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A recent opinion piece in The Nation by TIME Business reporter Sam Gustin tells readers to “Be Afraid.” He’s warning them about cryptocurrency and Donald Trump. In it, the author quotes Nobel Prize-winning economist and Columbia University professor Joseph Stiglitz, saying: “There’s an enormous risk of self-dealing here.” Economist’s Warning About Trump, Cryptocurrency “The danger is not only conflicts of interest, but a mindset among Trump and his cronies in which they don’t even understand the concept of conflicts of interest,” Stiglitz said. “The irony is that here you have a president who was elected on an allegedly ‘populist’ platform engaging in the most massive pro-billionaire, pro-wealth redistribution in US history.” “The result, experts say, will be higher prices, reduced consumer protections, and deeper economic inequality in the United States,” Gustin writes. But is that really true? Is it true that cryptocurrency is transferring the most massive sum of wealth in history from the middle class to billionaires? Bitcoin’s Populist Appeal If anything, crypto’s most die-hard advocates would argue that the traditional finance system, based on credit, redistributes the most to billionaires. Because it constantly revalues debt with cheaper dollars. Billionaires and their companies use the most debt-based instruments. Meanwhile, the ever-expanding money system causes prices to rise steadily. Crypto assets, on the other hand, cause lower prices by rewarding people for saving their money. The easy credit economy does reward businesses with large expense accounts to spend their money. Moreover, the Republican Party’s reckoning with crypto is helping to ensure consumer protections for those who want them. But that doesn’t leave out allowing more freedom for others. Many blockchain users are willing to take the risks that go along with pushing liquid financial markets and the Internet’s capability to their limits. As for economic inequality, it has been a complaint of voters for decades under traditional finance systems. Their benefits only seem to kick in at a certain economy of scale unreachable by most people. But that’s not so with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which have made the profits of market capitalism available to all participants equally at any level of participation. Bitcoin’s price was only $43,000 a year ago. But today, it’s more than twice that amount, trading at $103,000 on Saturday. That represents a gain of over 130% returns on investment for crypto buyers who purchased Bitcoin last January. The post What Are Bitcoin’s Critics Really Afraid of? appeared first on CryptoPotato .
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Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here is not investment advice – it is provided for informational purposes only. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of BitMaden. Every investment and all trading involves risk, so you should always perform your own research prior to making decisions. We do not recommend investing money you cannot afford to lose.
NFTs Endure One of Their Weakest Years Since 2020 in Trading and Sales
The non-fungible token (NFT) market appears to have lost out on significant gains in the past year despite a broader rally in the digital asset industry. In fact, the NFT market faced its weakest performance since 2020 in the year 2024. NFTs Face Major Setbacks in 2024 According to DappRadar’s latest edition of ‘Dapp Industry Report,’ despite an initial boost in trading volumes, reaching $5.3 billion in the first quarter, the NFT market struggled to maintain this momentum. By the third quarter, volumes had dropped dramatically to $1.5 billion, though there was a partial recovery to $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter. This volatility was accompanied by a decline in sales numbers compared to 2023, suggesting that NFTs were sold at higher prices, likely due to rising token values like ETH. Overall, the year ended with a 19% reduction in trading volume and an 18% decrease in sales. “NFTs had one of their weakest years since 2020 in both trading volume and sales count. Perhaps 2024 helped us realize that NFTs don’t need to be expensive to prove their importance in the broader Web3 ecosystem.” Interestingly, the gaming sector has emerged as the dominant force in NFT sales, as indicated by the leading collections in terms of sales count. This trend highlighted the growing integration of NFTs in the gaming industry, where they facilitate true ownership of digital assets and promote player-driven economies. Blur vs OpenSea Blur held its position as the leading NFT marketplace for most of 2024, except during the third quarter. By the fourth quarter, Blur and OpenSea were closely matched in market share. Blur’s rise was fueled by its strategic airdrop campaigns and a zero-fee trading policy that attracted cost-sensitive traders. OpenSea, however, had a challenging year. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells Notice to OpenSea in August 2024, raising concerns about unregistered securities. This regulatory pressure, coupled with a declining market and intense competition, prompted OpenSea to announce significant layoffs in November, reducing its workforce by 56%. The company is now focusing on “OpenSea 2.0” to regain its competitive edge, with indications of a potential token launch. Meanwhile, Magic Eden outpaced OpenSea in performance. Initially a Solana-focused platform, Magic Eden expanded to support Ethereum, Polygon, Bitcoin, and newer networks like Base and Arbitrum. On December 10, 2024, Magic Eden launched its ME token and conducted a $700 million airdrop to strengthen its ecosystem. The post NFTs Endure One of Their Weakest Years Since 2020 in Trading and Sales appeared first on CryptoPotato . Crypto Potato
Solana Spikes to All-Time High Price as TRUMP Doubles Dogecoin Trading Volume
Solana is riding the TRUMP wave, jumping to a new all-time high price after the network played host to Donald Trump`s official meme coin. Crypto Potato
