crypto&nbsp;and click Make Offer. Offers must be at least 5% higher than the previous bid. Whatever amount of ETH you bid will be locked until the bid is withdrawn.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 id="where-to-buy-ethereum">Where to Buy Ethereum</h2>



<p>If you&#8217;re looking to buy Ethereum, there are a few things you&#8217;ll need to keep in mind. First, Ethereum is a decentralized platform, so there is no central authority to regulate or oversee transactions. This means that you&#8217;ll need to find a reputable Ethereum exchange or marketplace where you can buy and sell ether. Second, Ethereum is still a relatively new platform, so there is not yet a large market for ether. This means that prices can be volatile, and you may not be able to find always find the same price for ether from one day to the next. Finally, remember that ethereum is a platform for building decentralized applications. This means that you&#8217;ll need to have some technical expertise in order to use it effectively. With these things in mind, here are a few places where you can buy Ethereum:</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://ftx.us/home/#a=44409533">FTX</a>: FTX is one of the fastest growing crypto exchanges with slim fees and fast transactions. </li><li>Coinbase: Coinbase is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges, and it offers support for Ethereum. You&#8217;ll be able to buy ether with fiat currency (e.g., USD) or with another cryptocurrency (e.g., BTC).</li><li>Kraken: Kraken is another popular cryptocurrency exchange that offers support for Ethereum. You can buy ether with fiat currency or with another cryptocurrency.</li></ul>



<p>Ethereum is needed if you want to make transactions on OpenSea. If you don’t have any yet, don’t worry! It’s easy to buy Ethereum directly through your wallet. Just click the wallet icon on the OpenSea website. Then click Add Funds.</p>



<p>Now you’ll be given the option to purchase from an exchange or buy with a credit card. If you select to purchase from an exchange, you just copy the wallet address you are given and use that address to send ETH to once you have purchased it on&nbsp;Coinbase,&nbsp;Voyager&nbsp;or another exchange that you prefer to use. Depending on where you live, you may also have the option to buy Ethereum with a credit card. Just be aware of any fees charged by your credit card company.</p>



<h2 id="how-to-store-nfts-and-crypto-safely">How to Store NFTs and Crypto Safely</h2>



<p>MetaMask is a good place to store cryptocurrencies or NFTs this is if you plan on making transactions, but to keep these things safe long term, it’s a good idea to keep them in a hardware wallet. That’s because software wallets, like MetaMask, are connected to the cloud and as such, can be hacked.</p>



<h2 id="cryptocurrency-market-vs-nft-market">Cryptocurrency Market vs. NFT Market</h2>



<p>As it has been, the cryptocurrency market is considered very volatile. The NFT market is even more volatile and new. There is no way to know what kind of return on investment you’re going to get, if any, if you invest in NFTs.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While both cryptocurrency and NFTs have digital records stored on the blockchain, they are still very different crypto assets. Cryptocurrency is fungible, meaning it isn’t unique. If you have 500&nbsp;Bitcoin, each one is the same. NFTs are non-fungible. Each one is unique.</p>



<h2 id="opensea-alternatives">OpenSea Alternatives</h2>



<p>OpenSea is a unique marketplace which makes it difficult to find any real competitors. However, there are some similar sites such as Rarible, Nifty Gateway and Sorare.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Sorare’s primary audience is football fans so the options are much more limited than other sites. Rareable’s primary focus is art, but it also has other items. Nifty Gateway offers art from well-known artists.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Both Nifty gateway and Rarible are more diverse than Sorare but none are as big as OpenSea. OpenSea has by far the largest number of categories representing any digital asset you can think of. It’s hard to say what platform is the best because it’s a personal decision. That being said, it’s easy to see (sea?) which platform has the most to offer.</p>


How To Use OpenSea


<p>Knowledge is everything on Wall Street, and investing pros have the reputation of being the most knowledgeable. But if you’re not a pro? Well, individual investors can still take advantage of many of the pros’ top techniques and turn some of their own knowledge into real investing success.</p>



<p>Retail investors have several advantages over the big institutional investors – especially the ability to&nbsp;invest with a long-term mentality&nbsp;and to buy out-of-the-way hidden gems. But they can also leverage information to identify some potentially high-flying stocks, too. This has especially been seen with the so called &#8220;meme stocks&#8221;. They have brought many retail investors together in helping identify potential short squeezes to fight against larger funds.</p>



<p><strong>5 ways to research stocks like a pro</strong></p>



<p>Here are five techniques that pros use to figure out what’s really going on in the market. Often these methods require a little more hustle than just reading the numbers on a screen or balance sheet, but you can also find out more that way than you could otherwise.</p>



<h3>1. Use a stock screener</h3>



<p>This can be a great place to start for investors that are looking to f. With a good stock screener, you can find stocks that are hitting 52-week lows,&nbsp;if you’re a value investor, or new highs, if you’re looking for momentum stocks that could continue their trend.</p>



<p>You can pair this information with other financial details that are available in the screener, such as a company’s revenue growth, profit margins, debt and many more. You’ll want to look for a high-quality screener so that you can get highly granular – and fully up-to-date – information.</p>



<p>You can find stock screeners at&nbsp;some of the top brokers, but you may want to hunt around for one that fits your exact needs and process best.</p>



<h3>2. Talk to management teams</h3>



<p>It may seem like the management teams are off-limits to individual investors, but not always. Sure, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not likely to take your call, but you have a real chance to ask questions at smaller firms, where execs will speak with current or future investors.</p>



<p>You’ll want to have pertinent questions lined up that show you know the business, and it can be a moment to ask insiders the finer points about the business. Even if you can’t get on the phone with the top brass, you can access a public company’s investor relations department. IR, as it’s known, can give you financial details or perspective on a press release, among other things.</p>



<p>It can also be helpful to ask a management team which other companies they respect most in the industry and why. This line of questioning can give you a good perspective on which rivals are worth watching – and they may even be worth investing in, too. This can be helpful when investing significant amount of capital into a single company.</p>



<h3>3. Do your own first-hand research</h3>



<p>At the end of the day nothing beats doing your own research. Getting out from behind the desk can be a great way to find out what’s actually going on before it breaks big. That’s classic advice from many investing legends such as&nbsp;Peter Lynch, who recommends watching for new trends emerging with friends, whether it’s a new product or service.</p>



<p>Have you heard about a great new restaurant in the area? Check it out yourself and see what you like and whether its operation is running smoothly. Your neighbor likes a new tech gadget? See for yourself what it’s all about – and then assess if the company is worth an investment. (Are you a beginning investor?&nbsp;Here’s how to invest in stocks.)</p>



<p>This way is great for finding a hot new consumer brand, especially in the restaurant or retail spaces. Food fans could easily have picked up future high-flyers such as Chipotle and Panera before they became big household names. Even if investors didn’t get in at the bottom, these restaurants had years of attractive growth remaining in them after they were “discovered.”</p>



<h3>4. Run your own channel checks</h3>



<p>This is especially for consumer or retail brands, you can do some of what Wall Street analysts call “channel checks.” A channel check is a fancy name for actually seeing what amount of product is moving through the system. A channel check can give you valuable information about what’s happening now before it shows up in the reported financial statements in three or six months.</p>



<p>For the pros, a channel check might involve calling up suppliers and customers of a target investment and seeing how much business the company is doing. In the case of individual investors you can do much of the same with consumer brands, asking questions such as:</p>



<ul><li>Is that new product getting shelf space at your local grocery store?</li><li>Is the product getting more space over time or less?</li><li>Is the parking lot at that hot new chain restaurant or retail shop getting even more crowded?</li><li>Or maybe the restaurant is getting less crowded or getting poor reviews?</li></ul>



<p>You can run your own channel checks and see trends that might not show up in the results yet.</p>



<h3>5. Subscribe to a newsletter</h3>



<p>An investing newsletter is a great resource for individual investors, and it’s a technique that pro investors use as well, though the two kinds of newsletters typically focus on much different analysis. Still, a good newsletter can help individual investors find and evaluate good investment opportunities, and give them a wider perspective, since the market is so large.</p>



<p>It may seem like Wall Street investors are omniscient, but they outsource a lot of research to third parties. That’s exactly what individuals can do, but they may have an additional advantage, because they can invest in small, high-growth businesses that the big investors can’t touch. Plus, you may have the added advantage of bouncing good stock ideas off the newsletter pros.</p>



<p>Look for a reputable newsletter company with a long track record and a history of treating subscribers well. In some cases you can find good newsletters for a few hundred dollars a year.</p>



<h2><strong>How to really let your money compound</strong></h2>



<p>While Wall Street has a reputation for being knowledgeable, success is not all about having the most info. The best investors really know how to minimize taxes and keep more of their money. So you’ve researched and found a great stock – here’s how to keep your gains compounding.</p>



<p>You may have found an undervalued stock that should go up to fair value and then you’ll sell. Or you may hunt for compounders, stocks that can grow for years, even decades. Think of PayPal,&nbsp;Amazon, or Starbucks, for example. It’s a classic dilemma between&nbsp;growth and value investing.</p>



<p>But whether you’re a value or growth investor, it’s important to realize that if you sell a winning investment in a taxable account, you’ll be liable for taxable gains (at either the short- or long-term rates). So every time you sell a winning investment, your wealth is going to be reduced by the taxman’s cut.</p>



<p>Instead, by not selling, you’ll defer any taxes, meaning that the wealth remains yours. But not only do you avoid the taxes, you’ll be able to compound on the full pre-tax amount each year.</p>



<p>For example, imagine you invested $10,000 and gained 20 percent annually but sold right at the end of the year, incurring a tax rate of 20 percent. In five years you’d turn $10,000 into $21,000, and average about 16 percent annualized gains, since the government took its cut each year.</p>



<p>But what if you held your stock during that whole period? You’d compound the whole amount at 20 percent annually, turning $10,000 into just over $24,883. Even if you decided to sell at that point, you’d still realize an after-tax amount of about $21,906 – more than in the first scenario.</p>



<p>The difference? You’ve compounded further gains on top of the gains you had to pay taxes on in the first scenario. In effect, by not selling your stock, you’re forcing the government to defer its taxes and to give you the ability to keep compounding on the full, pre-tax amount.</p>



<p>That’s how legendary investors compound their gains when it makes sense. It’s not just a question of having the best research but also using it the best, in this case by minimizing taxes.</p>



<h2><strong>Bottom line</strong></h2>



<p>While it’s easy to lament that Wall Street pros have huge advantages over individual investors, even the little guys have ways to use some of the pros’ techniques. And in some cases, individual investors even have advantages that large investors can never take advantage of.</p>



<h3>Learn more:</h3>


5 ways to research stocks that pros don’t want you to know


<p>Investing on your own may seem like a daunting and scary thing.</p>



<p>Here are five popular investment strategies for beginners, along with some of their advantages and risks. Luckily you can make things much simpler by using tested strategies. Having a solid investment strategy can lead to good returns in the long-run while allowing you to focus on other aspects of investing or in your career.</p>



<h2>Top investment strategies for beginners</h2>



<p>The point of utilizing an investment strategy is to optimize for returns while simultaneously reducing risk. But with any strategy it’s vital to remember that you can lose money in the short run if you’re investing in market-based products be it stocks or bonds. A good investment strategy is one that works, but often it takes time to work – years – and investing is not a “get rich quick” scheme. So it’s important to begin investing with realistic expectations of what you can and can’t achieve.</p>



