{"id":6207,"date":"2020-08-30T19:19:24","date_gmt":"2020-08-30T23:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/?p=6207"},"modified":"2021-08-12T10:06:06","modified_gmt":"2021-08-12T14:06:06","slug":"yfi-surges-to-38k-btc-comeback-predictions-ryanair-ceos-fury-hodlers-digest-aug-24-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2020\/08\/30\/yfi-surges-to-38k-btc-comeback-predictions-ryanair-ceos-fury-hodlers-digest-aug-24-30","title":{"rendered":"YFI surges to $38K, BTC comeback predictions, Ryanair CEO\u2019s fury: Hodler\u2019s Digest, Aug. 24\u201330"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coming every Sunday, <\/i>Hodler\u2019s Digest<\/i><\/a> will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. <\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top Stories This Week<\/b><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

YFI price soars to $38,800 hitting $1 billion market cap \u2014 Can it go higher?<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Yearn.finance\u2019s founder, Andre Cronje, <\/span>has warned that YFI tokens are \u201cworthless\u201d<\/span><\/a> \u2014 but this hasn\u2019t stopped them from rising even higher over the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

YFI surged by more than 75% in 24 hours \u2014 achieving a new all-time high of $38,883. <\/b>(Prices have cooled since then, falling to <\/span>$29,876 <\/b>at the time of writing.)<\/span><\/p>\n

DeFi enthusiasts remain upbeat about YFI, pointing to Cronje\u2019s fast-paced product releases as a positive long-term catalyst for YFI. <\/span>And over the long term, some analysts believe yearn.finance could achieve a valuation of several billion dollars. <\/b>One of them, Tyler Reynolds, says <\/span>$500,000 <\/b>YFI is possible \u2014 and this would equal a <\/span>$15-billion<\/b> market cap.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are long-term dangers. <\/span>Cronje is under significant pressure to consistently release new products and features \u2014 and like all DeFi tokens, declining yield is also a danger.<\/b><\/p>\n

In the near term, valuation and liquidity could slow down the momentum of YFI. One cryptocurrency researcher, Hasu, warned:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c$YFI may be ripping right now, but it\u2019s illiquid as hell as very little of the supply is available on exchanges. Try selling even 100K and you\u2019ll tank the price by 3%.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

History shows Bitcoin price may take 3\u201312 months to finally break $20,000<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Bitcoin\u2019s price showed weakness in recent days \u2014 but still managed to show resilience as bears failed to push it below <\/span>$11,200<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

And now, a new analysis suggests that if BTC remains stable for several more months, it could set the groundwork for an explosive rally \u2014 as seen between 2016 and 2017.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bitcoin has had four market cycles since its inception in 2009, from a bottom to a new peak. The cycles ranged from over 600 days to around 1,050 days. <\/span>The most recent cycle has just surpassed 300 days, which suggests it could last 3\u201312 more months.<\/b><\/p>\n

The price of Bitcoin was at a mere <\/span>$3,596<\/b> on BitMEX on March 13. Within six months, BTC has recorded a <\/span>220%<\/b> upsurge, outperforming most traditional assets and indices. <\/span>But the steep vertical rally could raise the chances of whales and large individual Bitcoin hodlers taking profit \u2014 and this could result in a deep pullback.<\/b><\/p>\n

Dan Tepiero, a co-founder of 10T Holdings, said: <\/span>\u201cPrepare to be patient in Bitcoin. Each up cycle takes longer to play out and is less extreme as absolute dollar value gets much larger. May or may not be another 6 to 12 months before price breaks up.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI would never invest one cent in Bitcoin,\u201d says Ryanair CEO<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Fed up after his image was used on a crypto scam \u2014 the brash billionaire owner of the Irish airline Ryanair, Michael O\u2019Leary, has launched a scathing attack on Bitcoin.<\/span><\/p>\n

A bogus article on a fake news outlet claimed that, on a late-night talk show, O\u2019Leary shocked the audience by showing how much money he was making through a scheme known as \u201cBitcoin Lifestyle.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Asked by The Times of London whether the advert was legitimate, the entrepreneur issued a vociferous denial \u2014 reserving his ire for the crypto, rather than the crypto scammers. He said:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have never, and would never, invest one cent in Bitcoin, which I believe is equivalent to a Ponzi scheme. […] I would strongly advise everyone with any shred of common sense to ignore this false story and avoid Bitcoin like a plague.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Using the image of wealthy and famous people to promote cryptocurrency scams is a very common tactic to gain credibility among potential \u201cinvestors.\u201d <\/span>Others have featured Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Kate Winslet and Elon Musk.<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

