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Lundin Mining Corporation’s (TSE:LUN) Stock Has Been Sliding But Fundamentals Look Strong: Is The Market Wrong? – Simply Wall St

December 22, 2021 | Author: admin

Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN) has had a rough week with its share price down 16%. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Lundin Mining's ROE today.

Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

See our latest analysis for Lundin Mining

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Lundin Mining is:

15% = US$734m US$4.8b (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2021).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each CA$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made CA$0.15 in profit.

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

To start with, Lundin Mining's ROE looks acceptable. And on comparing with the industry, we found that the the average industry ROE is similar at 15%. Consequently, this likely laid the ground for the impressive net income growth of 23% seen over the past five years by Lundin Mining. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. For example, it is possible that the company's management has made some good strategic decisions, or that the company has a low payout ratio.

As a next step, we compared Lundin Mining's net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 29% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. Its important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. What is LUN worth today? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether LUN is currently mispriced by the market.

Lundin Mining has a three-year median payout ratio of 41% (where it is retaining 59% of its income) which is not too low or not too high. This suggests that its dividend is well covered, and given the high growth we discussed above, it looks like Lundin Mining is reinvesting its earnings efficiently.

Moreover, Lundin Mining is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of five years of paying a dividend. Looking at the current analyst consensus data, we can see that the company's future payout ratio is expected to rise to 54% over the next three years. Accordingly, the expected increase in the payout ratio explains the expected decline in the company's ROE to 11%, over the same period.

Overall, we are quite pleased with Lundin Mining's performance. Particularly, we like that the company is reinvesting heavily into its business, and at a high rate of return. As a result, the decent growth in its earnings is not surprising. Having said that, on studying current analyst estimates, we were concerned to see that while the company has grown its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to shrink in the future. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Lundin Mining Corporation's (TSE:LUN) Stock Has Been Sliding But Fundamentals Look Strong: Is The Market Wrong? - Simply Wall St

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TrustMining Creating New Benchmark in the Cloud Mining Space By CoinQuora – Investing.com

December 22, 2021 | Author: admin

Cloud mining uses a distant data centre with pooled computing capacity to mine cryptocurrency. Investors do not need to operate the hardware while opting for cloud mining. The mining rigs are housed at a mining company facility. The user needs to register and buy mining contracts to start cloud mining.

TrustMining is a cloud mining and investing firm, lucrative for small investors as it offers minimum requirements to start mining. To swiftly join the crypto market without any upfront costs, it executes all the mining on behalf of the investor. TrustMining currently supports SHA256, Ethash, and Equihash. Investors can choose any algorithm. Moreover, the firm provides a complete guide helping investors choose the right algorithm and choose from a wide range of flexible contracts.

To ensure user privacy, trust cloud mining processes with greater transparency. This open, accessible, and high-quality platform is available to all types of investors worldwide.

Investors prefer Trust cloud mining because of its unique characteristics. Apart from affordable fees for investors to enhance their mining capacity, it empowers investors to choose what suits their needs the best, right from the algorithm to the mining equipments power.

We all are well aware of the meme coins and the way it has been trending in the crypto world. One of the primary faces of meme coins is . The coin has soared and provided investors with record-breaking returns. Not to forget the strongest community backing the coin, the SHIB army.

The cloud mining firm believes in Shiba Inu and its capabilities and will promote it as the crypto of the future. Thus, Shiba Inu will be the community coin and has great potential for investors giving them massive ROI. There will be a 37% bonus for its investors which will even reach up to 60% by 31 December.

TrustMining introduced a giveaway of up to 100 million Shiba Inu coins along with other valuable rewards for lucky investors on the first deposit. The giveaway would be through a mystery box, where investors can win exciting rewards such as unique NFTs, DOGE, and MATIC. This giveaway is available for a limited time only. To sum it up, investors can earn rewards from the pool of 100 million SHIB, Up to 25000 DOGE, Up to 1000 MATIC. And not to forget, the most valuable reward, Crypto Phunks NFT.

Trust cloud minings skilled and constant customer assistance is another reason for its long-term popularity. Their support staff is accessible by live chat, email, phone, etc.

Each component has been carefully structured. The user interface is simple to use. Moreover, this platform can handle both experienced and new miners.

One of the nicest features of Trust cloud mining is that investors may collect their passive profits in any supported cryptocurrencies. In this manner, the investor who supports one coin may earn money in that same crypto. Investors are well aware of how much energy is utilised for mining. The firm is committed to its share of global environmental effects. Thus it uses solar energy for mining.

Unlike other mining service providers, the Trust cloud mining platform pays daily and offers the highest returns compared to other organisations offering similar services. Thus investors dont have to wait for a complete month for their revenue to reach them. TrustMining is a global leader in cloud mining. It is a trusted brand, deploys cutting-edge technology, and offers maximum profit.

