Crypto market hangs in balance as China announces bitcoin mining crackdown – latest

Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of leading hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, has revealed for the first time that he has “some bitcoin”.

Speaking in a pre-recorded interview set to be broadcast during CoinDesk’s Consensus conference, Dalio said: “Personally, I’d rather have bitcoin than a bond.”

He is the latest figure from the world of traditional finance to express interest in cryptocurrencies, joining fellow billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller in shunning fiat systems.

Earlier this year, Dalio wrote that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could “fill that growing need” as an alternative store of value, adding weight to the theory that bitcoin has become a form of digital gold.

Prominent crypto enthusiast Mark Cuban has labelled the latest market downturn the “Great Unwind”.

The star of NBC’s Shark Tank and owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA franchise has been a vocal advocate of dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies in recent years, and remains hopeful that “the best platforms will do well over the long term”.

The Independent’s Gino Spocchia has the full story here:

Not long after stating that the “true battle” is between fiat and crypto, dogecoin fanboy Elon Musk has been drawn into trading barbs with ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin.

In a light-hearted response to Buterin’s criticism about dogecoin’s scaling potential, Musk claimed that Buterin “fears the doge”. He also employed his weapon of choice in such online spats: a doge-based meme.

Buterin’s comments come just a few days after fellow ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson posted a video outlining to Musk his suggestions for fixing dogecoin.

“I wish him the best of luck in rebuilding that cryptocurrency with his super elite engineers, which I have no doubt he has,” Hoskinson said.

You can read the full story here:

Elon Musk has once again affirmed his support for cryptocurrency, despite being blamed for helping crash bitcoin earlier this month by backtracking on crypto payments for Tesla.

When asked on Twitter what he thinks about “the peeps who are angry at you because of crypto”, the technology billionaire said that the “true battle is between fiat and crypto”. He added that he supports the latter.

It is not the first time he has compared bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to traditional fiat currencies.

Beyond claiming that dogecoin could be the “currency of the internet”, Musk justified Tesla’s massive $1.5 billion investment in bitcoin in February by noting its fixed 21 million coin supply.

“When fiat currency has negative real interest, only a fool wouldn’t look elsewhere,” he tweeted. “Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money. The key word is ‘almost’.”

Amid news of China’s crackdown on bitcoin mining – which some speculate caused the price to crash again over the weekend – a new study has revealed how Chinese miners are moving into Iran.

Firms like RHY and Lubian are looking to exploit Iran’s vast supply of natural gas, while simultaneously offering Iran a lifeline from crippling economic sanctions imposed by the US and other countries. Estimates from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic suggest Iran now accounts for 4.5 per cent of the global market.

Mining operations have even popped up in Mosques, where electricity is free. The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad has the full story:

A number of prominent crypto analysts have stood by previous price predictions for 2021, claiming that the latest dip is not the end of the market rally.

The pseudonymous Dutch analyst PlanB – best known for his stock-to-flow price prediction model – tweeted on Sunday evening that he expects bitcoin to “bounce back” over the coming days and weeks. The forecast was followed by a 20 per cent jump.

Meanwhile on-chain analyst Willy Woo cited data from blockchain data firm Glassnode on Monday morning in arguing that “the bull market is very much intact”.

“A key to reading this chart is to know that BTC user count has roughly doubled every year since inception a dozen years ago,” he wrote. “So the 2021 peak is expected to end at levels MUCH higher than the 2017 peak. Under this trend, we are just warming up.”

Bitcoin has rebounded on Monday morning after plummeting in price over the weekend.

The latest fall was prompted once again by news out of China, with several top mining operators suspending their operations in the country.

Bitcoin reached below $32,000 – roughly half the all-time high it saw in April – but has since bounced back by roughly 20 per cent to $37,000.

You can read more about China’s latest crackdown, which follows on from last week’s separate crypto transaction ban, right here: