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Bitcoin (BTC) continues to dominate conversations in the financial world, having capitalized on the crisis in the United States banking system to reach a new multi-month high. The recent performance has prompted industry experts to offer projections on Bitcoins potential price action in the coming days.

One such projection was made by venture capitalist and former CTO at crypto exchange Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, in a tweet on March 18.

Balaji believes that Bitcoin will reach $1 million within 90 days due to the U.S. economy entering a phase of hyperinflation while warning that the world is likely to witness massive changes catalyzed by the devaluation of the dollar.

However, analyzing the viability of Balajis prediction, Matthew Kratter, founder of the Trader University YouTube channel, termed the forecast as over the top but directionally correct, as shared by MicroStrategy chair Michael Saylor in a tweet on March 24.

According to Kratter, while he views Balajis forecast as a marketing ploy, the probability of Bitcoin hitting $1 million in three months is 1-2%, but the asset has the potential to reach such price levels in the long term.

I think he is right about Bitcoin going to a million dollars. Ive talked about Bitcoin going to $5 million or $10 million per coin, just probably not in the next 90 days. I think this is a bit of a marketing ploy. If Bitcoin were to move to $1 million per coin in the next 90 days, I think that would be a terrible thing. It would actually be a sign that something major is broken, he said.

Kratter suggested Bitcoin at $1 million remains in play, noting that the asset is increasingly becoming attractive as a safe haven due to its lack of counterparty and debasement risks, which are prevalent in other assets. He noted that all other assets, including cryptocurrency, technology stocks, bank stocks, stock indices, and gold, are rapidly losing value when measured against Bitcoin.

What were seeing is everything is crashing against Bitcoin this is another way of saying that people are fleeing into Bitcoin. <> The entire financial system is unraveling, and savings and capital are being moved into Bitcoin. <> Its actually beginning to look like the Bitcoin network cant be stopped even during the financial crisis, Kratter added.

Furthermore, the author pointed out that gold, another safe-haven asset, is losing market share to Bitcoin and is depreciating relative to the maiden crypto. In his view, gold has failed to provide the security that investors are seeking during this crisis.

Interestingly, Kratter believes that Balajis forecast may be an attempt to bolster his personal reputation by aligning himself with Bitcoins coming success. Nevertheless, Kratter acknowledges that the current financial crisis and the Federal Reserves turning the money printers back on make Bitcoin an attractive option for investors.

While Kratter acknowledges that Bitcoin has limitations, such as its limited use as a form of payment and concerns about the security of exchanges and wallets, he predicts that the asset is likely to trade at $100,000 in the next three months and potentially hit $1 million by the end of the current decade.

After weeks of rallying, Bitcoin is facing resistance at $30,000. By press time, BTC was trading at $27,628 with daily losses of almost 2%.

The current Bitcoin price follows an inflow of capital that elevated the assets market cap to hit $531.717 billion. In this line, Bitcoin is on the verge of reentering the top ten category of assets by market cap globally.

Disclaimer:The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.

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Can Bitcoin reach $1 million in 90 days? Expert analyzes Balaji's ... - Finbold - Finance in Bold

Bitcoin mining exists primarily to build a global digital network for storing value without the need for a bank or other intermediary, and for peer-to-peer exchanges. Its also one of the most environmentally friendly industries in the world.

The Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance estimates that global Bitcoin mining uses less than 0.2% of the worlds energy productionroughly comparable to all refrigerators in the U.S. and far less than data centers and data networks generally.

In other words, it uses a very small amount of energy in the grand scheme of thingsand nearly 60% of what it does use comes from renewable sources, according to data published by the Chamber of Digital Commerce. Bitcoin mining also helps create a marketplace for intermittent sources such as solar and wind during their off-peak hours.

Furthermore, unlike other data centers, mining facilities can shut down at a moments notice during high-demand events such as extreme weather to provide grid stability and prevent the use of fossil-fuel powered peaker plants.

Yet the current administration, fringe politicians, and environmental groups are singling out Bitcoin mining by attempting to limit access to energy and imposing or proposing taxes so high the industry will have ever reason to leave the U.S. entirely. And thats assuming they dont try to ban it altogether.