Disclaimer: Any information written in this press release does not constitute investment advice. CoinQuora does not, and will not endorse any information on any company or individual on this page. Readers are encouraged to make their own research and make any actions based on their own findings and not from any content written in this press release. CoinQuora is and will not be responsible for any damage or loss caused directly or indirectly by the use of any content, product, or service mentioned in this press release.

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Assessing Nami’s Two Years at The Helm of FIRS – THISDAY Newspapers

December 22, 2021 | Author: admin

Bernard Okri

In the second week of December 2019, when President Muhammadu Buhari announced the nomination of a certain Muhammad Nami to be the forerunner of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, many were taken by surprise.

Known very well to staff of the FIRS, who he met during his many visits seeking tax clearance and other regulatory documents for his client, Nami was not your populist political appointee at that time. His resume was not partisan. But bold on his resume was the fact that he was a tax man. He had risen at the PKF International to the position of senior consultant in charge of tax management and advisory services, he founded Manam Profesional Services a chartered tax practitioners and business advisers firm. He had also served as a member of the Presidential Audit Committee on Recoveries, recovering loot from looters across the country. He is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the Chartered Institute of Forensice and Investigation Professionals in Nigeria, the Institute of Debt Recovery Practitioners of Nigeria and an Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered) and Association of National Accountants of Nigeria.

If we were to judge by Mr. Namis experience and qualifications, he fits into the character to lead the FIRS. His credentials speak to a sound administrator and tax man indeed. Two years on, since he officially resumed as the Chairman of the FIRS, there is so much to assess of his leadership. What has he done differently? What reforms has he brought to the tax administration space? What legacies is he certain to leave? What makes Mr. Nami a worthy appointee?

When Mr. Nami resumed at the FIRS he is reported to have called his management team together to inform his vision and objectives for his tenure. He summarised what he wanted to achieve in a four-point agenda: to rebuild the FIRS institutional framework; to improve collaboration with stakeholders; to make the FIRS a Customer-centric institution and to make the FIRS a Data-centric institution.

How has he faired on this? On the institutional framework of the FIRS: before he came on board the FIRS was mostly a notorious institution. It had become the financing house for rave events and parties across the big cities in Nigeria. There was corruption here and there. Staff morale was low; most of their jobs had been handed over to consultants. Several allowances had not been paid, and there was no boost to do the work. One of the first things the new FIRS Chairman did was to end the contracts of over 2,000 tax consultants previously hired and gave the job of tax administration back to the FIRS staff. As it should have been.

Under him, the management approved a new structure for the FIRS. The new organogram was designed to create improved service delivery to taxpayers. It introduced taxpayer segmentation where Large Taxpayers, Media Taxpayers and Small Taxpayers offices were created. The Audit and Investigation Departments were also reviewed for effectiveness. With the new boss on ground, the FIRS Annual Corporate Retreat was reintroduced to provide staff the opportunity to discuss their work, network, review the workings of the Service and improve on their capacity to deliver.

Mr. Nami further established the Tax Incentive Management Department to monitor companies and enterprises that were benefitting from tax holidays and tax exemptions, and ensuring that they were not making taxable profits and refusing to pay taxes on those income.

One major legacy of the Mr. Muhammad Nami led FIRS would be his deployment of technology to transform tax administration. He has been consistent in his commentary on this. Tax administrators would remain in the brick and mortar age if they do not bring their work to be in line with technological advancement. As the world progresses, and advancements in technologies are recorded, for any sector of human life to engage with the dynamics of the world, it must be technologically advanced too.

Mr. Nami takes the credit for courageously deploying technology in the FIRS for tax administration. With the amendment of the FIRS Establishment Act through the Finance Act 2020, where the Service was given the powers to use technology for tax administration, the FIRS deployed its home-made solution called Tax-Pro Max to register tax payers, receive filings from them, and receive payments too.

The TaxPro Max is the first of its kind in Nigeria. Its deployment in June this year was a bold move by the FIRS against many odds. It has cut off suspect middle-men from the tax filing processes and has made tax administration far easier and in line with global standards.

It was thus not surprising to see that the FIRS collected N664 billion Naira in the month of June 2021 alone. This was the single highest amount ever collected in a month by the Service since the covid-19 pandemic started.

In line with building a data-centric institution, Mr. Nami set up the Intelligence, Strategic Data Mining and Analysis Department (ISDMA) to deploy analytical tools to analyse data mined from the revolutionary TaxPro Max to properly asses taxpayers.

The FIRS has also improved its relationship with various stakeholders within the government finance networks as well as the security departments and agencies. This has allowed for the Service to receive more information on taxpayers, easily track tax defaulting and enforce compliance.

The world saw all these and honoured Mr. Nami with the extra job of leading the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) as the associations President. On the 12th of November Mr. Nami was elected unanimously as the President of CATA. This election was a testament to the work that he has been doing here in Nigeria. It was a recognition and an affirmation of his success stories, and the call for him to take leadership of global taxation matters.

