Blockchain

Veteran Investor Bill Miller Calls Bitcoin a ‘Rat Poison,’ but for Cash

In 2018, legendary investor Warren Buffett referred to the cryptocurrency as “probably rat poison squared.”

Published

2 weeks ago

January 6, 2021

Investor Bill Miller, whose flagship mutual fund in 2020 beat the S&P 500 for the straight second year, said he believes bitcoin could replace cash and markets are underpricing inflation risk.

“Warren Buffett famously called bitcoin rat poison. He may well be right. Bitcoin could be rat poison, and the rat could be cash,” Miller noted in this Q4r market newsletter, adding that the cryptocurrency has many advantages over gold as an inflation hedge.

Legendary investor Buffett referred to bitcoin as “probably rat poison squared” and as a gambling instrument in 2018. However, several public listed companies such as MicroStrategy and Square diversified their cash holdings into bitcoin in the second half of 2020, boosting its appeal as a store of value.

Bitcoin has rallied by over 160% in the past three months and rose to record highs above $35,000 early Wednesday. The cryptocurrency’s market capitalization now stands at $670 billion, more than Berkshire Hathaway, the company Buffett helms.

According to Miller, the current relative trickle into bitcoin would become a torrent if more companies invest in the cryptocurrency, irrespective of inflation.

So far, the cost of living in the U.S. has remained well below the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target despite the central bank’s massive stimulus measures launched to counter the coronavirus-induced slowdown. However, Miller believes the market is likely “underestimating the risks of inflation.”

“Savings rates are unusually high and, as the economy becomes more “normal” in the second half of the year, it is likely that consumption will accelerate and, with it, money velocity. Lots of liquidity and increasing money velocity could quickly put upward pressure on inflation,” Miller noted.

The crypto community strongly believes that bitcoin is a better inflation hedge than gold, and the cryptocurrency could eventually replace the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency. Analyst at JPMorgan said last month that the cryptocurrency’s growing popularity could have a bearing over gold’s price in the long run.

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/veteran-investor-bill-miller-calls-bitcoin-a-rat-poison-but-for-cash

Related Topics:Bitcoin blockchain BTC Cash Companies Crypto Cryptocurrency gold JPMorgan Markets

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Blockchain

TA: Ethereum Steadies Above $1,280, Why ETH Could Restart Its Rally

Published

2 hours ago

January 21, 2021

Republished by Plato

Ethereum corrected lower and tested the $1,250 support zone against the US Dollar. ETH price is consolidating above $1,280 and it looks set for a fresh increase in the near term.

Ethereum is holding gains above the $1,250 and $1,280 support levels.
The price is currently correcting lower from $1,385, but it is above the 100 hourly simple moving average.
There is a crucial contracting triangle forming with support near $1,275 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
The pair could correct again, but it is likely to remain well bid above the $1,250 and $1,275 support levels.

Ethereum Price is Holding Key Support

Yesterday, we saw a downside correction in Ethereum below the $1,350 and $1,300 support levels. ETH price even spiked below the $1,280 support level and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

It tested the $1,250 support zone and recovered steadily above $1,300. There was a break above the $1,350 resistance and a close above the 100 hourly simple moving average. However, ether price failed to surpass the $1,400 resistance zone.

A high was formed near $1,388 and the price is currently correcting lower. It is testing the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $1,251 swing low to $1,388 high. There is also a crucial contracting triangle forming with support near $1,275 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD.

Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

The triangle support is close to the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the upward wave from the $1,251 swing low to $1,388 high. On the upside, the triangle resistance is near the $1,360 and $1,365 levels.

The main resistance is near the $1,385 and $1,400 levels. A successful close above the $1,400 resistance could open the doors for a fresh surge towards the $1,450 and $1,480 levels.

Dips Supported in ETH?

If ethereum struggles to remains stable above $1,300, it could correct further. An initial support on the downside is near the $1,280 level and the triangle trend line.

The main support is now forming near the $1,250 level. If ether fails to stay above the $1,250 support, it could decline further towards the $1,180 and $1,165 support levels.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is slowly moving in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is currently close to the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $1,280

Major Resistance Level – $1,380

Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/analysis/eth/ethereum-steadies-above-1280/

Blockchain

Kraken Daily Market Report for January 20 2021

Published

3 hours ago

January 21, 2021

Republished by Plato

Overview

Total spot trading volume at $1.68 billion, 8% higher than the 30-day average of $1.55 billion.
Total futures notional at $750.6 million.
The top 5 traded coins were, respectively, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Polkadot, and Cardano.
Strong returns today from Curve Dao (+17%) and Mana (+8.9%).