These critics are now citing marginal emissions data, which is merely cherry-picking businesses they dont like for political reasons, and saying that those businesses use too much energy. To be clear, Bitcoin mining does not emit anythingit requires computers, which use electricity just like any other data center.

To say these policy proposals and their tortured justifications are misguided would be the kindest possible reading. Their effects would be devastating to the environment, the economy, and U.S. national security.

Relative to other leading Bitcoin mining jurisdictions, the U.S. has an extremely clean energy grid. Texas is a leader in Bitcoin mining and the home of Riot Platforms operations, the largest Bitcoin mine in North America. According to the American Clean Power Association, Texas led the nation in renewable energy capacity added in 2021close to three times that of second-place California.

Pushing Bitcoin mining offshore, under the guise of environmentalism, would only mean the U.S. will capture less of Bitcoins value, and more mining will happen connected to dirtier energy grids in more hostile parts of the world. For example, Russia is infamous for not only fossil fuel production and its use of energy for political brinksmanship, its among world leaders in leaking methane into the atmosphere. Its already among the top five Bitcoin mining jurisdictions and seeking more market share. Weakening the American Bitcoin mining industry would be an enormous gift to Russiaand increase global carbon emissions.

That leads to the national security issue. As noted in a recent Justice Department report on cryptocurrencies, America has strong anti-money laundering rules and ensures that as people move Bitcoin value from the network in and out of traditional accounts, it is traceablenefarious actors can be caught, unlike in other parts of the world. Russia, for example, is a world leader in ransomware attacks and the abuse of cryptocurrency, as well as traditional financial intermediaries. Keeping Bitcoin mining in America means that more value will be captured by highly regulated U.S. companies and law-abiding individuals simply interested in optionality when it comes to storing and transferring value.

Bitcoin mining has created thousands of jobs. Riot alone employs approximately 500 people, many in Rockdale, Texas, a community previously suffering from the closure of a large industrial aluminum-smelting plant. Riot is now helping to support a program with the Texas State Technical college to upskill the local workforce with programs in computer repair and programming.

Bitcoin mining is a bourgeoning industry thats good for the environment, the economy, and national security. Attacks from nefarious political forces should be rejected to maintain Americas leadership role in the digital economy.

Jason Les is the CEO of Riot Platforms, Inc., the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining enterprise in North America by market cap. Brian Morgenstern is Riots head of public policy and was a senior adviser and deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury from 2017 to 2020. The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs ofFortune.

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Why keeping Bitcoin mining in the U.S. helps the economy and national securityand even the environment - Fortune

Deutsche WertpapierService Bank AG (dwpbank), a German securities processing giant that manages over 5.3 million securities accounts, has announced the launch of its new platform, wpNex, that enables over 1,200 affiliated banks to offer Bitcoin (BTC) trading to its retail customers.

According to the press release published on March 22, via the wpNex platform, crypto trading can be seamlessly integrated into the customers online banking experience. Customers can see their cryptocurrency holdings alongside their traditional securities, with no pre-funding necessary, Btc-echo.de reported.

Financial planning advisory corporation MLP Banking AG has taken advantage of the opportunity to become the first to offer crypto trading to its customers. Paul Utzat, MLP Bankings Head of Account and Securities Settlement, said that the service will be available to all retail customers in the second half of this year.

Furthermore, DZ Bank plans to offer a Bitcoin option for its customers by the end of the year, which can be seen as a solid step for Bitcoin establishment in Germany as this institution is the second largest bank in Germany by asset size with around 8,500 branch offices in the country.

In a tweet on March 24, Patrick Hansen, EU Strategy and Policy Director at Circle, a crypto-focused company behind the USDC stablecoin, noted that the move is great news for Bitcoins adoption.

As per the announcement, with the wpNex platform, dwpbank is setting the stage for Germany to become a major player in the world of crypto. The company has also clarified that other digital assets like tokenized securities will be added in the near future.

Dwpbanks move will potentially put pressure on other German banks and financial institutions to meet the growing demand for convenient access to crypto trading and investing.

