Crypto Brief for Today

Making Sense of Crypto Asset Valuation Insanity

Cryptocurrency investors are blind to the most important factor of any investment - valuation.

Merely uttering the word "blockchain" has been a hypnotic weapon, sending investors into a trance where they clamor to buy at any price.

This isn't the first time growth investors have gone wild. Technological innovation typically turns investors into emotional basket cases. Today, a blockchain protocol with any facade of technical aptitude is valued at eight figures.

Throw out a $10-term like "DAG" or 'interoperability" and you'll get nine figures.

And these low eight- or nine-figure valuations are turning into 10-figure valuations. Wash, rinse, repeat.... The blockchain voodoo is working. Full article here.

Google Searches For ‘Bitcoin’ Slump In Synchronicity With Bitcoin’s Price

Google Trends shows that searches for “Bitcoin” were the most popular between December 17-23, coinciding with Bitcoin’s price rising to above $20,000 for the first time on December 17, 2017.

However, since mid-February, searches for “Bitcoin” have gone downhill, leaving the search term with a score of 19 for the first half of March -- meaning that the search is only a 19th as popular as it was in December at its peak.

According to Google Trends, “Bitcoin” had a score of 19 in the first week of October 2017, when its price was around $4300 according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Reports that a former Mt. Gox trustee had sold $400 mln worth of BTC over a period from December through February suggest that BTC’s continuing slump and this large sell off are connected. Full article here.

How XRP's Tech Differs from Other Crypto Assets

Up, then down again.

In times of volatility, it can seem like there really isn't anything supporting public cryptocurrency networks. But that isn't exactly the case. While they come in all shapes and sizes (so to speak), cryptocurrencies all use the same ingredients - peer-to-peer networking, private key cryptography and programming.

XRP, perhaps the breakout crypto asset of 2018, is no exception.

Created in 2012 and now securing $40 billion in total value, XRP is the third-largest cryptocurrency network today, one that has gained publicity as the company that manages its operations, Ripple, has inked a range of impressive partnerships.

One point of criticism that has emerged, though, is that most of the announcements don't have much to do with XRP, but Ripple's other financial products. At least some users have been unaware of the distinction (though CoinDesk has a guide for that).

But even those considering the market (or who may be watching from afar) can benefit from understanding more about Ripple's technology and how it differs from yet another market segment, public cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.

While all three do trade on public exchanges, XRP, as you'll see, doesn't exactly function like the other assets you'll find on CoinMarketCap. Full article here.

Bitcoin's Next Futures Expiration Is This Wednesday

The Chicago Board of Exchange, or Cboe, allows investors to buy or sell Bitcoin futures. This allows a person or organization to only have to pay for 44% of Bitcoin’s price, giving them a leveraged position. However, future contracts have expiration dates, which makes a risky investment even riskier

Current contract expires on Wednesday

The Cboe currently has four monthly Bitcoin contracts available. The closest one expires this Wednesday, and just over the past week it traded between $8,380 at its low point to $11,710 at its high, a 28.4% range. One news item that created this volatility was the SEC announcing that cryptocurrency trading platforms needed to register with it.

Bitcoin’s price on the Cboe closed at $9,257 on Friday. Since there is no physical aspect to Bitcoin all of its contracts will need to be closed before 2:45 pm on Wednesday or settled if the investor does not buy or sell their position. While there are many factors that drive Bitcoin’s price there may be some added volatility this week , and especially on Wednesday as the contract expires. Full article here.

3 Reasons Why Amazon Will Use Litecoin (LTC) in 2018

Litecoin (LTC)–Amazon, the internet commerce giant and everything store, has long been thought of as the keystone for cryptocurrency adoption. Not only is Amazon in the best position to start accepting cryptocurrency (a fully digital platform with no brick-and-mortar ties), but the company has demonstrated foresight on technology with the advent of kindle, ebooks and certain innovations like same-day shipping.

Amazon has shown a predilection for adopting and promoting new technology in the past. The question now becomes which currency will they use? Last year, we outlined the ways which Ripple XRP was a contender for Amazon’s crypto payment service. Here is a look at how Litecoin also holds a strong position for Amazon adoption.

Growing Brand Name for Litecoin
Whenever we talk about Litecoin adoption, it’s always within the context of Bitcoin. The two currencies are entwined beyond price movement: Litecoin is a fork of Bitcoin and functions in a very similar manner. Therefore, the greatest hurdle to Litecoin being used by a company like Amazon is simply overcoming the allure of using Bitcoin. We have pointed out before that Bitcoin benefits substantially over the rest of the market in two ways:

First to market status. Bitcoin is almost mythical in the sphere of cryptocurrency at this point, given that it was the first true cryptocurrency to kick off the industry, in addition to being the most invested coin (in terms of market capitalization). There are problems with Bitcoin, scalability being the most pressing concern. However, for all the shortcomings BTC has as a currency over similar options, it has the advantage of being an early-mover on the market, which is difficult to overcome. Full article here.