In December 2020, the FIRS announced that it had collected a total of N4.95 trillion compared to its target of N5.07 trillion. This was an uncommon feat: it happened despite the covid-19 pandemic, and meant the FIRS had met up to 98% of its target. Mr. Nami has indeed proved the naysayers wrong, countless times. His records in the last two years are enviable and rich. He has kept to his four-point objective in rebranding and reforming the FIRS to be one of Nigerias leading government institutions. He is indeed, as a friend describes him, Nigerias Tax Pilot.

Bernard Okri is the President of the Global Economic Policy Initiative (GEPIn)

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www.thehindu.com

December 22, 2021 | Author: admin

About 71% Indians have low or zero trust in cryptocurrencies, according to a recent survey by LocalCircles. The survey added that 54% do not want the government to legalise cryptocurrencies but want them taxed on par with digital assets held abroad.

The community social network said the survey results were based on 56,000 citizen responses from 342 districts of India, received over the past 15 days.

The Centre plans to introduce a Bill to regulate cryptocurrency and ban all private cryptocurrencies in the winter session of Parliament that begins on November 29. The bill also seeks to create a facilitative framework for creation of an official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

As per the survey, families of 87% of the respondents do not have anyone trading or investing in cryptocurrencies and 54% do not want the government to legalise cryptocurrencies but tax them like a digital asset held abroad. About 26% say they should be legalised and then taxed in India, LocalCircles said in a release. The study also finds that 51% of the respondents support India rolling out its own digital currency which is managed by the RBI while 26% are against the same. This indicates that the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would be a more trustworthy investment, it added.

LocalCircles will be sharing the findings of this study with the senior leadership of Government of India, the RBI leadership and all Members of Parliament such that public feedback on cryptocurrencies can be given the due consideration as laws related to it are finalised, said Sachin Taparia, founder, LocalCircles.

The findings show that the Central Bank Digital Currency is seen as more trustworthy

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Cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin, Ether slide as …

December 22, 2021 | Author: admin

Cryptocurrencies have weakened over the past 24 hours due to volatility in the virtual coin market, triggered by weak investor confidence and lack of demand after the recent correction.

Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency, was trading at $55,914.94 or 2.64 per cent lower than its price 24 hours ago at 2:00 pm. The market capitalisation of the cryptocurrency decreased to $1.06 trillion and the trading volume over the past 24 hours was $1.52 billion.

Ether was trading at around $4,100 or 2.56 per cent lower than its price 24 hours ago. The cryptocurrencys market capitalisation fell to $481.63 billion and the 24-hour trading volume was $1.10 billion.

From the magazine | The crypto mania

All other popular cryptocurrencies, including Solana, XRP, Cardano, Polkadot, Stellar, Dogecoim, Chainlink, Shiba Inu, Uniswap and Litecoin also fell due to the weak crypto market momentum.

However, a possibility of another bumper rally seems difficult this month, unless there is any major development surrounding the virtual coin market.

Commenting on the cryptocurrency market momentum, Edul Patel, CEO and Co-founder of Mudrex, a global algorithm-based crypto investment platform, said, Over the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market remained in a consolidated phase.

The largest crypto by market cap, bitcoin, broke below the support level at $57,000. The altcoins are doing relatively better with Ethereum being able to hold the $4100 mark, he added.

The coming 24 hours would likely remain volatile with bears trying to pull the market lower than the current levels.

Watch | Cryptocurrency: Indian Government to create new bill for the digital currency

Cryptocurrency

Price (US Dollar)

24-hour change

Market cap

Volume (24 Hours)

Bitcoin

55,896.15

-2.89%

$1.06 trillion

$1.52 billion

Ether

4,098.75

-2.54%

$481.47 billion

$1.10 billion

Dogecoin

0.217669

-2.55%

$28.75 billion

$1.05 billion

Litecoin

206.30

-4.22%

$14.27 billion

$89.35 million

XRP

1.03

-1.26%

$103.43 billion

$2.99 billion

Cardano

1.77

-2.00%

$58.14 billion

$135.68 million

DISCLAIMER: The cryptocurrency prices have been updated as of 02:15 pm and will change as the day progresses. The list is intended to give a rough idea regarding popular cryptocurrency trends and will be updated daily.

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Cryptocurrency Is a Hot Gift Idea This Year. Here Are 5 Things You Should Think About if Its on Your List – NextAdvisor

December 22, 2021 | Author: admin

Editorial IndependenceWe want to help you make more informed decisions. Some links on this page clearly marked may take you to a partner website and may result in us earning a referral commission. For more information, see How We Make Money.

Looking for a last-minute holiday gift? Theres an option that lets you sidestep supply chain shortages and potential shipping delays, and only requires a few clicks of a button: cryptocurrency.

