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Almost All Cryptocurrencies Hammered in Bloodbath

posted by martyb on Wednesday June 09 2021, @04:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the Flip-a-coin-for-profit dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Bitcoin Price: Cryptocurrency Investors See Red As Market Value Drops:

Crypto investors are waking to sea of red this morning as the entire market took an absolute hammering overnight for the second time in just a few weeks.

The price of bitcoin fell sharply on overnight, approaching a dreaded $US30,000 ($A38,800) threshold it has not crossed since January and dragging other cryptocurrencies in its wake.

At around 2am, bitcoin fell 8.6 per cent to a value of $US31,501 ($A40,715), a level not seen since mid-May, when the volatile cryptocurrency temporarily lost 30 per cent in one session.

The second-largest cryptocurrency, ethereum, lost 11.2 per cent of its value, falling to $US2361 ($A3051).

Bitcoin's value has recovered slightly since the drop, rising to $US33,738 ($A43,606) at around 7am today – but, across the board, almost all of the smaller cryptos have been battered overnight.

[...] No concrete reason appeared to explain the price drop on Tuesday, but some analysts pointed to the seizure of $2.3 million ($A3 million) worth of bitcoin belonging to the Darkside hackers by US authorities as a possible factor.

[...] The US managed to recover almost all the bitcoin ransom paid to the perpetrators of the cyber attack on the Colonial Pipeline last month.

[...] It is being seen as a sign that law enforcement is capable of pursuing online criminals even when they operate outside the nation's borders – and, crucially, that crypto isn't beyond government control.

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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Fnord666 on Wednesday June 09 2021, @07:11PM (1 child)

    by Fnord666 (652) on Wednesday June 09 2021, @07:11PM (#1143645) Homepage

    Other than some novelty, and being able to buy a pizza with a digital currency, what legitimate purposes do anonymous digital currencies have. Please list some. Thank you.

    I can see that some people might want to anonymously transfer money to avoid it being taxed. But that is tax avoidance.

    I can see that some people want to anonymously transfer money for good and/or services that they don't want to talk about. Or that they don't want anyone to know they are purchasing. Generally something that is illegal. Drugs. Guns. Prostitution. Child exploitation photographs. Violence, Arson or Murder for hire.

    Are there any really good uses of anonymous currency? Something that promotes the life, health or betterment of anyone without harming anyone? (I'll take the position that drugs don't count because there is a reason they are illegal or prescription.)

    Online ecommerce is at the mercy of the credit card companies and a few other select companies such as PayPal. If those companies choose to not do business with merchants or other types of transaction acquirers, you as a consumer are out of luck. Want to donate to a cause or charity that Visa doesn't approve of? Too bad. Want to rent a VPS for personal use but don't necessarily want your name associated with it? Too bad. Want to sell goods or services online that Mastercard doesn't want to deal with? Too bad. Heck, maybe an online merchant is just tired of AmEx taking a 3% cut of every transaction! My point is that without usable crypto currencies there are a select few companies that can control what goods and services can or can't be sold online.

    "But they are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors, they are holding all the keys which means that sooner or later, someone is going to have to fight them." - Morpheus

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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 09 2021, @08:28PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 09 2021, @08:28PM (#1143702)

    Online ecommerce is at the mercy of the credit card companies and a few other select companies such as PayPal.

    I don't know. I can send money to another account in EU and it arrives there quickly. And there is no fee for that. No PayPal or whatever. Any account.

    https://www.valuepenguin.com/interchange-fees-na-vs-eu [valuepenguin.com]

    also that. But you can spend your life wasting money on a pyramid scheme.