JPMorgan CEO says Bitcoin is ‘a hyped-up fraud’

  • JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon previously slammed Bitcoin as a “Ponzi scheme”.
  • On Thursday, he told CNBC’s Squawk Box that crypto is a decentralised Ponzi scheme and that Bitcoin is just “hyped-up fraud.”
  • Dimon says people have lost billions of dollars and believes regulators should have put a stop to crypto “a long time ago.”

Not for the first time, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has labelled cryptocurrencies worthless.

On Thursday, during an interview with CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box,’ the noted crypto sceptic again referred to Bitcoin as nothing but a “hyped-up fraud.” He condemned the benchmark crypto asset as a “pet rock”, expressing his disapproval by dismissing discussions over BTC and other cryptocurrencies as waste of time.

Dimon says crypto ‘doesn’t do anything’

According to the JPMorgan CEO Bitcoin is not a store of value, and he showed his scepticism further by suggesting that there could be more than 21 million bitcoins in the future.

How do you know it is going to stop at 21 million? Maybe it’s going to get to 21 million, and Satoshi’s picture is going to come up and laugh at you all. And say ta-da!”

Dimon also went ahead to refer to crypto as a decentralised Ponzi scheme. According to him the hype around digital assets has been extraordinary, stating on the CNBC show:

You guys, you’ve all seen the analysis on Tether, the analysis on all these things – the lack of disclosures and it’s outrageous. Regulators should have stopped all these a long time ago. People have lost billions of dollars. If you look at its low-income people, in some cases retirees.”

On what he had to say about the crypto industry following the collapse of FTX, the JPMorgan exec summed up his outlook by noting that crypto “doesn’t do anything.”

It’s a pet rock,” he told the Squawk Box hosts, adding that he doesn’t care about Bitcoin. 

The post JPMorgan CEO says Bitcoin is ‘a hyped-up fraud’ appeared first on CoinJournal.

Bitcoin now at its pre-FTX collapse level

  • At press time, bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $21,507.97.
  • Bitcoin price has surpassed where it stood on November 5 just prior to the FTX collapse.
  • It now stands at its highest price since mid-September last year.

2022 was definitely not a very good year for crypto and especially for bitcoin (BTC) which was trading below $20K for quite a while before the year’s end. Bitcoin had plunged all the way down to about $15,000 in wake of the FTX collapse before attempting a comeback that saw it stuck close to $16,500 for several weeks before embarking on this current rally since the beginning of 2023.

Bitcoin has now corrected the price dip that was caused by the latest crypto misfortune, the FTX collapse that took place at the beginning of November. Early this morning, the price of bitcoin surged to a daily high of $21,564.50 before slightly pulling back to $21,507.97 at the time of writing.

What is behind today’s BTC price surge?

While the general cryptocurrency market is on a bullish trajectory, today’s sudden surge in bitcoin price is largely attributed to this morning’s larger-than-expected decrease in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for the just concluded month of December. The retail sales in December also dropped way below their forecast.

December’s PPI dropped by about 0.5% bringing the year-to-year rate down from 7.3% to 6.2%. The year-over-year rate dropped by about 5.5% against a forecast of a drop of 5.7%.

On the other hand, December retail sales dropped by 1.1% against a forecast drop of 0.8%. Combined with the decline in November, this marks the first time retail sales have dropped back-to-back by more than 1% post the pandemic.

The post Bitcoin now at its pre-FTX collapse level appeared first on CoinJournal.

Half a billion dollars of short sellers liquidated in biggest crypto rally in 9 months


Key Takeaways

  • The cryptocurrency market cap is back above $1 trillion following the biggest surge in 9 months 
  • Half a billion dollars of short sales were liquidated over the weekend, the most in three months
  • Bitcoin is back above $21,000, Ethereum above $1,500, while altcoins have soared
  • Despite powerful bounce, the market is still down close to 65%, having peaked at nearly $3 trillion in November 2021
  • Bear market drawdown at 77% for Bitcoin, but traders are wary this may only be a short-term relief rally

For a few hours over the weekend, if you looked at a crypto chart, it felt like it was 2020 again.

COVID may be fading into the rear-view mirror, but so had crypto prices. I produced a deep dive into some on-chain data last week which showed how torrid 2022 had been for investors, with 73% less bitcoin millionaires, a drawdown of $2 trillion in the overall crypto market, and a reputation dragged through the mud by various scandals. 

Looking at data this week for coinjournal.net, it is a little more optimistic for crypto investors. 

Half a billion dollars of short sellers liquidated

The weekend brought a little respite, however. Bitcoin surged to its strongest rally in 9 months, taking the market by surprise and breaking upwards above $21,000. 

Looking at data from Coinglass, there were over half a billion dollars of short sellers liquidated this past weekend. The below chart shows the extent of these liquidations, more or less matching the long liquidations back when FTX collapsed in early November. 