<h3>1. Buy and hold</h3>



<p>A buy-and-hold strategy is a classic that’s proven itself over and over. With this strategy you do exactly what the name suggests: you buy an investment and then hold it indefinitely. Ideally, you’ll never sell the investment, but you should look to own it for at least 3 to 5 years. Usually for example, when one wants to buy and hold a stock for years they look at fundamentals and the leaders of the company to see if this investment is a promising one.</p>



<p><strong>Advantages: </strong>The buy-and-hold strategy focuses you on the long term and thinking like an owner, so you avoid the active trading that hurts the returns of most investors. Your success depends on how the business performs over time. And this is how you can ultimately find the stock market’s biggest winners and earn hundreds of times your original investment.</p>



<p>The beauty of this approach is that if you commit to never selling, then you don’t ever have to think about it again. It is certainly less stress full than trading constantly or looking at charts all day. Also if you never sell, you’ll avoid capital gains taxes, which can be a return killer. This strategy means that you’re not always focused on the market – unlike traders – so you can spend time doing things you love instead of being chained to watching the market all day.</p>



<p><strong>Risks: </strong>To succeed with this strategy, you’ll need to avoid the temptation to sell when the market gets rough. You’ll have to endure the market’s sometimes-steep falls, and a 50 percent drop is possible, with individual stocks potentially falling even more. That’s easier said than done. Knowing when is a buying opportunity is also a tough part, although if your holding for years this may not be your biggest worry.</p>



<h3>2. Buy the index</h3>



<p>This strategy is all about finding an attractive stock index or ETF and then buying an index fund based on it. Two popular indexes are the Standard &amp; Poor’s 500 and the Nasdaq Composite. They each have many of the market’s top stocks, giving you a well-diversified collection of investments, even if it’s the only investment you own. Rather than trying to beat the market, you simply own the market through the fund and get its returns. This way you are diversified without having to do too much research on multiple different companies. You would be suppressed at how many fund managers don&#8217;t beat the market.</p>



<p><strong>Advantages: </strong>Buying an index is a simple approach that can yield great results, especially when you pair it with a buy-and-hold mentality. Your return will be the weighted average of the index’s assets. And with a diversified portfolio, you’ll have lower risk than owning just a few stocks. As stated, you won’t have to analyze individual stocks to invest in, so it requires much less work, meaning you have time to spend on other fun things while your money works for you.</p>



<p><strong>Risks: </strong>Investing in stocks is risky already, but owning a diversified portfolio of stocks is considered a safer way to do it. But if you want to achieve the market’s long-term returns – an average 10 percent annually for the S&amp;P 500 – you’ll need to hold on through the tough times and not sell. This can get tough during a downturn especially if one needs access to that capital. Also because you’re buying a collection of stocks, you’ll get their average return, not the return of the hottest stocks.</p>



<h3>3. Index and a few</h3>



<p>The “index and a few” strategy is a way to use the index fund strategy and then add a few small positions to the portfolio. For example, you might have 94 percent of your money in index funds and 3 percent in each of Apple and Amazon. This is a good way for beginners to keep to a mostly lower-risk index strategy but add a little exposure to individual stocks that they like.</p>



<p><strong>Advantages: </strong>This strategy takes the best of the index fund strategy – lower risk, less work, good potential returns – and lets the more ambitious investors add a few positions on companies that they&#8217;re confident in. The individual positions can help beginners get their feet wet on analyzing and investing in stocks, while not costing too much if these investments don’t work out well.</p>



<p><strong>Risks: </strong>As long as the individual positions remain a relatively small portion of the portfolio, the risks here are mostly the same as buying the index. You’ll still most likely end up getting average market returns depending on your risk tolerance and what percentage of individual stocks are in your portfolio. Of course, if you’re planning on taking positions in individual stocks, you’ll want to put the time and effort into understanding how to analyze them before you invest. Otherwise, your portfolio could take a hit. There are many ways to do this, learning about the company and checking out their fundamentals is a good first step.</p>



