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Crypto analyst who nailed ethereum’s climb to $3,400 says $10,000 is next

InvestorPlace

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently tweeted that Dogecoin (CCC:DOGE-USD) makes perfect sense as a transactional currency. The value of DOGE jumped 20% of the news. Source: Shutterstock “Because Doge is the one coin that people actually use for transactions. We take many others via @BitPay . But people spend their Doge and that means more businesses will start taking it. The greatest inhibitor to it’s growth is that you can’t spend the Doge you buy on Robinhood,” (sic) Cuban tweeted on April 26. I assume the proverbial “we” he’s writing about are the many business ventures he either owns or invests in, including the Mavs.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips It’s hard to believe, but I’m actually 100% in agreement with the Shark Tank co-host. Here’s why. Dogecoin Is Functional The last time I wrote about Dogecoin was in early April. My discussion revolved around the idea that you now can buy team jerseys for your murderball, dodgeball, or whatever type of team jersey you desire with your stash of DOGE. Wooter Apparel does really well by selling team jerseys online. To keep doing well, it believes accepting Dogecoin makes good business sense. I couldn’t agree more. “Wooter now believes crypto and blockchain technology can help facilitate global payments, and that news couldn’t come at a better time as sports starts to ‘open back up’ on a local, regional, national, and international level,” Wooter stated in its March press release. I used an example from the 1950s — the Diners Club charge card — to explain that its convenience and utility made the card an instant hit. Cuban’s tweet confirms that Wooter Apparel is on to something. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, Dogecoin is just trying to be a useful application in today’s world. And if you happen to make money off it, so much the better. Warren Buffett Won’t Buy Dogecoin. That Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Real. What’s sad about the world we live in is that it takes a joke about Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) to create something practical that could ultimately take the place of the U.S. greenback. I’m not saying that it should or would. All I’m saying is that it’s got just as much of a chance to catch on as any other cryptocurrency. InvestorPlace’s Mark Hake recently made a case for Dogecoin becoming an actual currency. His theory is based on the inflationary nature of Dogecoin’s supply. I won’t try to paraphrase what he said because I’m sure I won’t do it justice. Suffice to say, he’s 100% right that the process for mining and distributing Dogecoin makes the cryptocurrency advantageous to consumers. “[T]he growth rate of Dogecoin is predictable. This means it can function as an actual currency. People will use it to purchase and sell goods and services as a cryptocurrency, rather than Bitcoin, for example, which tends to be hoarded,” Hake wrote on April 26. “As a result, Dogecoin could have a significant value in the future as a currency, even though its blockchain might not be that unique.” What my colleague and Mark Cuban are getting at is that Dogecoin adheres to the KISS rule: keep it simple, stupid. Give the people what they want rather than what you think they want. The Motley Fool’s Keith Speights recently wondered whether Warren Buffett would prefer Dogecoin or Sundial Growers (NASDAQ:SNDL), the Canadian cannabis company that’s become popular with the Reddit crowd. He concluded that if forced to go with one of them, Buffett would choose Sundial as the lesser of two evils because at least pot provides some tangible value based on the experience you’re going to have by smoking a joint. Cuban Versus Buffett Where I think Buffett stumbles in this regard is that he’s so wealthy it’s hard for him to comprehend how anything other than the U.S. greenback could be used to pay for something. And yet the Mark Cubans and Wooter Apparels of the world see it so clearly. It will be interesting to see who’s right. I know that there remains a significant population in the U.S. who are unbanked and have trouble paying for things even though they might use a smartphone. It’s possible Dogecoin could change that. And if it could work in a rich country like the U.S., imagine how well it could do in poorer countries where hardly anyone banks. I do believe that being able to pay for things using Dogecoin represents a utility of sorts. It might not be Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD), but it’s got a following nonetheless. We’ll see how far Dogecoin can go. On the date of publication, Will Ashworth did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. Will Ashworth has written about investments full-time since 2008. Publications where he’s appeared include InvestorPlace, The Motley Fool Canada, Investopedia, Kiplinger, and several others in both the U.S. and Canada. He particularly enjoys creating model portfolios that stand the test of time. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. At the time of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next Potential 500% Winner Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS Now The post When It Comes to Dogecoin, Mark Cuban Is Right About Its Real Value appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Is it Ether vs Bitcoin Now? Where is the Crypto Market Headed to?

Is it Ether vs Bitcoin Now? Where is the Crypto Market Headed to?

Ether recently hit new records in its value, will it overtake Bitcoin?

Recently, a relatively new cryptocurrency soared by hitting record heights in value. Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform, reached USD3,500 on May 6th. The market cap of Ethereum reached USD375.13 billion compared to 22.9 billion last year. Does this mean that Ethreum is going to gain supremacy over Bitcoin?

Bitcoin vs Ether

Bitcoin is still the largest digital currency, followed by Ethereum being the second-largest in the world. Bitcoin has always been the center of attraction and has maintained supremacy over other digital currencies all these years. Once cryptocurrency and blockchain technology was introduced, bitcoin became the most valued digital currency because of its peer-to-peer transaction facility. Bitcoin can be transferred over the internet through a decentralized, transparent network that eliminates the need for a centralized authority like banks.

Launched in 2009, Bitcoin and those engaging in the trade of this crypto through a distributed ledger system do not have to establish trust in each other for smooth transactions. Another reason for its popularity is the less risk of fraud involved, the ease, and the minimum transaction fee. Bitcoins have a market cap of more than USD1 trillion and it has a growing number of institutional investors. Recently, Elon Musk’s Tesla invested USD1.5 billion into Bitcoin making its value soar high. Other companies include Square, MicroStrategy, and many more.

Ether on the other hand is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency today. Ether enables smart contracts that are faster, resilient, and better than other digital currencies. It also has Decentralized Finance (DeFi) characteristics with high scalability, which makes it desirable among businesses. The recent proliferation of Ethereum has made its Co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, the youngest billionaire. Ethereum is an open-source, blockchain-based platform, which also allows building applications with its programming languages. Unlike the peer-to-peer network of Bitcoins, Ethereum offers the transfer and development of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT), which can be uniquely processed and transferred by individual users. With a current market cap of more than USD397 billion, Ethereum is being largely adopted. Ethereum has been shining bright since mid-last year.

Where is Crypto Headed?

The crypto market is always volatile with fluctuating prices and values. Hence, it is always advised to be careful while investing in cryptocurrencies, be it Bitcoin or Ether. However, many new cryptocurrencies are popping up every day. Some popularly known cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ripple, and Zcash (XRP).

Although blockchain was initially recognized with crypto, it has now expanded its capabilities. Thus, crypto use cases will continue to diversify and there will be a growing number of crypto assets and investments. India recently passed a new bill stating the regulations in cryptocurrency trading in the country. The country has not legally banned cryptocurrencies, but it also does not work in favor of it.

There has been an increased institutional interest in cryptocurrency investments. There is no surety in the consistent growth of cryptocurrencies, but it is not going to vanish soon. The underlying technology behind cryptocurrency, blockchain, has gained wide popularity and will see more use cases and industry-wide adoption.