Crypto market regains $1 trillion mark

The bounce in digital assets followed softer-than-expected inflation data. This optimism that inflation may have peaked has caused investors to bet that the Federal Reserve may pivot off its high-interest rate policy sooner than previously expected. 

As we know by now, high-interest rates have sucked the liquidity from the market, hurting risk assets across the board. Crypto is very much trading like one of these high-risk assets, and hence prices have collapsed as the Federal Reserve has implemented this tight monetary policy – and hence crypto exchanges have been less than kind to long traders. 

2023 has brought hope that if inflation truly has peaked, a light at the end of the tunnel may be visible. The crypto market has surged to regain a $1 trillion dollar market cap as a result. It is still a far cry from the near-$3 trillion all-time high, but Bitcoin at $21,000 and Ether at $1,500 marks the highest prices for the duo since before the FTX scandal. 

Has the crypto market bottomed?

The glaring question facing investors now is whether this is merely a short-term relief rally, or whether the bottom is in. 

As with most questions in the market, macro holds the key. 

“The last couple of months have undoubtedly brought indicators of a more positive environment with regards to inflation, as well as the boost of the Chinese economy reopening,”  said Max Coupland, Director at CoinJournal. 

“However, I do worry whether investors are jumping the gun by presuming that this means the Fed will now pivot sooner than expected. (Fed chair) Jerome Powell has been adamant that rates will not taper until inflation is firmly under control, and we are still a long way from the 2% target, while uncertainties such as the Russian war in Ukraine still loom as highly unpredictable”. 

Let’s play the (very) hypothetical game of assuming the bottom is in. That would put the bear market at 13 months long, with a 77% drawdown from peak-to-trough for Bitcoin. 

Historically, this would place it as the third biggest drawback in history. However, that would only be in percentage terms. The crypto market today is vastly different to years past, and the size of the capital wipeout is on a different level – or over $2 trillion, to be precise. 

So, while the length and size of the bear market could perhaps imply we are in the latter stages, past data simply cannot be reliably extrapolated when it comes to crypto. Bitcoin only broke through as a mainstream asset in the last few years, and prior time periods featured low liquidity and a niche set of investors. 

Today, we are also facing an unprecedented macro climate – rampant inflation, high interest rates for the first time in Bitcoin’s history, and a bear market in the wider economy for the first time since the 2008 crash – the same year Bitcoin was invented. 

In wrapping up, the past weekend has been a welcome reprieve for crypto investors, and amounts to the most powerful surge in nine months, back before the collapses of LUNA, Celsius, FTX and the transition to high interest rates in the board economy. 

But the road ahead remains tough for the market at large, with inflation still lofty, a war ongoing in Europe and myriad other macro variables oscillating. This week has been good news, but crypto investors won’t be counting their chickens quite yet. 

The next mark on the calendar? The all-important FOMC meeting on February 1st, when the Federal Reserve will decide upon the latest interest policy. 

If you use our data, then we would appreciate a link back to https://coinjournal.net. Crediting our work with a link helps us to keep providing you with data analysis research. 

Research Methodology

Liquidation data via Coinglass. Price data from Yahoo Finance. All other data via CoinJournal

The post Half a billion dollars of short sellers liquidated in biggest crypto rally in 9 months appeared first on CoinJournal.

Bitcoin and AI: Deal in Crypto Intelligently

  • The global AI market is forecast to grow $1394.30 billion in 2023.
  • Investors and traders can tap into AI to benefit from features such as automation and accuracy.
  • Bitcoin and AI also have the capacity to combat frauds in transactions across global markets.

Have you ever thought that where technology will extend us, either intelligent machines will replace us together or they will combine with humans to develop a third merger that will be four times more explosive than intelligent machines and humans? This is a long debate, but one thing is sure: artificial intelligence has plotted a strong position in this landscape, and almost every aspect is making full use of this. 

This article is a mixture of Bitcoin with AI. Artificial Intelligence will be a role model for crypto enthusiasts to understand the crypto league and their sit in this landscape. 

Salient stories

A well-known market research firm Fortune Business Insight has predicted that the global AI market will extend to $1394.30 billion in the year 2023. Furthermore, Ai will drive better outcomes for crypto investors as it will predict the market value of coins perfectly. The pattern detection ability of AI will greatly influence the functionality of crypto. 

Bitcoin and AI will combat many frauds that occur in transactions, and these transactions will be provided lethal speed. 

In the crypto field, fraudulent activities have been the greatest threat, and if someone becomes a victim of these fraudulent activities, that will be a disaster. AI power will ensure a greater monitoring system around the digital currencies landscape, further fuming these currencies’ personalities. 

AI provides better products that give the crypto the upper hand, and one such product is Trading Bots uses a range of AI tools like Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and others to enhance the crypto trading experience. Furthermore, these tools do not only work best for predicting the prices of crypto but for many other things like providing information about the crypto landscape, what’s new inside the crypto world, and many others. 