After a year thats seen cryptocurrency explode in popularity, you wouldnt be the only person to buy friends and family cryptocurrency for the holidays. One in 10 people are gifting crypto this holiday season, according to a recent survey by BlockFi.

Well-known coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum both hit record highs in November, though they have dropped in price since then. Its become easier for everyday investors to buy digital assets through platforms like Paypal and Venmo, and trade them via apps like Robinhood and popular exchanges like Coinbase. Many of these platforms have made crypto gift giving even simpler, promoting specific features and functionality for their users.

While crypto is a popular unique gift idea this year, there are some things you should consider before giving it as a gift, experts say.

Gifting crypto is a lot like gifting a lottery ticket, for starters. The gift could be a huge success for your loved ones or it could go to nothing, says Grant Maddox, an independent CFP based in South Carolina.

Then theres the question of whether your intended recipient is even interested in crypto. Some people may not want to incorporate cryptocurrency into their portfolio, and see no value in owning it, says Chris Chen, a financial advisor with Insight Financial Strategists in Newton, Massachusetts.

But if you still decide to give crypto as a gift this holiday season, what crypto you choose to give can go a long way toward whether it has potential value to the recipient, or is more of a novelty gift. If youre giving a piece of Bitcoin or Ethereum, I think youre getting closer to actually giving something of value to someone, Chen says. And at that point, its starting to resemble a gift of a share of stock or something.

There are thousands of cryptocurrencies, so youre going to have to decide which youre going to give, and how much. Bitcoin reigns supreme as the crypto of choice for gifting and receiving, with Dogecoin and Ethereum coming in as second and third, according to BlockFis data. But as with any new investment whether youre giving it or receiving it its important to do your research, and understand all of the risks.

As more everyday investors wonder how cryptocurrency might fit into their portfolio, experts recommend sticking to Bitcoin and Ethereum, and following the 5% rule that is, dont contribute more than 5% of your portfolio to risky assets like crypto. Its also recommended to treat it as a long-term investment, but you should never invest in cryptocurrency at the expense of other financial priorities, such as saving for emergencies and paying down high-interest debt.

Heres what to consider if youre giving crypto as a gift this holiday season, or find yourself on the receiving end of such a gift.

Crypto is a high-risk, high-reward investment. In other words, theres a chance your crypto sees big value growth for years to come. But theres just as likely a chance it loses its value entirely, leaving you with nothing but the experience. If youre giving crypto as a gift, you might want to make sure the recipient understands these risks of owning and investing in cryptocurrency.

Just take a look at Bitcoin: It reached an all-time high of over $68,000 in November 2021 after starting the year at just under $30,000. Meanwhile, Ethereum has shot up from about $737 to around $4,000, depending on the day. And it isnt unusual for either of them to lose 15% of their value in an afternoon.

While volatility can be a big downside to gifting crypto, it can equally be an upside depending on your perception of crypto, says Chen. If you got Bitcoin, it could go through the roof or through the floor. There are people out there who say that Bitcoin is the future of Bitcoin and Bitcoin is going to take over. And if thats the case, then the value horizons for Bitcoin are infinite.

As long as youre giving less than $15,000 worth of crypto, it falls under the 2021 gift tax allowance. That means you wont have to worry about any tax implications that come with the gift.

If you give me any crypto that is $15,000 or less, theres no tax implications, says Chen. If you give me crypto that is worth $30,000, then the difference between 15,000 and 30,000 is taxable as a gift, and is taxable to you as the person whos giving it.

Despite the gift tax allowance, recipients may have to pay taxes on their crypto in the future. It depends on the cryptos capital gains or losses when the gift recipient sells or transfers it basically, how much value their holdings gained or lost in a given period. Thats because the IRS treats virtual cryptocurrencies like property for tax purposes, similar to other assets like stocks or gold.

So if you receive crypto as a gift, you may still owe taxes on it even if you sell it immediately after its been given to you, depending on whether its increased or decreased in value.

If your crypto gains value over time, youd experience a capital gain when you sell or transfer it. The amount of time you own it plays a role in how much youll owe in taxes, too. Any crypto held for less than a year is a short-term gain. If you own it for more than a year, its a long-term gain. These differences can affect which tax rate is applied. The tax rate also varies based on your overall taxable income, and there are limits to how much you may deduct in capital losses if your crypto asset loses value.

Of course, there is a bright side to owing taxes related to crypto. If you have to pay taxes, that means that you have made money, says Chen.

The opposite of a capital gain is a capital loss. If your losses exceed your gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 from your taxable income (for individual filers).

If you are a DIY tax filer, refer to the Form 8949 to reconcile your capital gains and losses, and then report them on your Form 1040 tax return using Schedule D. Theres additional information and tools on the IRS website to help you determine your crypto-related tax liability, and how to report it on its website.