China plans to use its digital yuan at the 2022 Winter Olympics Games<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

The People\u2019s Bank of China is planning to put its digital currency to use at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.<\/span><\/p>\n

But although trials are currently taking place in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiongan and Chengdu, officials say there\u2019s no timetable for the rollout.<\/b><\/p>\n

Cointelegraph recently reported<\/span><\/a> that the bank is planning to roll out the digital currency for pilot tests across other regions including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Hong Kong\u2019s Greater Bay Area.<\/span><\/p>\n

A <\/span>recent official statement<\/span><\/a> from the bank also noted that they were only testing the digital yuan for small retail transactions. <\/span>The PBoC also clarified that the digital yuan was a legal tender that users can convert into banknotes at a 1:1 ratio.<\/b><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

Starbucks lets customers trace their coffee\u2019s provenance from bean to brew<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

The world\u2019s biggest coffee shop chain now allows its customers to trace the origins of their drink using Microsoft\u2019s blockchain technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Customers can scan a code on their bags to find out where their beans came from, where they were roasted, and even get brewing tips from baristas.<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also good news for farmers, who will be able to find out where their produce ends up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Microsoft is one of the leading providers of blockchain-as-a-service platforms, though IBM\u2019s Food Trust platform is better known in the space.<\/span><\/p>\n

As consumers become more concerned about the ethical sourcing of the products they purchase, the blockchain-tracing trend could rapidly begin to take hold.<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Winners and Losers<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at <\/span>$11,638.11<\/b>, Ether at <\/span>$413.32<\/b> and XRP at <\/span>$0.28<\/b>. The total market cap is at <\/span>$369,682,907,987<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are <\/span>DFI.Money<\/b>, <\/span>UMA<\/b> and <\/span>bZx Protocol<\/b>. The top three altcoin losers of the week are <\/span>OMG Network<\/b>, <\/span>HedgeTrade <\/b>and <\/span>Qtum<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read <\/span>Cointelegraph\u2019s market analysis<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most Memorable Quotations<\/b><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSince so many of you Bitcoin guys are ribbing me because my son bought Bitcoin, why not really rub it in by gifting him some as a belated birthday present.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Peter Schiff<\/b><\/a>, crypto skeptic\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cInflation is coming. Money stored in a bank will get run over. Money invested in assets like real estate or the stock market will keep pace. Money stored in gold or bitcoin will outrun the scourge. And money stored in bitcoin will run the fastest, overtaking gold.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Tyler Winklevoss<\/b><\/a>, Bitcoin billionaire<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBitcoin doesn\u2019t need the Fed to succeed but if they insist on throwing gasoline on the fire then so be it.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bill Barhydt<\/b><\/a>, Abra CEO<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWithin a year or two, most crypto exchanges will probably only allow withdrawals to \u2018whitelisted\u2019 addresses. We\u2019ll have separate ecosystems for coins: \u2018clean\u2019 coins that can be traced to a regulated institution, and everything else.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ari Paul<\/b><\/a>, BlockTower Capital co-founder and CIO<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf JPMorgan, one of the biggest companies ever, can\u2019t drive adoption, even when they have a great internal use case, you have to ask yourself \u2018why\u2019?\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Will Martino<\/b><\/a>, former lead engineer, JPMorgan\u2019s Juno blockchain<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201c2020, the year of Tether. The road to 20B+ and beyond.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Paolo Ardoino<\/b><\/a>, Bitfinex CTO<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe economic situation of Wirecard AG was and is extremely difficult in light of the lack of liquidity and the well-known scandalous circumstances.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Michael Jaff\u00e9<\/b><\/a>, representative for Wirecard\u2019s administrator<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI have not abandoned the Ghost privacy ecosystem, only the GHOST privacy coin.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

John McAfee<\/b><\/a>, crypto advocate and tech pioneer<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI have never, and would never, invest one cent in Bitcoin, which I believe is equivalent to a Ponzi scheme. […] I would strongly advise everyone with any shred of common sense to ignore this false story and avoid Bitcoin like a plague.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Michael O\u2019Leary<\/b><\/a>, Ryanair CEO<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prediction of the Week<\/b><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bitcoin price to $500,000: Winklevoss lays out ultimate bullish case<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Bitcoin billionaire Tyler Winklevoss believes the ultimate bull case for Bitcoin means reaching a target of <\/span>$500,000<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 39-year-old\u2019s theory appears to be straightforward. <\/span>He believes BTC could overtake gold as the global market\u2019s leading safe-haven asset.<\/b><\/p>\n