Apart from these stories, there is a lot to debate. First among them is what people say about these coins. Different perceptions fall into the debate. First, a suitable amount of the population believes that these currencies can replace traditional paper currency in what sense, and secondly, many countries do not have to provide legal status, these countries and why major Tech companies of the world have yet to recognize the use of these coins. 

The nature of these coins suggests that these coins are highly volatile, and predicting the exact future position of these coins is impossible. Even powerful AI tools cannot predict the real scenario. AI will just put efficiency but not to 100%. 

When technology emerges, it also gives new opportunities for attackers to invade the system. Crypto trading is honey for the attackers, where they can exploit sweet. AI plays a beautiful role in this regard, but these attackers will adopt new ways to invade the system. 

Positive signs 

AI is a new and innovative thing for finance, especially crypto trading, and can lead to many amazes for crypto. And will help traders to extract the goods. But the story has not one hero but many others too. 

The technological Landscape will grow in the coming time, which will help digital currencies to gather what they have lost. The year 2022 was a disaster for these coins, but technology will lead them to a stronger position in the coming time. 

Despite poor performance in the year 2022, the demand for crypto is enhancing, which will further add to the significance of crypto. 

When major companies recognize these currencies, the real game will start, and many companies have shown greater interest in this regard. 

Final Thoughts

There is a lot of heat going on regarding Bitcoin and AI, and the reason for such heat is simply the innovation they bring into this landscape. The digital landscape is all about techno products and their services, and both these dilemmas are best in the business. 

On the one hand, Artificial Intelligence has been placing its theme in every aspect of the business. On the other hand, crypto, like Bitcoin, leads to innovative ways of investing. 

And when both these things have merged, results are not hidden from anyone. One can use the internet to know better, and if not, then simply adopt both things, and then you will get to know about the difference. 

Bitcoin and AI are providing many facilities to crypto companies and investors. The fascinating thing about AI is to predict the outcomes, which readily helps investors and companies to plot the future position of these digital coins. 

Furthermore, this AI will lead to more secure transactions for investors and add greater measures for monitoring illegal activities within the crypto landscape. 

There are AI bots for efficient trading that work as great news providers to traders, and together they perform the function of alerting the traders. 

Last but not least, people’s perspective heavily influences the growth of these coins; when major companies or financial experts declare anything negative about them, then they will not merge in such a form to replace the traditional paper currencies. Still, if they feel positivity while using these coins, it will be easier for crypto like Bitcoin to make things happen. 

If you are looking for the best crypto trading platform, then there is no need to search further. Just click on Immediate Connect, and this will lead you to a well-reputed trading platform that offers a range of solutions to find a better roadmap to make dollars from crypto.

The post Bitcoin and AI: Deal in Crypto Intelligently appeared first on CoinJournal.

Bitcoin price: Analyst says BTC could hit $25K by March

  • Bitcoin price broke above $21,440 on major cryptocurrency exchanges for the first time since the FTX implosion.
  • Much of the buying pressure was retail driven as crypto mirrored stock markets’ Friday surge.
  • Veteran trader and markets analyst Peter Brandt has shared his prediction for Bitcoin price in 2023.

Cryptocurrencies roared into the weekend as Bitcoin price spiked to highs above $21,000 for the first time since FTX’s debacle began to unfold in November.

Data from CoinGecko shows that the benchmark crypto hit prices near $21,450 on major crypto exchanges on Sunday, with major altcoins tracking the leading digital asset. Ethereum broke above $1,500, Solana jumped to trade at highs of $24 and Dogecoin rose as high as $0.088. 

It’s notable that the rise in crypto prices followed a tick up for growth stocks and risk assets as the US inflation slowed further in December to suggest a potential pivot from the Federal Reserve.

Bitcoin price rally- analyst points to $25K by March

Bitcoin is up more than 22% in the past seven days, with BTC currently showing resilience above the $20,000 support level.

While on-chain data indicates the weekend buying pressure wasn’t so much as institutional investor-driven, the potential for bitcoin going higher remains if prices consolidate above the psychological level.

According to veteran trader and markets analyst Peter Brandt, BTC’s bullish trend will benefit from a weekly close above $20,800. He shared the prediction in a tweet.

The seasoned trader predicts a run to major resistance at $25,000 by March, with rejection seeing BTC retest the $18,000 level. If bulls hold this level, the analyst forecasts another sharp rally that could end up with Bitcoin price testing resistance levels around the $35,000 mark by July 2023.

Although he warns that no one can predict the markets with certainty, his long term outlook for Bitcoin has the cryptocurrency’s price above $100,000 by 2025.

The post Bitcoin price: Analyst says BTC could hit $25K by March appeared first on CoinJournal.