Keeping a detailed transaction history will come in handy come tax season, whether you file your own taxes or work with a tax pro. As a new and evolving asset class, expect lots of changes to how crypto is regulated in the coming years, and seek out tax professionals who have experience and familiarity with digital assets for an even smoother filing process.

Once you decide to give cryptocurrency as a gift, youll need to figure out how youre actually going to send it. While cryptocurrency has been a popular gift this year, many people lack information on how to actually do it, according to BlockFis data.

Two common ways to give crypto are through gift cards that can be redeemed for crypto or sending it directly to someone via an exchange from one crypto wallet to another. If you already have a crypto exchange you like, that might be the best place to start since it comes with the benefit of first-person experience that can be shared with your recipient.

But both the gift giver and the recipient will need a crypto wallet or exchange account to complete the transaction, which can be a little more complicated. If youre giving crypto to someone who doesnt already have an account or wallet, theyll need to set one up to receive the gift.

Crypto gift cards involve third-parties that can increase the complexity for both the recipient and the sender. Whatever route you go, take care to understand and share what will be needed of your recipient to successfully receive the gift.

Fees are another thing to consider, which are often charged per transaction, and can differ whether youre the seller or the buyer. There are many different fees depending on which currencies you trade, so its important to understand exactly how and when an exchange can charge you for your crypto transactions.

Coinbase doesnt charge for transferring crypto from one Coinbase wallet to another, for example. But the recipient will be charged a fee if they sell or move their gifted crypto off of the Coinbase platform, which could eat into the value of the gift. The transaction costs are pretty high in general, says Chen.

Crypto has been popular this year, but plenty of people still have no interest or limited knowledge of it. If youre sending cryptocurrency to someone who has never owned the digital currency, you may want to consider whether they will be interested, or if it could just end up unclaimed as is the case with so many gift cards that ultimately go unused.

Theres nothing wrong with giving or receiving crypto, says Chen. You just need to be clear as to what you can do with it.

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From a bitcoin crash to regulatory crackdowns: Analysts give their top predictions for crypto in 2022 – CNBC

December 22, 2021 | Author: admin

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Some experts believe bitcoin is due for a sharp decline in the coming months.

Bitcoin surged to a record high of almost $69,000 in November. It's now sitting below $50,000, down almost 30% from its peak. Wall Street wisdom defines bear markets as a decline of 20% or more from recent highs, but it's worth noting bitcoin is notorious for its volatility.

Carol Alexander, professor of finance at Sussex University, said she expects bitcoin to tank as low as $10,000 in 2022, virtually wiping out all of its gains in the past year and a half.

"If I were an investor now I would think about coming out of bitcoin soon because its price will probably crash next year," Alexander said. Her bearish call hinges on the notion that bitcoin "has no fundamental value" and serves as more of a "toy" than an investment.

Alexander warns bitcoin could nosedive, as it has done in the past, after a big run-up in the price. In 2018, bitcoin tumbled close to $3,000 after climbing to a high of nearly $20,000 a few months earlier. The cryptocurrency's backers often say that things are different this time, as more institutional investors are jumping into the market.

"Without question, Bitcoin's price chart appears to track many historical asset bubbles and busts and is carrying a 'this time it's different' narrative just like other bubbles," said Todd Lowenstein, chief equity strategist of Union Bank's private banking arm.

A common investment case for bitcoin is that it serves as a hedge against rising inflation caused by government stimulus. Lowenstein said there's a risk that a more hawkish Federal Reserve may take the wind out of bitcoin's sails.

"Goldilocks conditions are ending and the liquidity tide is receding which will disproportionately harm overvalued asset classes and speculative areas of the market including cryptocurrencies," he said.

Still, not everyone is convinced the crypto party will end in 2022. "The biggest risk factor, namely [quantitative tapering] by the Fed, has been decided and likely priced in already," said Yuya Hasegawa, crypto market analyst at Japanese exchange Bitbank.

A big development crypto investors are on the lookout for in 2022 is approval of the first spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States.

Although the Securities and Exchange Commission greenlit the launch of ProShares' Bitcoin Strategy ETF this year, the product tracks bitcoin futures contracts rather than giving investors direct exposure to the cryptocurrency itself.

Futures are financial derivatives that oblige an investor to buy or sell an asset at a later date and for an agreed-upon price. By tracking futures prices instead of bitcoin itself, experts say, ProShares' ETF could be too risky for novice traders, many of whom are invested in crypto.

"The Bitcoin Futures ETF that launched this year has been widely regarded as not very retail-friendly given the high costs involved of rolling over contracts which amounts to around 5-10%," said Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and global expansion at crypto exchange Luno.

"Increasing pressure/evidence points to a Bitcoin Spot ETF being approved in 2022 mainly because the market is now large and mature enough to support one."

Grayscale Investments has filed to convert its bitcoin trust, which is the world's biggest bitcoin fund, into a spot ETF. And there are plenty of other bitcoin ETF applications waiting in the wings.

