A meme began making its way around crypto Twitter earlier this month, pointing out that Bitcoin now has the number of active users that the Internet had in 1997. But the reality is even more interesting:
Bitcoin most likely has far more users today than the Internet had the year Amazon debuted on Wall Street. That means Bitcoin investors may be running out of time to capitalize on stellar market returns driven by growth in user adoption.
Our Sources: 70M Internet Users 1997 | 435M BTC Users 2024

#Bitcoin has the same number of users as the Internet had in 1997.
We are just getting started. pic.twitter.com/ppX1Vc9kZy
— Vivek⚡️ (@Vivek4real_) March 23, 2024

The economics of this trade are fascinating and promising to investors who note that even if a billion or five

The markets are rallying exuberantly for BTC for a couple of reasons this March.
Institutional investors bought deep after the SEC opened up Wall Street access to Bitcoin price exposure through custodial spot ETFs. That only adds to the scarcity shock with the supply halving coming up next month.
However, many blockchain crypto trading strategists think it is hard to overstate the importance of the ETF approvals by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The new paradigm does not merely allow regulated investors to do so.
It caps off a year of incredibly welcoming and accommodating policies for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in United States courtrooms and legislatures. The risk of the U.S. passing onerous regulations has long been an important headwind for Bitcoin prices in

The future is not assured until it has passed, but successful cryptocurrency investors have relied on how powerful the recurring patterns are in these historical trends.
Here are 12 Bitcoin halving cycle protips from crypto influencers on X, the social media website formerly known as Twitter.
1. It’s Still Early On This Halving Cycle

Like clockwork 😄 #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/BrZRDsgsLN
— Thomas | heyapollo.com (@thomas_fahrer) March 2, 2024

It may feel strange to traders to step out into new waters and make long entries in BTC right after a new all-time high. But as seasoned traders know, and as you can see from the Bitcoin price chart going back to 2013 above, it’s early.
Set stop losses, make trading plans, and stay updated on the market and news, but a timid buyer

This bull run is cyclical in nature, and these seven signals suggest it is just getting started.
Just three weeks ago, on Feb. 12, Bitcoin’s price crossed the $50,000 threshold. Fundstrat Global Advisors Head of Digital Strategy Sean Farrell said, “This rally in the near term certainly has some room to run.”
He was right!
The spot rally on cryptocurrency exchanges surged to just past $70,000 on Friday, Mar. 5, before retracing to where it is currently. So, after crossing $50,000, the rally sure had some room to run.
But here are eight signs it has room to run yet after re-gaining its highest price ever for the first time in just under two-and-a-half years.
1. The Fed Rate Hasn’t Even Dropped
The Bitcoin price is soaring to new all-time highs, and the federal funds rate for

Moreover, it’s getting some new digs on Stock Twits, and another crypto exchange has added FLOKI to its trading pairs.
FLOKI coin gained more in price on cryptocurrency exchanges last week than Pepe Coin, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Bonk Inu, or Wif. Furthermore, the Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain meme coin entered the top 60 biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap.
Popular meme coin account DogecoinRise posted to X, formerly Twitter:
“Floki has outperformed $PEPE, $DOGE, $SHIB, $BONK, and $WIF in the past week and is now the 50th biggest crypto…
As I’ve said repeatedly:
I strongly believe #Floki will be the next #Doge and THE main #memecoin of this bull run!”
Floki just ended a recent seven-day period with a gain of over 200% and a 30-day period with nearly 600% in price

Speaking with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan on “Last Call,” Lee said, “It’s a generational issue” for Millennials and Gen Z, who are more open to adopting cryptocurrency.
Sullivan told the financial analyst and strategist, “I’ve never met an investment instrument that is so polarizing… There’s people who call it fake, it’s a fraud, it’s a joke, it’s worthless. You know? Why do you think Bitcoin is so polarizing?”
“It’s a generational issue,” Lee answered.
Bitcoin Generation Gap
“You know I think in crypto they refer to sort of the legacy financial folks as Boomers, because you know, Bitcoin is really being adopted and used by both younger folks, both Millennials and Gen Z, as well as people outside the U.S. Bitcoin’s really useful to the unbanked outside the U.S.,” Lee said.
A

Altcoin analyst Altcoin Gordon told over 400,000 X followers Friday that his year-end target for Ethereum is $11,250. That would be a 3.4X increase compared to current prices.
Bitcoin has received plenty of attention from the media since October between the SEC approval of Bitcoin ETFs in January and the upcoming fourth Bitcoin halving in April.