Since the market capitalization of gold is estimated to be $9 trillion while Bitcoin is valued at around $200 billion, this could leave a 45-fold upside.<\/span><\/p>\n

Winklevoss provided an infographic that showed BTC has multiple advantages over gold. <\/b>This cryptocurrency\u2019s supply is fixed at 21 million \u2014 and while gold is scarce, its true supply is unknown. Bitcoin is also divisible, difficult to counterfeit and relatively inexpensive to store, all things that the precious metal can\u2019t compete with.<\/span><\/p>\n

He finished off his post with a warning: \u201cInflation is coming. Money stored in a bank will get run over. Money invested in assets like real estate or the stock market will keep pace. Money stored in gold or Bitcoin will outrun the scourge. <\/span>And money stored in Bitcoin will run the fastest, overtaking gold.<\/b>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

FUD of the Week<\/b><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

FBI and Tesla thwart $4 million Bitcoin ransomware plot<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

A young Russian citizen and his co-conspirators came within an inch of carrying out a major ransomware attack against Tesla\u2026 <\/span>unaware that their target had already turned them in.<\/b><\/p>\n

Pavel Kriuchkov allegedly spent weeks in the U.S. attempting to recruit a Tesla staffer at the firm\u2019s Gigafactory in Nevada for a \u201cspecial project.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The employee was told they would receive $1 million if they helped install targeted malware that would pave the way for a distributed denial-of-service attack, followed by the exfiltration of sensitive company data.<\/b><\/p>\n

The plan was to hold Tesla to ransom under threat of dumping the information publicly. <\/span>Kriuchkov\u2019s conspirators had their eye on a $4-million ransom.<\/b><\/p>\n

Thankfully, the employee had already tipped off the FBI \u2014 and a series of meetings ended up being physically surveilled and wiretapped by federal agents. <\/span>Kriuchkov is now in detention pending trial, with Elon Musk tweeting: \u201cThis was a serious attack.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A major dark web marketplace has been offline for days, and no one knows why<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Empire Market suddenly went offline this week \u2014 prompting customers to raise concerns about whether a distributed denial-of-service attack was to blame\u2026 or something more sinister was afoot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rumors began circulating on Reddit that the major dark web marketplace could be preparing for an \u201cexit scam\u201d \u2014 a scenario where a company disappears with customers\u2019 funds with little to no warning.<\/b><\/p>\n

If it is an exit scam, it could damage trust in darknet marketplaces. <\/span>According to the cyber risk protection firm Digital Shadows, Empire had 55,000 listings and processed about $6.5 million a week.<\/b><\/p>\n

The company wrote: \u201cIn this tumultuous environment, with English-language marketplaces disappearing left, right, and center, Empire had become a bastion of steadfastness \u2014 a beacon of credibility to which all other dark web marketplaces were compared.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ministers used influence to pilfer millions in alleged Ponzi scheme<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

The SEC has alleged that three people used their influence in churches to raise $27 million from approximately 1,200 investors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Legal filings claim John Frimpong, Dennis Jali and Arley Johnson had described themselves as experts in crypto and forex \u2014 advertising gains of between 6% and 42% per month or financial quarter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although earlier investors were paid back at times to ward off suspicion, it\u2019s alleged that the defendants ended up spending the money on themselves.<\/b><\/p>\n

Johnson claimed to be a minister, while Jali reportedly pastored at seven church locations. <\/span>Many of their victims were African immigrants.<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Best Cointelegraph Features<\/b><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Crypto mass adoption will be here when\u2026 [fill in the blank]<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

There have been endless predictions about when crypto and blockchain will achieve widespread adoption, so Cointelegraph Magazine has reached out to industry thought leaders to complete this sentence: <\/span>\u201cWe will know blockchain has gone mainstream when _______.\u201d <\/b>Andrew Singer looks at their responses.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Journeys in blockchain: Dan Held of Kraken<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Darren Kleine talks to Dan Held, Kraken\u2019s director of business development. <\/span>As this article reveals \u2014 as a Texan who doesn\u2019t drive a truck, drink beer, love Trump or watch sports \u2014 Held doesn\u2019t match the usual stereotypes.<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From dream to nightmare: Belarus crackdown has tech firms restless<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Will the political turmoil in Belarus put an end to the development of digital technologies and the financial freedom of its citizens? <\/span>Here\u2019s Julia Magas.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more \u2014 one week on Cointelegraph in one link!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":6214,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[2693,225,2699,2682,2689,2694,2686,2691,2685,2690,2695,2700,2703,2702,2705,2687,2688,2706,2701,2692],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6207"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6207"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6220,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6207\/revisions\/6220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6207"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}