Pixabay
Welcome to BroBible’s regular roundup of the biggest news in the world of cryptocurrencies. We’ll be providing you with the biggest news and stories concerning Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major altcoins to help you keep your finger on the pulse of the crypto market.
Major Coin Roundup
Here’s approximately where the major coins stand on Friday morning and it has not been a fun week for anyone but short-sellers.
- Bitcoin (BTC): $6,514 (down 12.5% since last week)
- Ethereum (ETH): $364 (down 12% since last week)
- Ripple (XRP): $.337 (down 23% since last week)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH): $604 (down 16% since last week)
- EOS: $5.60 (down 21% since last week)
- Litecoin (LTC): $62.30 (down 16% since last week)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC): $15.20 (down 15% since last week)
- Tron (TRX): $.025 (down 17.5% since last week)
Yale Conducts Expansive Cryptocurrency Study
Getty Image
On Wednesday, Yale University economics professor Aleh Tsyvinski released an extensive study on cryptocurrencies that was conducted with the help of Ph.D. candidate Yukun Liu.
As you’d probably expect from the title, Risks and Returns of Cryptocurrency examines the potential upsides and downsides that come with using crypto for investment purposes as opposed to more traditional forms like stocks and currencies.
There were several important takeaways, including…
How Much Bitcoin Should You Have In Your Investment Portfolio?
Pexels
According to the study, every single investment portfolio should contain at least some Bitcoin.
Ystvinski says the exact amount depends on how optimistic a person is when it comes to the future of the cryptocurrency, so if you’re a Bitcoin bull, he recommends that you dedicate six percent of your portfolio to it.
If you’re still on the fence, he recommends only allotting four percent but says even the most pessimistic bear should still have some crypto in their portfolio (at least one percent).
What’s The Best Time To Buy Bitcoin And Other Cryptos?
Pixabay
The pair also examined the pricing trends of Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum over the course of a year in order to determine the optimal time to scoop up some crypto.
According to CNBC, they discovered there are two major factors that can tell you when it’s time to buy.
The first is the “Momentum Effect,” which showed that any sharp increase in the value of a coin over the course of a week will likely carry over into the next one (which means a steep price drop will only cause the market cap to keep sinking).
The other is the “Investor Attention Effect,” which showed there is a correlation between online buzz concerning cryptocurrencies and their price.
This means an uptick in Bitcoin-related Google searches will likely precede gains while there will be a downslide if negative stories start getting thrown around on social media.
However, Ystvinski warns their findings are only based on the past and that everything could come crashing down out of nowhere. That’s very reassuring coming from an economics expert at Yale.
How Likely Is It That Bitcoin Will Become Worthless?
Pixabay
Thankfully, Ystvinski says the likelihood of that happening is very, very low.
He estimates there’s a .4% chance that Bitcoin crumbles to the ground (he gives Ripple a .6% chance and says Ethereum is your best bet with a risk factor of .3%).
However, it’s worth noting that the chance the Euro becomes worthless is .003%, a number you might have noticed is notably lower than any of the ones in the previous sentence.
With that said, I’ll still take those odds.
15,000 Twitter Bots Worked Together To Run A Massive Crypto Scam
Pixabay
If you’ve ever made the unfortunate mistake of diving into responses to a tweet by Elon Musk, I assume you’ve come across at least one Twitter account that seems to be a little too eager to give away Bitcoin to a random person.
I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but you’re probably not going to score a free Bitcoin from those people anytime soon.
In a report authored by Duo Security’s Jordan Wright and Olabode Anise, they reveal that they came across over 15,000 bots that were working in conjunction to run a massive crypto scam.
Many of the bots were disguised as real people and celebrities or masqueraded as legit trading platforms in order to take advantage of users.
Remember: if Mark Wahlberg hits you up on Twitter and offers to gift you Bitcoin, it’s probably not actually him behind the keyboard.