Ethereum supply dropping.
Ethereum demand increasing.
Do you understand? pic.twitter.com/txH5g9Eq4w
— Gordon (@AltcoinGordon) January 18, 2024

But an Ethereum ETF is also in the works this year, and the network has been deflationary in supply ever since a very significant upgrade in 2022.
Meanwhile, JP Morgan analysts are anticipating the Proto-Danksharding upgrade this year.

Ethereum Price Prediction: $11,250 By 2024
Altcoin

Bitcoin hash rate continues to chart astounding record highs just weeks before the fourth halving. Meanwhile, critics worry Bitcoin mining could be hazardous to the environment.
That hasn’t stopped the price from soaring to a multi-year record high of $46,670, 67% of its historical all-time high price of $69,000 in November 2021.
However, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Bitcoin miners in the United States alone use as much electricity as the entire state of Utah.
The EIA study also estimated that Bitcoin mining accounts for somewhere between 0.6% to as much as 2.3% of all electricity demand in the U.S. in 2023.
Bitcoin Mining Environmental Concerns
Bloomberg Crypto says that mines have generated more than hash power. They’ve

China’s economy grew 5.2% in 2023, but its stock market took a 10% tumble for the year. Meanwhile, some Chinese investors sought shelter in cryptocurrency despite the government’s Bitcoin ban.
These brave souls were not unpatriotic, nor was their investment in Bitcoin against the fundamental principles of Chinese communism. In fact, they are on to something that most of the world’s governments have been slow to grok: Bitcoin represents an ideal store of value beyond borders or political ideologies.
Here are three reasons China should repeal the Bitcoin ban:
Strong Chinese Demand Despite Bitcoin Ban
Chinese GDP grew by 5.2% in 2023, but its stock market was the worst-performing equity market in the world, with a 10% fall (while the U.S. S&P 500 Index soared 25%).
As a

In short, an overbought market after months of increasing certainty about the SEC’s Bitcoin ETF approvals burst in January and allowed the price to correct some.

Historical #Bitcoin prices for today, January 26th:
2024 – $41,1742023 – $23,0162022 – $36,8002021 – $32,5022020 – $8,6082019 – $3,5712018 – $11,1182017 – $9162016 – $3902015 – $2692014 – $1,0072013 – $182012 – $5.32011 – $0.40
— Historical Bitcoin Price (@HistoryBTCPrice) January 26, 2024

During this time, short-term traders helped pump the price, then went ahead and took profits after the Bitcoin ETF approvals by “selling the news.”
Finally, tougher macro conditions, with a stronger dollar after a months-long slump, have led to more bearish sentiment for Bitcoin’s overall outlook in January.
Here are some more

An illuminating conversation unfolded on X this week about XRP Ledger’s smart contract features. A Ripple expert corrected some misconceptions that Ripple is not as feature-rich as its competitors.
Are Ripple Use Cases Limited?
If you ask Google Bard or any AI chatbot why XRP price hasn’t shown the kind of gains Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) have this year, it might tell you it’s because Ripple doesn’t have as many use cases:
“While XRP is initially designed for fast and cheap cross-border payments, its use case hasn’t evolved or broadened significantly.
Other competitors like Ethereum and BNB Chain offer a wider range of functionalities like smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFi), which might attract more user interest and drive price appreciation.” – Google

Foreclosing on a vacant home in Baltimore can take two to three years, according to a report in the Baltimore Sun. It’s a legally arduous process in Maryland.
Foreclosure requires city officials to wait on title searches to verify the entire ownership history of the house.
As a result of the multiple title searches required for each step in the process of acquiring, fixing up, and selling a home, you’d be lucky to get everything done in four or five months. Meanwhile, the vacant home can attract critters, crime, and hazardous conditions.

Baltimore Orders Home Real Estate Blockchain
But the city is hoping to solve this with a $225,000 blockchain project. Its spending board agreed to the contract for it in December. The Baltimore Sun reports:

“Over the three-year pilot,

Apple, which announced its Vision Pro headset in June, saw its share price grow by 55% in 2023. Meanwhile, Amazon stock gained 79% as its AWS division pushed for AI-focused products.
But these leading “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks did not make it into the top ten by yearly returns for 2023. The tech industry stocks that did were all Bitcoin mining stocks. Moreover, Wall Street’s top ten performers this year included not one, not two or three, but four Bitcoin mining companies.