As the crypto industry has evolved, bitcoin's share of the market has waned, with other digital currencies like ethereum playing a much larger role. This is something analysts expect to continue into next year, as investors increasingly look to smaller pockets of crypto in the hope of big gains.

Sussex University's Alexander flagged ethereum, solana, polkadot and cardano as coins to watch in 2022.

"As retail investors begin to realize the dangers of trading bitcoin, especially on unregulated venues, they will switch toother coins belonging to blockchains which actually serve an essential and fundamental role in decentralized finance," she said.

"This time next year I predict that bitcoin's market cap will be half the combined cap of smart contract coins" like ethereum and solana, Alexander added, "or even less."

Emerging crypto developments such as decentralized finance and decentralized autonomous organizations are "likely to be the highest growth areas of crypto," said Bryan Gross, network steward at crypto platform ICHI. DeFi aims to recreate traditional financial products without middlemen, while DAOs can be thought of as a new type of internet community.

Total money deposited into DeFi services surpassed $200 billion for the first time this year, and experts expect demand to grow further in 2022.

Web3, a movement calling for a new, decentralized iteration of the internet, is also expected to gain more traction next year. Web3 encompasses DeFi and other blockchain technologies such as non-fungible tokens. It has already found skeptics in the likes of Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey.

Regulators flexed their muscles on cryptocurrencies this year, with China completely banning all crypto-related activities and U.S. authorities cracking down on certain aspects of the market. Analysts widely expect regulation to be a key issue for the sector in 2022.

"2022 will be a big year on the regulatory front, no doubt," Luno's Ayyar said. "The interest from various governments, and especially the U.S., to bring regulation into the crypto space has not been higher."

Ayyar said he expects to see some clarification on the legal "gray zone" of cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin and ethereum, which the SEC has said are not securities.

Blockchain company Ripple is locking horns with the U.S. watchdog over XRP, a cryptocurrency it is closely associated with. The SEC alleges XRP is an unregistered security and that $1.3 billion worth of the tokens were illegally sold by Ripple and two of its executives. For its part, Ripple says XRP should not be considered a security.

Experts say another key area regulators will likely focus on next year is stablecoins. These are tokens whose value is tied to the price of existing assets like the U.S. dollar. Tether, the world's biggest stablecoin, is particularly controversial as there are concerns about whether it holds enough assets in its reserves to justify its peg to the dollar.

"Undoubtedly more scrutiny is forthcoming around stable coins as regulators look under the hood on the soundness of the underlying collateral and amount of leverage deployed," said Lowenstein.

"People remember all too well when the collateral behind the housing and mortgage crises became suspect and risk appetites repriced aggressively."

Meanwhile, regulators have also begun scrutinizing the DeFi space. Earlier this month, central bank umbrella group the Bank for International Settlements called for the regulation of DeFi , saying it's worried about services marketing themselves as "decentralized" when that may not be the case.

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From a bitcoin crash to regulatory crackdowns: Analysts give their top predictions for crypto in 2022 - CNBC

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Here’s My Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before 2022 – The Motley Fool

December 22, 2021 | Author: admin

There are several cryptocurrencies that I think could be winners in the new year. Avalancheand Solanaare definitely on the list. Kadenajust might be a breakout success.

But if I had to choose only one digital coin to scoop up over the next few weeks, there's another one that stands out.Here's my top cryptocurrency to buy before 2022.

Image source: Getty Images.

In some ways, investing in cryptocurrencies is like the wild west -- exciting yet dangerous. But amid the thousands of digital coins on the market, I think there's one that offers at least some level of stability plus solid growth opportunities.

Compared to most cryptocurrencies,Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) is practically a blue chip pick. Blue chip stocks are well known. They're leaders. And they've shown that they can stand the test of time. Ethereum isn't a stock, of course, but it checks off these boxes more than any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC). And I think Ethereum has better prospects than Bitcoin.

Ethereum ranks as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap (behind only Bitcoin). Since its launch in 2015, its native Ether token has skyrocketed more than 143,000%. That's more than three times Bitcoin's lifetime return.

The primary advantage of Ethereum is its support for smart contracts. It's not just a cryptocurrency; it's an ecosystem. Thousands of applications are built on the Ethereum blockchain. They include more than 40 of the 100 top cryptocurrencies based on market cap.

I think that Ethereum's momentum could pick up in 2022 for two main reasons. First, a major upgrade is on the way. Second, I expect many more apps will be built on the Ethereum platform that drive the price of the Ether token even higher.

Despite Ethereum's incredible success so far, its blockchain does have an Achilles' heel. Actually, it has two of them. Ethereum is slow, with a capability of processing only between 15 and 45 transactions per second. Its transaction fees are also high, so much so that some have left the platform for other blockchains.