<h3>4. Income investing</h3>



<p>Income investing is owning investments that produce cash flow, often dividend stocks and bonds. Part of your return comes in the form of hard cash, which you can use for anything you want, or you can keep reinvesting the payouts for more stocks and bonds. If you own income stocks, you could also still enjoy the benefits of capital gains in addition to the cash income.</p>



<p><strong>Advantages: </strong>You can easily implement an income investing strategy using index funds, ETFs, or other income-focused funds, so you don’t have to pick individual stocks and bonds here. Income investments tend to fluctuate less than other kinds of investments, and you have the safety of a regular cash payout from your investments. Plus, high-quality dividend stocks tend to increase their payouts over time, raising how much you get paid with no extra work on your part.</p>



<p><strong>Risks: </strong>While lower risk than stocks generally, income stocks are still stocks, so they can fall, too. And if you’re investing in individual stocks, they can cut their dividends, even to zero, leaving you with no payout and a capital loss, as well. You will need to do research on which stocks are dividend paying stocks that are typically stable. Most growth stocks won&#8217;t offer this since they prefer to keep reinvest their profits. Because of this you could miss out on stocks that have huge upside. When it comes to bonds the low payouts on them make them unattractive, especially since you’re not likely to enjoy much or any capital appreciation on them. So returns from bonds may not even beat inflation, leaving you with reduced purchasing power.</p>



<h3>5. Dollar-cost averaging</h3>



<p>Dollar-cost averaging is the practice of adding money into your investments at regular intervals. For example, you may determine that you can invest $500 a month. So each month you put $500 to work, you do this regardless of what the market is doing. Or maybe you add $125 each week instead. However regularly you purchase an investment, you’re spreading out your buy points.</p>



<p><strong>Advantages: </strong>By spreading out your buy points, you’re avoiding the risk of “timing the market,” meaning the risk of dumping all your money in at once. After all &#8220;time in the market&#8221; is more important than &#8220;timing the market&#8221;. Dollar-cost averaging means you’ll get an average purchase price over time, ensuring that you’re not buying too high. Dollar-cost averaging is also good for helping to establish a regular investing discipline. Over time you’re likely to wind up with a larger portfolio, if only because you were disciplined in your approach.</p>



<p><strong>Risks:&nbsp;</strong>While dollar-cost averaging helps you avoid buying too high, it also prevents you from buying at the lowest price, too. So you’re unlikely to end up with the highest returns on your investment.</p>



<h2><strong>How to get started investing</strong></h2>



<p>Investing is a wide and complicated world, and new investors have a lot to learn to get up to speed. There is no one way or correct way of getting started, all that matters is that you do. Investing can be scary but with the right education and work it can be very rewarding. The good news is that beginners can make investing relatively simple with a few basic steps while they leave all the complex stuff to the pros.</p>



<h2><strong>Bottom line</strong></h2>



<p>Investing can be one of the best decisions you can make for yourself, but getting started can be tough. You can simplify the process by picking a popular investment strategy or two that can work for you and then stick with it. When you become more fully versed in investing, then you can expand your strategies and the types of investments you can make.</p>


Investing for beginners styles arcena capital

5 popular investment strategies for beginners


<p>As the house sets a path to pass the $3.5 trillion budget bill, you may be wondering who could see the benefit from this and where government investments could be made.</p>



<p>The bill will be the largest federal investment in the public system in over a decade, this would fund a wide range of areas including transportation, renewable energy, clean water, smart-grid electrical networks, and broadband internet. But the stocks that have grown are mostly companies that will see an immediate impact from infrastructure spending: Investors are missing the steak.</p>



<p>Infrastructure stocks have dipped a bit since the bill passed the Senate on Aug. 10, and this provides a little extra incentive for investors: These stocks have room to run as these programs materialize and projects are put into place over the next few years.</p>



<p>There are a dozen exchange-traded funds that focus solely on infrastructure stocks, and they take very different approaches. That can lead to strikingly different portfolios in terms of what they own, their average valuation, and which are best right now.</p>