Wall Street Mania For Bitcoin Mining Stocks
The impressive showing proves that mainstream investor interest in cryptocurrency is increasing. The four Bitcoin mining stocks that outperformed nearly the entire market were:
Cipher Mining (CIFR) at number three for the entire year after gaining 1,042%

These two blue chip, large-cap, top-ten cryptocurrencies may not seem to have much in common. But they settled into a similar price range in December, according to market data from CoinGecko.
In the first two weeks in December, after XRP price found support around the $0.60 level in late November, ADA tokens rocketed up from key support at the $0.35 handle to settle in at that same $0.60 support level.
These two altcoins each recently scored a Binance listing with USDC as a trading pair (Solana and MATIC did too). Here’s how ADA and XRP compare on important price factors.

XRP vs. ADA: Technical Indicators
XRP price has been charting a falling wedge pattern for the better part of the one-month, two-month, and six-month windows. That is often a bullish reversal signal.

XRP performed fantastically in 2023, with 87% YTD gains the final week in December and an eye on $1 in 2024. That’s impressive, given Ripple’s legal woes with the SEC lawsuit since 2020.
In December, XRP’s price continues to trade with support at $0.62 and a descending line of resistance from $0.72 on Nov. 6 to $0.67 on Dec. 8 to $0.65 on Dec. 25.
In any case, it’s important to look at some of the key dates that are approaching in Ripple’s lawsuit that may serve as a catalyst for developments in XRP’s price. It’s also worth mentioning that there are other legal proceedings taking place simultaneously, which may impact the way the Ripple v. SEC case unfolds.

SEC v. Ripple Lawsuit Key Dates Approaching
All has been relatively quiet in XRP markets, with a lull of new

XRP tokens, the native cryptocurrency for the cross-border Ripple Labs network, have traded sideways in a narrow band with support around $0.62 since mid-November.
At the same time, SOL used the opportunity, surged by an impressive percentage, and surpassed XRP in terms of market cap ranking.
Ripple’s Turn Next After Solana?
But the XRP price tested at $0.68 once on Friday, Dec. 8, before falling back to support lines, and resistance was again tested at $0.64 on Christmas Day. With a 74% volume surge on Christmas and a two-week record high of $0.6433 according to CoinGecko data, is Ripple set to rally again like it did in October?
If it does, Ripple could reclaim its market cap rank from Solana after losing the fifth place to the low-fee Ethereum competitor in December.

Shiba Inu is soaring up the 7-day, 14-day, and 30-day charts. Here are three signs that the SHIB price rally for the popular Ethereum ERC-20 meme coin continues.
But real quick first, here is the most recent update on SHIB price:

Shiba Inu Support Building аt $0.00001075
The Shiba Inu token has bounced along a sideways channel with support at the $0.00001075 level since Friday, Dec. 22. During that time, SHIB charted highs with resistance around the $0.00001100 level.
Meanwhile, the meme coin surged to $0.00001125 briefly amid high trading volume on Saturday, Dec. 23, according to CoinGecko data.

On the 14-day chart, SHIB’s price gained 11.9% in crypto exchange value from $0.00000965 on Tuesday, Dec. 12, to $0.00001080 on Tuesday, Dec. 26.
With the average Shiba Inu

A U.S. circuit court in Washington D.C. has ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission to revisit its rejection of a Bitcoin ETF application by crypto hedge fund Grayscale.
But that doesn’t mean the SEC won’t find new reasons to reject it or any of the dozen other applications.
SEC Rejection or Delay Could Tank Bitcoin Price
Crypto industry investors and insiders expect the price of Bitcoin and other crypto assets to surge if and when the SEC approves an exchange-traded fund for BTC. “It’s definitely going to pump quickly,” said DeCryptoFi founder and CEO Nicholas Scherling at a recent round table with Rob Nelson for TheStreet.
By the same token, however, news of any Bitcoin ETF rejections by the SEC could lead to a rout in Bitcoin price. In fact, ETF Store president