However, significant progress on the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade should be made in 2022 and into 2023. This upgrade is expected to boost the processing speed to up to 100,000 transactions per second. It will also slash the transaction fees.

Billionaire Mark Cuban thinks that Ethereum could be a monster winner next year as important new apps are developed on the platform. I suspect that the Shark Tank star is right. Cuban is personally pushing for carbon offsets to be monetized on the blockchain. That does appear to be a great fit for Ethereum, particularly with the 2.0 upgrade coming.

Regardless of the investment, it's wise to look at the potential downsides. Ethereum might be a relative blue chip compared to most cryptocurrencies, but it's still risky.

If the economy hits a rough patch, investors could turn to less volatile assets than cryptocurrencies. A major sell-off in cryptocurrencies would almost certainly pull Ethereum down in its wake.

Rival blockchains could hinder Ethereum's gains. For example, some have called Solana an "Ethereum killer" because of its faster processing and lower fees. Others think that the growing adoption of Cardano, Avalanche, or Polkadotcould hurt Ethereum.

I think this scenario could be more likely if there are major delays with the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade or if the upgrade doesn't go well. That's a distinct possibility. The third phase of this upgrade was expected to occur in 2022 until a few days ago. Now, the timeline has been pushed back to "sometime in 2023."

My view, though, is that the prospects for big returns with Ethereum outweigh these risks. I expect that it will have another strong performance next year.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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From Shiba Inu to Pot and Putin the bizarre world of cryptocurrency names – The Indian Express

December 22, 2021 | Author: admin

The craze around cryptocurrencies mainly Bitcoin and Ethereum has inspired a massive number of startups to create their own digital coins and attract investors interest in the fast-growing digital asset class.

While there are plenty of cryptocurrencies in circulation with respect to their unique utility and value, in this story we explore the weirdest and silly coins that have surfaced over the past several years.

Dogecoin was created in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer as a faster but fun alternative to Bitcoin. It was started as a satire on the numerous fraud crypto coins that had sprung up at the time, and takes its name and logo from a Shiba Inu meme that was viral several years ago.

Unlike Bitcoins, whose maximum possible number is fixed at 21 million (a figure that is estimated to be reached by 2040), Dogecoin numbers do not have an upper limit, and there are already more than 100 billion in existence.

When the crypto coin first took off, the online community that was backing it invited attention by supporting unconventional causes, such as sponsoring Jamaicas bobsled team at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Also that year, the Dogecoin community gave $55,000 worth of the digital token to a Nascar driver in the US. Doge also has an ardent supporter in Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who frequently tweets have added to the digital tokens mania. Musk had once changed his Twitter bio to Former CEO of Dogecoin. Other celebrities, including rapper Snoop Dogg and rock musician Gene Simmons, have also promoted it on social media.

Potcoin, as the name suggests refers to a network that facilitates buying legal marijuana. Itis a digital currency that allows consumers to buy and sell cannabis products anonymously.

The digital coin provides a banking solution that brings marijuana businesses and consumers together on a decentralized peer-to-peer platform, allowing participants all around the world to make secure transactions.

Interestingly, on June 12, 2017 the Potcoin community sponsored Dennis Rodman, an American former professional basketball player and an unofficial US Peace Ambassador to North Korea to visit North Korea and negotiate peace between the United States and Kim Jong-un. While it is unclear if this endeavor effectively promoted the pacifist values of the community, but it proved to be highly profitable for the notoriety of the coin and the project as a whole. otcoins community grew 600 per cent overnight.

There are a number of cannabis-focused coinsincluding CannabisCoin, KushCoin, Bongger, Ganjacoinpro, and others.

Kodak, is the latest company to step into the cryptocurrency bandwagon. The camera company announced Kodakcoin at an event in January to manage digital image rights and to pay photographers for image usage. The camera maker even announced a new Kodak KashMiner mining rig to go with it.

The digital coin will work with Kodak One, a new platform that is supposed to help photographers license their images.

Dentacoin is a cryptocurrency for the global dental industry. The company in a blog post notes that it is on a mission to improve oral health globally using:1. a preventive, smart contract-based dental assurance model2. a set of dental apps, incentivising beneficial user behaviour3. a functioning cryptocurrency, used for rewards and payments

Founded in 2017, the Netherlands-based Dentacoin Foundation is the autonomous organization behind the Dentacoin blockchain-based solutions and the same-named cryptocurrency. The legal structure of the Foundation ensures the proper execution of the mission and protects users interest as it functions solely.

Trumpcoin describes itself as a cryptocurrency supporting the Trump administration and its followers which it calls Patriots. The Trumpcoin in a blog post describes itself, as staunch supporters of Trump who love Freedom, God, Family and feels a sense of pride in contributing to society, and stand firm against leftist groups and intimidation.

The blockchain company notes that 200,000 of the six million available Trumpcoins have been set aside for donation to the Trump administration once the currency reaches a substantial value.