<p>The $4.4 billion Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF (ticker: PAVE), for example, is over 70% of industrial stocks, which includes machinery and construction firms. 21% of it is in materials outfits such as steel and concrete producers. The $682 million iShares U.S. Infrastructure ETF (IFRA), meanwhile, has about half in those kinds of cyclical companies, and nearly 43% in utility companies like electric, gas, and water suppliers. The two funds, despite their similar names, have just 24% of their portfolios in common.</p>



<p>An analyst of Global X, Andrew Little says the firm’s infrastructure ETF doesn’t include utility firms since they&#8217;re usually the spender of federal funding, whereas industrial and materials companies actually receive the money and provide inputs to maintain or rebuild the operations. These companies have jumped in the past year—such as steel producer Nucor (NUE), up 165%, and machinery manufacturer Deere &amp; Co. (DE), up 95%—but could continue their trajectory as economic activity picks up.</p>



<p>In contrast, the iShares ETF aims to capture the entire value chain of infrastructure development, including owners of the physical assets. These companies, such as Middlesex Water (MSEX), which owns water facilities, and NRG Energy (NRG), which owns nuclear-power plants, have seen gains this year, but not as much as cyclicals like industrials and materials, which make up about half the fund. The cyclical half trades at 44 times earnings—about 30% higher than their three-year average; the asset owners are priced at just 24 times, slightly below the historical level. Year to date, the Global X ETF has gained 27%, while the iShares ETF is up 21%.</p>



<h2>Build Back Better</h2>



<h3>The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, if passed, will benefit these funds that invest in related companies.</h3>



<figure id="0823-funds-tb-d0019877-c0e8-43d7-be1a-c9b792824ecb-table" class="wp-block-table"><table><thead><tr><th>ETF / Ticker</th><th>Expense Ratio</th><th>AUM (mil)</th><th>YTD Return</th><th>One-Year Return</th><th>Portfolio Makeup</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development / PAVE</td><td>0.47%</td><td>$4,356</td><td>26.8%</td><td>57.4%</td><td>Cyclical-focused (70% industrials, 20% materials)</td></tr><tr><td>iShares U.S. Infrastructure / IFRA</td><td>0.40</td><td>682</td><td>20.7</td><td>43.9</td><td>Half cyclical, half defensive (43% utilities)</td></tr><tr><td>ProShares DJ Brookfield Global Infrastructure / TOLZ</td><td>0.47</td><td>127</td><td>15.8</td><td>18.0</td><td>Defensive-focused (36% utilities, 29% energy, 18% real estate)</td></tr><tr><td>Invesco Water Resources / PHO</td><td>0.60</td><td>1,913</td><td>23.2</td><td>42.3</td><td>Companies with products that conserve and purify water for homes, businesses and industries</td></tr><tr><td>First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index / GRID</td><td>0.70</td><td>486</td><td>20.7</td><td>54.3</td><td>Companies involved in electric grid, energy storage, and enabling softwares, etc.</td></tr><tr><td>SPDR S&amp;P Kensho Intelligent Structures / SIMS</td><td>0.45</td><td>51</td><td>7.6</td><td>36.3</td><td>Companies driving innovation behind intelligent infrastructure</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>Note: Data as of Aug. 18, 2021</p>



<p>Source: Morningstar</p>



<p>“The market may not be pricing in the big benefits of the infrastructure spending on asset owners yet,” says Jeff Spiegel, head of iShares’ megatrend, sector, and international ETFs. Still, he says that the huge federal investment will eventually help these firms reduce expenses, adopt new technologies, and expand through acquisitions. That might be where the next leg of infrastructure-triggered growth comes from, he says.</p>



<p>There is another significant difference: The Global X ETF is weighted by its holdings’ market value; the iShares ETF is equal-weighted. That means the former tends to ride the momentum of larger stocks that have done well, while the latter tilts toward smaller names and scales back from winners every quarter. The average market cap of the two funds’ holdings are $16 billion and $6 billion, respectively.</p>