Bitcoin (BTC) retraced 5% over the second week in December to $42,236 on Saturday, Dec. 16, from a 19-month high of $44,700 on Dec. 9. The decline in average crypto exchange spot prices for Bitcoin followed an astonishing 62% rally over two months from $27,162 on Oct. 16 to that key resistance around the $44,000 level.
U.S. banking giant J. P. Morgan warned that BTC was overbought in mid-November after Bitcoin price surpassed the $36,000 level. Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant said this week that BTC corrected after climbing too fast but that the digital asset is still in a bull market, with the bears firmly in the past.
Here are eight signs that Bitcoin’s bull market isn’t over yet.
1. It Keeps Taking an Hour or More to Mine a Block
There are now so many miners

Ripple dominance, the measure of XRP’s market share by market capitalization in the competitive cryptocurrency segment, is flashing a warning signal this year.
XRP Dominance Trends Lower
XRP dominance is down 3.63% for the week, 18.83% over the past month, and 10.63% over the past six months. On the one-year window, Ripple’s percentage market share of all cryptocurrencies is down 11%. On the five-year window, it’s down 82%. Its peers on the market cap chart are faring markedly better.
Bitcoin (BTC), for example, has only lost 10.59% of its market share over the past five years, not 82% like Ripple. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s dominance has grown by 28.65% over the past year, 6.85% over the past six months, and 1.6% over the past month. But Ethereum might make for a more useful

The New York Times featured the Ripple Labs president in a recent special series on global consumer behavior in 2024.
“We asked a global group of entrepreneurs, business leaders and academics to assess consumer behavior,” wrote the Times.
Ripple President Explains Global Appeal of XRP
For her part in the series, Long makes the case that TradFi structures are “too slow to support” the current pace of global commercial growth. As a result, the developing world is turning to cryptocurrencies like BTC and XRP:
“In 2023, we saw reports from the International Monetary Fund and the Financial Stability Board specifically citing the ‘cryptoization’ of developing economies where, because of macroeconomic instability and weak inflation controls, people have begun to prefer

Long-term XRP investors have shown remarkable patience and resilience as the SEC lawsuit winds down. After a string of victories against most of the SEC’s charges this year, Ripple Labs is still battling the regulator over how much of a financial penalty it should have to pay.
Fmr. Goldman Head’s Lifetime Opportunity: XRP
Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal told CryptoLaw founder and Ripple amicus brief lawyer John Deaton in a recent interview that he bought XRP after the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs in Dec. 2020. Pal called his XRP play an opportunity of a lifetime:
“When you see something like that, it’s like, ‘Okay, now the price has been massively discounted. We know it’s a real thing, half the people have been shut out of the market,

After a meteoric rise from $26,750 on Oct. 12 to close the month at $34,667 on Oct. 31, Bitcoin price (BTC) is still rising in November. BTC pumped from the $36,500 handle to multi-day support at $37,400 the day Grayscale Investments met with the SEC over its Bitcoin ETF application.
But its gains have seen more volatility this month, whipsawing on a course for $38,000 as Bitcoin ETF bulls hold their breath. That could be a sign that bears are gaining confidence. Meanwhile, bulls may be losing steam the longer markets wait on an SEC approval.
SEC Approval vs. Operation Timelines Key
Long-only crypto hedge fund Off The Chain Capital’s president, Brian Dixon, recently said he doesn’t expect a big rally when the SEC finally approves one or more Bitcoin ETF products:
“You’ll

Investors stateside in both the cryptocurrency and traditional finance worlds are eagerly awaiting a Bitcoin ETF product in the U.S.
But those in Europe looking for an XRP exchange-traded product will have one next month.
Europe Gets an XRP ETP in December
DeFi Technologies, Inc. announced last week it will debut a new Ripple XRP ETP on a European exchange. The Canada-based Web 3.0 company will be ready to launch the product in early December.
It will offer the product through its subsidiary, Valour Inc. The blockchain company says the Ripple ETP will cater to the “growing demand among European investors for diverse cryptocurrency exposure.”
A recent report says Valour currently offers a number of innovative blockchain products. That includes Ethereum Zero and Bitcoin

Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world by volume.
The company just recently turned six years old earlier this year. In addition to Zhao stepping down as CEO, Binance agreed to settle DOJ charges of money laundering with a $4.3 billion fine.
Furthermore, the exchange saw over $1 billion in outflows in under 24 hours as customers withdrew funds and tokens following the news. Supporters sent CZ an outpouring of sympathy and cheers on X.com.
Here are three powerful quotes from “CZ Binance” to remember.
1. Bull or Bear, “It’s Always A Build Market”
The Binance CEO and founder was always in it for the tech, not just the profits. Before cryptocurrency, Zhao worked on stock trading systems for brokers in Shanghai.
“It’s always a build market.”
Akin to Microsoft’s

On Nov 1, the IRS announced, “The limit on annual contributions to an IRA increased to $7,000, up from $6,500,” for the 2024 tax year. The 401(k) limit also went up by $500 to $23,000.
That means Bitcoin investors who are saving for retirement with a self-directed Bitcoin IRA can now contribute $500 more next year.
Bitcoin IRA Contributions Are Tax Deductible
Saver investors looking to hedge inflation, diversify their portfolio, or add a risk-reward, high-growth tech play to their strategy also get a tax benefit with a Bitcoin IRA or 401(k) account.
According to Forbes Advisor:
“A Bitcoin IRA can provide you with the tax advantages of traditional and Roth IRAs.”
The main advantage of an IRA is taxpayers can deduct their contribution from the amount of their taxable

The prospect of a regulated spot Bitcoin ETF has roused cryptocurrency investors into a frenzied bull run. They expect an ETF product to on-ramp millions of investors in structured broker-dealer accounts.
Since March, Bitcoin (BTC) has traded in a range bound by support at $25,000 and resistance at the $30,000 level. As spot ETF rumors spread in October, the price surged from below $27,000 to above $37,000 by Nov 10.
Meanwhile, investors added $366 billion to the overall crypto market cap since October. Coinbase believes approval of a Bitcoin ETF will likely add billions more but says, “this will take time.”
Coinbase: Why A Bitcoin ETF Matters
In a recent report, Coinbase said final regulatory approval for a Bitcoin ETF “will open up a massive opportunity for the wealth

Euro Pacific Capital CEO Peter Schiff predicted the housing crash from 2006 to 2007. But now he’s warning about a bitcoin bubble. Schiff predicted Saturday that bitcoin will crash to $3,000, while he says gold will surge to $3,000, but not before bitcoin gets there first. Here’s why Peter Schiff’s wrong this time. Peter Schiff’s views on bitcoin are fascinating. He riled up both sides of the bitcoin vs. gold debate among U.S. dollar skeptics this weekend with this taunting question: Source: TwitterHe followed up the humorously provocative question with a prediction. Schiff says the bitcoin price will crash to $3,000. And it’ll get there before gold appreciates to $3,000. Source: TwitterSchiff Stirs The Pot Again You could say the founder, CEO, and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific

The ethereum classic price (ETC) rallied 40% over the last 24 hours. ETC has more than doubled this week.
ETC is now a top 10 cryptocurrency by market cap. An ETC futures product that launched this week catalyzed the price action.
A recent technical upgrade is also a likely factor.
The ethereum classic price is riding high on Friday, as a crucial technical upgrade partnered with a dash of Binance leverage to launch the lesser-known altcoin into the stratosphere.
Ethereum classic went parabolic over the last 72 hours as an ETC futures product launched on Binance. | Graph: CoinMarketCapETC zoomed as high as $10.11 on Thursday evening. That doubled the altcoin’s price for a 100% gain over $5.07 a week earlier.
The Asian and European sessions decisively breached

The bitcoin SV price went stratospheric Monday and Tuesday.
BSV blew past key resistance at $175, reaching escape velocity on its rock blast to a peak above $350.
Now ‘Satoshi Vision’ proponents are pumping for a moon shot. Here are three reasons behind the BSV’s moves.
The bitcoin price has soared in January. But its rivals, bitcoin cash and bitcoin SV (‘Satoshi’s Vision’) are making even more dramatic moves so far in 2020.
Of the two hard-forked blockchains, bitcoin SV is the most gravity-defying. According to CoinMarketCap, BSV has nearly doubled in the last 24 hours, gaining over 96% of its price a day ago. Here are three reasons for the remarkable breakout.
Bitcoin SV Price in USD Graph | Source: TradingView1. “Big News” for Bitcoin SV
The Bitcoinist points to