Trumpcoins counterpart: the Putincoin, is a cryptocurrency named after the Russian President Vladmir Putin. The decision to develop a cryptocurrency dedicated to Russia was made to support the fast growing Russian economy and market within the country and beyond its borders.

Putincoin, on its website highlighted that with the coin a lot of possibilities will be provided for businesses, traders, private persons, social and economic projects. The present and future technology, services and apps are and will always be free to use.

Burger King, one of the biggest fast-food chains in the world has introduced the Whopper Coin. The cryptocurrency was launched by the Russian branch of Burger King as a loyalty program in the summer of 2017.

This was an initiative of Burger King Russia, and the idea was that for every Russian rouble spent in a Burger King outlet, customers were given a Whoppercoin.

This Whoppercoin can be used to buy, well, a Whopper. If the customers have 1700 Whoppercoins, the company allowed customers to buy Burger Kings flagship sandwich.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) is an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency that featuresa Japanese breed of hunting dogas its mascot. The cryptocurrency is widely considered to be an alternative to Dogecoinin fact, proponents of Shiba Inu tout it as the Dogecoin killer.

According to Shiba Inu founder Ryoshi, it earned the nickname the Dogecoin killer because the value of SHIB is primed and ready to overtake the value of Dogecoin. Ryoshi adds that even if SHIB never hits $0.01, SHIBs publicity and utility mean that it will be worth proportionately more than Dogecoin.

Crypto enthusiasts and experts are still grappling to come to terms with the SHIBs all-time high market capitalisation which has now surpassed some major Indian companies such as Adani Enterprises, Tata Steel, and Tech Mahindra. With a market capitalisation of more than $38 billion, Shiba Inu is now the 11th largest cryptocurrency.

Garlicoin is a memecoin started in 2018,, based on garlic bread memes. It used to be extremely popular but still retains a large community with some loyal followers who continue to support and try to expand it.

A community of Reddit users thought it would be funny to create a cryptocurrency inspired by garlic bread, and so they did. Garlicoin is created by mining, and has a total supply cap of 69 millions.

Mooncoin was conceived primarily for frequent, global micro-transactions, hence its maximum supply of 384 billion coins. This number was derived from the calculation of one coin for every millimeter between Earth and the Moon. Its also got its own programming language called MoonWord for decentralised app (DApp) coding and blockchain record-keeping.

Comparisons have often been made between Mooncoin and Dogecoin, and there are some similarities. Both were created at roughly the same time period, and both are meant for quick micro-transactions. Also, both are taken from a Litecoin concept, as all three use the Scrypt algorithm, which is faster and more complex than Bitcoins SHA-256 mining equipment protocol.

However, a noteworthy distinction exists in basic coin supply structure: Dogecoin has no maximum circulating coin supply (i.e., infinite supply), whilst Mooncoin has a maximum cap on the total possible number of coins, making it deflationary and attractive as a store of value.

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What is the current status of India’s Cryptocurrency Bill? – Quartz India

December 22, 2021 | Author: admin

There is no end to the uncertainty in Indias cryptocurrency sector as the country seems to have delayed, once again, framing a law that will signal its policy approach to the rapidly growing field. The government is reportedly considering changes to the proposed bill.

The legislation has been in the works for more than a year now. It had been listed for the ongoing winter session of parliament, which ends on Dec. 23, and was also listed in the budget and monsoon sessions earlier this year.

The reasons cited for the delay include the need for wider consultation due to the evolving cryptocurrency regulation across the globe.

This is in consonance with prime minister Narendra Modis comment at the virtual Summit for Democracy hosted by US President Joe Biden on Dec. 11. We must also jointly shape global norms for emerging technologies like social media and cryptocurrencies so that they are used to empower democracy, not to undermine it, Modi had said.

Indias lawmakers, media reports said, are also looking at the Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Indias central bank has been voicing its concerns over the potential threat to financial stability and the countrys macro-economy from cryptocurrency.

While the government seems inclined towards regulation and not a ban, the RBI hasnt budged from its stance.

In a detailed presentation to its central board on Dec. 17, the RBI reiterated that such a complete ban was necessary, according to The Economic Times newspaper.While RBI did not reveal the details of the presentation, it said various aspects of CBDC and private cryptocurrencies were discussed.

It cited challenges to the RBIs foreign exchange management and regulation of virtual assets that originate offshore as reasons for seeking a ban. This, essentially means the anonymity of such transactions is a problem.

On CBDC, the RBI said it is working on two typeswholesale and retailand plans to run a pilot test for whichever is completed first.

A lot of work has been done on wholesale-based CBDC while retail is somewhat complicated and will take more time, RBI deputy governor T Rabi Sankar said in a post monetary policy press conference on Dec. 8.

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What is the current status of India's Cryptocurrency Bill? - Quartz India

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