<p>The $127 million ProShares DJ Brookfield Global Infrastructure (TOLZ) is even more defensive: It invests only in companies that own and operate infrastructure—utilities and natural-gas pipeline operators, including Enbridge (ENB) and TC Energy (TRP), as well as real estate owners of cell towers, such as American Tower (AMT) and Crown Castle (CCI).</p>



<p>The ProShares ETF, which has very little overlap with the infrastructure ETFs from Global X and iShares, has returned 16% YTD. “These names don’t get quite the kick the cyclicals do, but in the long term, they get to add capacity and continue to make money with that added capacity,” says Scott Helfstein, ProShares’ executive director of thematic investing.</p>



<p>Half the fund’s assets are in foreign stocks: “The U.S. isn’t the only one investing in infrastructure,” says Helfstein. India just promised to spend $1.3 trillion on infrastructure, and China has been consistently investing in infrastructure even before the pandemic, especially in areas like green energy and digital networks.</p>



<p>For now, the businesses engaged in innovative technologies for cleaner, smarter and overall better connected infrastructure, will ultimately benefit from the government&#8217;s ambitious plan. Many of these companies are owned by ETFs such as SDPR S&amp;P Kensho Intelligence Structures(SIMS), First Trust Nasdaq Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure (GRID), and Invesco Water Resources (PHO). These ETFs are typically internationally focused and often trade at higher valuations compared to US infrastructure ETFs. They may not see an instant revenue boost, but infrastructure is all about the long-term.</p>


Where could the infrastructure bill lead to high returns?


<p>Tesla will build a humanoid robot called Tesla Bot, CEO Elon Musk announced on Thursday.</p>



<p>“We’re also good at sensors and batteries and we’ll probably have a prototype next year that looks like this,” Musk said, shortly after an actor in a body suit designed to look like the Tesla robot gyrated wildly on stage. He remarked that the actor was not a real robot, but “the Tesla Bot will be real.”</p>



<p>The announcement was made as part of AI Day, a series of tech talks hosted by Tesla in California to bring in machine learning talent. </p>



<p>The Tesla Bot is an example of Musk’s showmanship, in which he announces that Tesla is working on exciting products scheduled for years into the future to energize backers including employees, customers, and investors. Often, those announcements don’t happen on the timeline predicted.</p>



<p>For instance, at an ‘Autonomy Day” event in Apr. 2019, Musk said the company would have 1 million autonomous “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/22/elon-musk-says-tesla-robotaxis-will-hit-the-market-next-year.html">robotaxis</a>” on the road in 2020. Those robotaxis are nowhere to be seen. In October 2016, Musk held an event at Universal Studios’ back lot in Los Angeles to show off a product he called the Solar Roof. The solar roof tiles on display turned out to be merely conceptual.</p>



<p>If a humanoid robot works and can perform repetitive tasks that only humans can do today, Musk said, it has the chance to transform the world economy by driving labor costs down.</p>



<p>However, Musk warned that the robot “probably won’t work” at first.</p>



<p>“It’s intended to be friendly, of course, and navigate through a world of humans, and eliminate dangerous, repetitive and boring tasks,” Musk said.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="740" height="416" src="https://www.arcenacapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/arcena-tesla-Robot.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-159" srcset="https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/arcena-tesla-Robot.jpg 740w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/arcena-tesla-Robot-300x169.jpg 300w, https://api.arcena.io/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/arcena-tesla-Robot-696x391.jpg 696w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Elon Musk at AI Day</figcaption></figure>



<p>Musk said the robot, code-named “Optimus,” is based on the same chips and sensors that Tesla’s cars use for self-driving features. It’s five foot eight inches tall, and has a screen where the head is for useful information, Musk said. Tesla is designing it so that humans will be able to run away from the robot or overpower it.</p>



