Bitcoin price down AGAIN today after pulling away from dreaded ‘death cross’

How to buy Bitcoin

There are digital currency exchanges such as FTX or Coinbase where Bitcoins can be bought and sold.

When setting up a Coinbase account fro example, it can be linked to your bank account or Paypal account to be able to make a deposit into a virtual wallet. After funding the virtual wallet, traditional currency can be exchanged for Bitcoin.

The IRS on cryptocurrency in 2021 taxes

For 2022, 1040 US Individual Income Tax Return form has a question about cryptocurrency which states: "At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?"

Additionally, the IRS addresses questions on its FAQ page on digital currencies stating: "If your only transactions involving virtual currency during 2020 were purchases of virtual currency with real currency, you are not required to answer yes to the Form 1040 question."

What is the difference between a fungible and non-fungible token?

According to The VERGE, the main difference between a fungible and non-fungible token is that a fungible token can be traded, whereas, a non-fungible token cannot be traded.

Thus, a bitcoin, which is a fungible token, can be traded for another bitcoin. However, a unique trading card, which is a non-fungible token, cannot be traded because it is a unique, one-of-a-kind asset.

Bank of England cautions citizens about the risks of trading

The Bank of England warned cryptocurrency traders about the risks of trading.

According to the BBC, 0.1% of UK households had wealth stored in cryptocurrencies, with about two million people holding them.

As a result, Sir Jon Cunliffe, the deputy Bank governor, warned that: "Their price can vary quite considerably and they could theoretically or practically drop to zero."

What is an NFT? continued

Celebrities, artists, and influencers have used NFTs to promote products in recent times.

As a result, an NFT gives collectors the chance to own a piece of music or art that is unique.

What is an NFT?

An NFT, which is the abbreviation for a non-fungible token, is a certificate that indicates ownership of a digital asset. Thus, original versions of memes or viral videos can be sold in the same way a piece of art is sold.

Since an NFT digitizes a piece of work that is stored on a blockchain, it cannot be replicated, and is unique to whoever owns it.

NFT is Collins Dictionary's for word of the year in 2021

The abbreviation for non-fungible tokens, NFT, won the award for Collins Dictionary's word of the year in 2021.

Commenting on this issue, an executive at Collins Dictionary, Alex Beecroft, stated: "Whether the NFT will have a lasting influence is yet to be determined, but its sudden presence in conversations around the world makes it very clearly our word of the year."

Which cryptocurrencies have risen in value?

As of January 12, 2022, the price of Bitcoin had increased by 1.45%, according to Coinmarketcap.

Etherium also rose in value by about 3.68%. Additionally, Dogecoin increased by 4.95%. While Dogecoin's rival, Shiba Inu, was also up by 12.84%.

What is Shiba Inu? part two

At the time of writing, Shiba Inu has skyrocketed by more than 430% in the past month.

The rally was started by billionaire Elon Musk, who has a Shibu Inu puppy, and posted a picture of it on Twitter.

What is Shiba Inu? part one

Shiba Inu coins are cryptocurrency meme tokens that feature the same Shiba Inu dog as Dogecoin.

These meme tokens are listed on its own decentralized exchange, ShibaSwap.

Its website claims to have locked 50% of its total supply to Uniswap, while the remaining has been burned to Ethereum founder, Vitalik Buterin.

Why is the value of cryptocurrencies unpredictable? continued

Experts have also warned cryptocurrency traders of the dangers associated with trading.

In an interview with The Sun, Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown stated: "Many cryptocurrencies and tokens are heralded as being part of the decentralized finance movement, which aims to disrupt current payment systems."

She added: "In this murky world, where the use case of cryptocurrencies is far from proven, traders should only dabble with money they can afford to lose.’’

Why is the value of cryptocurrencies unpredictable?

The value of cryptocurrencies has been unpredictable because of several unrelated factors that have contributed to its depreciation or appreciation in value.

For instance, the value of cryptocurrencies slumped in May 2021 because of a tweet by Elon Musk, where he stated that his company, Tesla, will no longer accept Bitcoin payments because of the negative environmental impacts of mining cryptocurrencies.

Within that same month, the value of cryptocurrencies decreased when the Chinese government banned crypto exchanges within the country.

In stark contrast to the reason given by Elon Musk, the Chinese government stated: "Recently, cryptocurrency prices have skyrocketed and plummeted, and speculative trading of cryptocurrency has rebounded, seriously infringing on the safety of people's property and disrupting the normal economic and financial order."

What are crypto fan tokens? continued

A report by BBC News stated that soccer teams have been the main participants in the sale of crypto fan tokens in recent months.

Indeed, it is estimated that over $350million has been spent by fans of soccer teams in England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France.

What are crypto fan tokens?

Crypto fan tokens, which are also referred to as sports cryptocurrencies, are digital assets that sports teams sell to fans with the aim of strengthening fan engagement.

These fan tokens give fans exclusive access to participate in certain activities of their beloved team. Activities could include, giving fans the chance to vote on the songs to be played in the stadium during a match.

US cities embrace cryptocurrency, part two

The mayor of Miami is also working to expand cryptocurrency options in the Florida city.

Mayor Francis Suarez said he would take his paychecks in Bitcoin and wants residents to be able to pay fees and taxes in the cryptocurrency.

