@BOMBERuss 3 January 2022 more from that month

2021 has become the craziest year for cryptocurrencies!!! 1. Bitcoin: Still Number One The original cryptocurrency has retained its crown as the largest and most famous token, although not without many contenders coming on its heels. Bitcoin has soared by more than 120% since January 1 to a record high of almost $65,000 in mid-April. Fueling this was a tsunami of cash from institutional investors, growing recognition from large corporations such as Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Mastercard Inc. and increasingly widespread among Wall Street banks. Investors' interest was aroused by the alleged properties of bitcoin that protect against inflation - it has a limited supply, since record stimulus packages contributed to price growth. The promise of quick profits amid record low interest rates and easier access thanks to rapidly developing infrastructure also helped attract buyers. The symbol of the mass distribution of bitcoin has become a major American exchange Coinbase, which held a $ 86 billion listing in April, the largest cryptocurrency company to date. "It has moved into an area where it is traded by people who bet on treasury bonds and stocks," said Richard Galvin of the Digital Capital Asset Management crypto fund. And yet the coin remained unstable. In May, the token dropped by 35%, and then soared to a new record high of $69,000 in November, as inflation skyrocketed in Europe and the United States. Prominent skeptics remain, and JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon calls the cryptocurrency "useless." 2. Memcoin Growth Despite the fact that bitcoin remained attractive to investors diving into a new crypto world for them, a lot of new - some would say it's a joke - tokens entered the sector. "Memcoins" - a disparate collection of coins, ranging from dogecoin and shiba inu to tokens based on the "Squid Game", which are rooted in web culture, often have little practical use. Dogecoin, launched in 2013 as a byproduct of bitcoin, soared by more than 12,000% to a record high in May, and then fell by almost 80% by mid-December. Sibainu, which took its name from the same breed of Japanese dogs as dogecoin, briefly became one of the 10 largest digital currencies. The memcoin phenomenon was linked to the movement on Wall Street, when retail traders coordinated efforts online to buy stocks such as GameStop Corp, forcing hedge funds out of short positions. Many traders who often stayed at home with extra money during the quarantine against the coronavirus turned to cryptocurrencies, even though regulators warned of high volatility. "It's all about mobilizing finance," said Joseph Edwards, head of research at crypto broker Enigma Securities. "While assets such as DOGE and SHIB can be purely speculative in themselves, the money coming into them comes from the instinct of "why shouldn't I earn on my money, savings?"" 3. The elephant in the china shop As money poured into the cryptocurrency, regulators worried about what they believed could contribute to money laundering and threaten global financial stability. Long skeptical of cryptocurrency - a rebellious technology invented to undermine traditional finance- observers have called for greater powers in the sector, and some have warned consumers about volatility. With the advent of new rules, crypto markets began to fear the possible risk of restrictions. When Beijing imposed restrictions on cryptocurrencies in May, bitcoin fell by almost 50%, dragging the wider market with it. "Regulatory risk is everything, because these are the rules of the road that people live and die by in the financial services industry," said Stephen Kelso, global head of markets at ITI Capital. "Regulators are making good progress, they are catching up." 4.NFT As memcoin trading has gone viral, another previously little-known corner of the crypto complex has become the focus of attention. Non-interchangeable tokens (NFT)- strings of code stored in a blockchain digital ledger that represent unique ownership of works of art, videos, or even tweets-exploded in 2021. In March, a digital work of art by American artist Bipla was sold at Christie's auction for almost $ 70 million, entering the top three most expensive works of a living artist sold at auction. The sale marked a stampede in the NFT. Sales in the third quarter reached $10.7 billion, which is more than eight times more than in the previous three months. Since volumes peaked in August, the prices of some NFTs rose so quickly that speculators could "warm up" them in order to make a profit in a few days or even hours. The rapid rise in cryptocurrency prices, which gave rise to a new cohort of crypto-rich investors, as well as predictions about the future of virtual online worlds, where NFTs occupy a central place, contributed to the strengthening of the boom. The popularity of cryptocurrencies and NFT may also be linked to a decline in social mobility, said John Egan, CEO of BNP Paribas-owned research company L'Atelier, as young people realize their potential for quick profits as rising prices make traditional assets such as homes unaffordable. While some of the world's leading brands, from Coca-Cola to Burberry, were selling NFT, the still patchy regulation meant that large investors mostly stayed away. "I don't see a situation where licensed financial institutions will actively and aggressively trade (these) digital assets in the next three years," Egan said.