<p>Slides displayed by Tesla on Thursday show that Autopilot cameras will be installed in the bot’s head. It will be able to carry 45 pounds, lift 150 pounds, and weighs 125 pounds. It can run 5 miles per hour, Musk said.</p>



<p>Musk said the robot was not intended to help with Tesla’s manufacturing, but that Tesla is developing a lot of the computers needed for robotics, so it makes sense for Tesla to build a robot.</p>



<p>“It should be able to, you know, please go to the store and get me the following groceries, that kind of thing,” Musk said.</p>


Tesla to build a humanoid robot prototype by next year


<p>The Andresson Horowitz backed startup has stated they&#8217;re plowing $500M into cryptocurrencies. Coinbase, one of the top U.S. bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange that made a much-hyped IPO earlier this year, has revealed it plans to add $500 million worth of crypto to its balance sheet.</p>



<p>As of right now the bitcoin and ethereum price, combined make up more than half of the $2 trillion crypto market, both have surged this year, sparking a huge rally in many smaller cryptocurrencies.</p>



<p>&#8220;We recently received board approval to purchase over $500 million of crypto on our balance sheet to add to our existing holdings,&#8221; Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong announced via&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1428489591665856512" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>. &#8220;And we&#8217;ll be investing 10% of all profit going forward in crypto. I expect this percentage to keep growing over time as the crypto-economy matures.&#8221;</p>



<p>In <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-updates-investment-policy-to-increase-investments-in-crypto-assets-a68c752ea786" target="_blank">a blog post</a>, the company, which now holds a market capitalization of $52 billion, said it will &#8220;become the first publicly-traded company to hold ethereum, proof of stake assets, decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens, and many other crypto assets supported for trading on our platform, in addition to bitcoin, on our balance sheet.&#8221;</p>



<p>Armstrong has expressed that Coinbase eventually plans to convert much more of its operating capital and assets to bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. Earlier this month, Coinbase said it brought in more than $2.2 billion in its second quarter, up from just $186 million during the second quarter of last year.</p>



<p>&#8220;Hopefully over time we can operate more of our business in crypto, today it is still a mix,&#8221; Armstrong said.</p>



<p>Yesterday, it was reported Coinbase has stockpiled around $4 billion in cash to prepare for a possible regulatory crackdown or a market downturn, known as a &#8220;crypto winter,&#8221; since listing shares in April.</p>



<p></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F611f6e34d1ee01b016d22482%2FCoinbase--bitcoin--bitcoin-price--ethereum--ethereum-price--crypto--chart%2F960x0.jpg%3Ffit%3Dscale" alt="Coinbase, bitcoin, bitcoin price, ethereum, ethereum price, crypto, chart"/><figcaption>The bitcoin price has added almost 300% since this time last year, with ethereum soaring almost&nbsp;&#8230; [+]&nbsp;<small>COINBASE</small></figcaption></figure>



<p>&#8220;We want to ensure that we maintain those cash reserves so that we can continue to invest and continue to grow our products and services in the event that we go into a crypto winter,&#8221; Coinbase chief financial officer Alesia Haas told the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/coinbase-builds-a-4-billion-cash-pile-ahead-of-possible-regulatory-tightening-11629295200" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a>.</p>



<p>Earlier this year, Elon Musk&#8217;s electric car company Tesla became the biggest company to add bitcoin to its balance sheet, which bought $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency. Tesla&#8217;s bitcoin holdings, even after the company said it sold $200 million worth in order to test market liquidity, is now thought to be worth $2 billion.</p>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://bitcointreasuries.net/" target="_blank">Others</a> have since followed suit, with business intelligence software company Microstrategy continuing to accumulate bitcoin since it kicked off the trend this time last year. Microstrategy, led by chief executive and outspoken bitcoin bull Michael Saylor, has now spent $2.7 billion on bitcoin—thought to now be worth around $5 billion.</p>


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