Miami launched a token earlier this year called MiamiCoin, which generated $30million in revenue over three months, Suarez told Bloomberg News.

US cities embrace cryptocurrency

A Tennessee city hopes to become the first in the nation to offer its employees cryptocurrency as a payroll conversion option.

The Jackson Sun reports that a request for proposal (RFP) has been opened, allowing third party platforms to apply to be the city’s cryptocurrency converter.

“We offer our employees a deferred compensation opportunity for their retirement already. Why not add more options?” the mayor told the news outlet.

He said the move will diversify ways city employees can receive payment and allow the city to pay contractors in Bitcoin.

Seven crypto ads banned, part two

The Advertising Standards Authority is looking to produce new guidance on cryptocurrency.

Monitoring crypto assets is a “red-alert priority” for the regulatory agency, BBC News reported.

The news outlet said companies with ads found to have broken the rules were:

• Coinburp: A Twitter page for the cryptocurrency trading platform
• eToro (UK): A paid ad for the stocks and cryptocurrency trading platform
• Payward: A digital poster for Kraken, an online cryptocurrency exchange
• Exmo Exchange: A YouTube video promoting the cryptocurrency exchange
• Luno Money: An in-app ad for the cryptocurrency exchange service Luno
• Coinbase Europe: A paid Facebook ad for the cryptocurrency exchange platform
• Papa John’s GB: A promotion on the Papa John’s pizza restaurant chain’s website and in a Twitter post

UK regulator bans seven crypto ads

The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned seven cryptocurrency advertisements following concerns.

BBC News reported one banned ad included a promotion by a pizza chain while a second involved Facebook ads for a big cryptocurrency exchange.

All seven ads were “banned for irresponsibly taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience and for failing to illustrate the risk of the investment”, the news organization reported.

How to buy land in The Sandbox, continued

On the land tab, you can select the plot of land you want to buy (green are taken) and hit ‘buy land’ or ‘buy estate’. And that’s it!

Keep an eye on The Sandbox Twitter, The Sandbox Discord for any announcements pre-sale.

But otherwise, head to the map website in plenty of time before the sale starts.

The land will undoubtedly get snapped up fast so plan ahead to figure out what you want to buy.

How to buy land in The Sandbox

You’ll need both SAND and ETH to buy land in The Sandbox; SAND covers the land price while ETH is needed for gas fees.

That means you need to set up a crypto wallet.

Crypto wallets with official Sandbox support include MetaMask, Bitski, and Venly.

As outlined on The Sandbox blog, you’ll need to make sure you’re logged in and have your wallet connected.

Sandbox Mega City Land Sale event

The Mega City Land Sale has taken place today, Thursday, January 13 at 1pm UTC, which is 5am PT / 8am ET / 1pm GMT.

The Sandbox land sales take place on the Map of the Sandbox website.

Mega City’s land sale is split into lands, premium lands, and estates with the quantity and price of each as follows:

• 61 Lands at 1,011 SAND each
• 95 Premiums at 4,683 SAND each
• 7 Estates to be sold at auction

Based on the current rates, that’s £3,316.81 / $4,558.34 for each land, and £15,363.61 / $21,114.45 for each premium land.

Gamer loses £10,000 spent on virtual land, part three

“I have no idea how this could have happened without the hacker having my passphrase because I have not shared this information with anyone, I wrote it down on physical paper and hid it,” the Reddit user wrote.

After some assistance from other users on the /r/cryptocurrency subreddit – the user realized his computer had been infected by malware.

He said that he believes he downloaded the virus while attempting to get hold of a new pass for The Sandbox.

The user accidentally went to a website that was a clone of The Sandbox’s homepage – downloading a .exe file that turned out to be the malware.

The virus saw the hackers get into his account and steal his land.

Gamer loses £10,000 spent on virtual land, part two

The gamer noticed his land contract was transferred out of his online wallet for £0.

“I never consented to this transfer, I had no intention of selling this land and I was going to hold it for an extended period of time, for over a couple of years at minimum,” the Reddit user wrote.

“There is no way I would have transferred it to anyone, especially at zero dollars.”

He went on: “I have followed the trail, and my land has been transferred to 3 other accounts since it was stolen, and now being sold for 40k. [CAD]

“I have not shared my account details with anyone, I have not synced my wallet with any other software or wallets.

Gamer loses £10,000 spent on virtual land

The frustrated gamer revealed how he spent the funds to purchase the digital asset in The Sandbox mobile game.

Taking to Reddit, user infiniti711 told how he believes his account was hacked and his precious computer generated land was stolen.

And tracing the transactions using the unique IDs which are included on every crypto-based trade, he found the crook is now selling it.

It appears the hacker is flogging the stolen digital land for £23,000.

Rich crypto-traders won fortune thanks to poker, continued

During the game, Mr Zhao began learning about the depths of cryptocurrency, and the pair reportedly urged him to invest 10 per cent of his net worth in Bitcoin – now the biggest of its kind in the world.

Mr Zhao was convinced, and the following year he “decided to go all-in on crypto by dedicating his life to it,” even selling his Shanghai apartment for Bitcoin before founding the company in 2017.

Despite early setbacks – including watching the highly volatile Bitcoin plummet and rise – Binance emerged as a world leader within just eight months.

According to the blog, it “stays in that position up to this day.”