January 20, 2021 $1684.5M traded across all markets today Crypto, EUR, USD, JPY, CAD, GBP, CHF, AUD
XBT $34827. ↓2.8% $693.8M	ETH $1320.9 ↓3.3% $547.8M	USDT $1.0004 ↓0.01% $168.2M	DOT $17.561 ↑7.3% $98.1M	ADA $0.3645 ↓0.6% $37.9M
XRP $0.2925 ↓0.7% $30.6M	LINK $21.131 ↑2.8% $30.5M	USDC $0.9999 ↑0.0% $24.9M	LTC $147.10 ↓3.0% $23.5M	XLM $0.2894 ↓2.8% $11.8M
BCH $493.17 ↓2.5% $11.0M	XTZ $2.8637 ↓0.24% $6.62M	ATOM $8.6476 ↓2.4% $5.85M	GRT $0.5118 ↓4.9% $5.32M	REP $23.266 ↑5.5% $5.13M
DAI $0.9998 ↓0.02% $4.99M	FIL $22.405 ↓1.2% $4.5M	UNI $8.7212 ↑1.8% $4.4M	YFI $33270. ↓3.3% $4.4M	KSM $106.22 ↑4.3% $4.38M
XMR $151.54 ↓3.6% $3.86M	AAVE $189.44 ↑1.6% $3.78M	WAVES $7.0911 ↑0.08% $3.46M	CRV $1.5485 ↑17% $3.39M	EOS $2.7554 ↓1.1% $3.25M
DASH $120.02 ↓3.4% $3.11M	ALGO $0.5353 ↑2.8% $2.49M	ZEC $98.494 ↓3.6% $2.29M	NANO $3.3128 ↓5.5% $2.28M	OMG $3.7666 ↓2.3% $2.21M
SNX $15.334 ↑1.2% $1.92M	TRX $0.0302 ↓1.3% $1.89M	KAVA $2.1977 ↓1.1% $1.54M	QTUM $3.1710 ↑0.12% $1.25M	ICX $0.7395 ↑6.3% $1.13M
COMP $208.88 ↓1.3% $1.11M	BAT $0.2737 ↑1.8% $1.11M	XDG $0.0089 ↓0.8% $1.07M	MANA $0.1321 ↑8.9% $1.02M	KEEP $0.3149 ↓2.9% $863K
SC $0.0050 ↑1.5% $812K	ETC $7.7530 ↓0.4% $695K	KNC $1.2653 ↑0.16% $684K	MLN $40.959 ↓4.8% $649K	LSK $1.4740 ↑6.9% $536K
REPV2 $21.115 ↓2.8% $521K	OXT $0.2914 ↓0.23% $483K	PAXG $1880.9 ↑1.6% $406K	BAL $21.470 ↓2.7% $244K	GNO $115.89 ↓4.0% $223K
ANT $3.9536 ↓1.3% $217K	STORJ $0.3956 ↓3.5% $191K	TBTC $36825. ↑1.6% $76.9K

#####################. Trading Volume by Asset. ##########################################

Trading Volume by Asset

The figures below break down the trading volume of the largest, mid-size, and smallest assets. Cryptos are in purple, fiats are in blue. For each asset, the chart contains the daily trading volume in USD, and the percentage of the total trading volume. The percentages for fiats and cryptos are treated separately, so that they both add up to 100%.

Figure 1: Largest trading assets: trading volume (measured in USD) and its percentage of the total trading volume (January 20 2021)

Figure 2: Mid-size trading assets: (measured in USD) (January 20 2021)

Figure 3: Smallest trading assets: (measured in USD) (January 20 2021)

#####################. Spread %. ##########################################

Spread %

Spread percentage is the width of the bid/ask spread divided by the bid/ask midpoint. The values are generated by taking the median spread percentage over each minute, then the average of the medians over the day.

Figure 4: Average spread % by pair (January 20 2021)

.

#########. Returns and Volume ############################################

Returns and Volume

Figure 5: Returns of the four highest volume pairs (January 20 2021)

Figure 6: Volume of the major currencies and an average line that fits the data to a sinusoidal curve to show the daily volume highs and lows (January 20 2021)

###########. Daily Returns. #################################################

Daily Returns %

Figure 7: Returns over USD and XBT. Relative volume and return size is indicated by the size of the font. (January 20 2021)

###########. Disclaimer #################################################

The values generated in this report are from public market data distributed from Kraken WebSockets api. The total volumes and returns are calculated over the reporting day using UTC time.

Source: https://blog.kraken.com/post/7516/kraken-daily-market-report-for-january-20-2021/

Blockchain

83% of cryptocurrencies that peaked in 2018 are still down by 90%

Published

3 hours ago

January 21, 2021

Republished by Plato

Data published by crypto market data aggregator Messari shows that 83% of crypto assets that tagged all-time highs in January 2018 are still down by at least 90%.

The data was spotted by CMT Digital analyst Matt Casto, who tweeted data showing the average return-on-investment, or ROI, of crypto assets sorted by the year in which they posted record price highs.

Holding assets that hit high marks +3 years ago is proving to be a massive lost opportunity cost for deploying capital.

There’s a reason 83% of assets that hit a high price in January 2018 are trading +90% below their ATHs.

ATH/Cycle Low data is from @MessariCrypto API pic.twitter.com/Kfzfq69ZMp

— Matt Casto (@mcasto_) January 21, 2021

The data set included 410 assets that posted record prices during 2017 or later, with 2018’s 157 star coins performing the worst with an average of -90.71% since the previous ATH.

2017’s top crypto’s have since crashed by 82% on average, while 2019’s crop is down 72%, and 2020’s standouts have shed 53%.

The data may help support the ‘great repricing’ concept, that the capital that once flowed into the “ghost-chain” layer-one blockchains that dominated the sector in 2017 and 2018 is now being redirected towards the nascent DeFi sector.

The concept is even a trading strategy for some, with dHedge pool manager Wangarian describing his strategy as longing “tokens that obtain direct value accrual (DeFi)” while shorting “dogs**t L1s that have no value accrual whatsoever.”

However, despite the poor performances of many altcoins from yesteryear when compared to their record highs, many older altcoins have still produced enormous percentage gains since bottoming out.

Since finding local lows during the “Black Thursday” crash of March 2020, Cardano (ADA) has increased nearly 1,700%, Zilliqa (ZIL) is up 2,670%, and Decred (DCR) has gained 14,130% from their respective price floors.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/83-of-cryptocurrencies-that-peaked-in-2018-are-still-down-by-90