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Over 1,200 German banks can now offer Bitcoin trading to their retail ... - Finbold - Finance in Bold

Last yearscrypto-market meltdowntriggered a series of bankruptcies that almost completely reshaped the digital-asset industry. This year, government watchdogs appear to be arriving on the scene to finish the job.

The past week saw the industry hit with another deluge of enforcement news, from theSECs threat to take legal action againstCoinbase Inc. and its suit against theTron blockchain networkto the apprehension ofcrypto fugitiveDo Kwon. Even celebrity crypto promoters like actress Lindsay Lohan and rapper Soulja Boy gotcaught upin the crackdown.

As the headlines piled up, the developments put a lidon a rallyin Bitcoin that had been pushing the oldest token back up toward the closely watched $30,000 level. Aglitch Friday morningat crypto exchange Binance took spot trading offline for more than two hours on a platform whose market dominance has only grown as other players have folded, adding to the sour mood. Bitcoin drifted around $27,500 on Saturday.

The collision course between the US government and crypto true believers vision of a system where money can be freely exchanged around the world without censorship by authorities was accelerated by thefailure of the Terra blockchainsstablecoin to maintain its $1 peg and thebankruptcy of FTXlast year, which combined to vaporize almost $2 trillion of digital wealth. This months implosion of crypto-friendly banks Silvergate Capital Corp. andSignature Bankhas added fuel.

At the center of much of the recent actions is the SECs decision to treat many cryptoassetsas securitiesthat must be registered with the agency and subject to all the regulations that go along with it. Needless to say, digital-asset aficionados were livid with much of the weeks news flow, especially when it comes to publicly listed Coinbase, which says it hasrepeatedly triedto engage with the regulator to no avail.

A reprehensible amount of resources and brainpower have been spent in the US trying to engage with this SEC and trying to create substance and a path out of the wraithlike comments issued by the agency, Sheila Warren, chief executive of the Crypto Council for Innovation trade group, said in an email. Meanwhile, most other major economies are actively in productive consultation with experts about how to land the regulatory plane.

The treatment of many crypto coins as securities means the SEC is testing its authority, leaving those caught up in its sights an option: capitulate and pay a settlement with the regulator, or fight it in court. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has made it clear that the company will fight the complaint, tweeting that the process will prove that the SEC simply has not been fair, reasonable, or even demonstrated a seriousness of purpose when it comes to its engagement on digital assets.

Six of the eight crypto-touting celebrities including Lohan and YouTubeprankster-turned-boxerJake Paul decided just to cut the SEC a check after the regulator accused them of touting coins traded on the Tron blockchain without disclosing they were being paid to do so.

DeAndre Cortez Way aka rapperSoulja Boy and singer Austin Mahone havent settled. The celebrities are keeping quiet about the whole issue. (For what its worth, the only thing Soulja Boy washawkingthis week on Twitter was a pink hoodie featuring a cartoon image of his smiling face. That is almost definitely not a security.)

Of course, some of the crimes being alleged went beyond just dealing in unregistered securities.The caseagainst Justin Sun and three of his companies connected to the Tron blockchain also involves accusations of fraud and market manipulation that artificially inflated the trading volume of tokens by encouraging employees to do more than 600,000 so-called wash trades. Sun wrote on Twitter that he believes the SECs complaint lacks merit.

Do Kwons indictment in the US, which came shortly after his arrest Thursday in Montenegro, also revealed that the government believes the collapse of his Terra blockchain project was more than just a$60 billion accident. According to prosecutors, Kwon also allegedly engaged in market manipulation and deceived investors about certain aspects of the project. His US lawyer did not respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg.

By the end of the week, it had all started to look like a drama that could be called Law & Order: Web3. So what will the next episode entail? Many industry watchers are bracing for more shoes to drop.

Overall, I expect we will see more enforcement news like this in the future given we are operating in an environment with little or no regulatory guidance, said Duke University finance professor Campbell Harvey.

For the crypto optimists searching for a silver lining, its all about looking at the future instead of the dwelling on the ugliness of the past week. The latest bout of drama in the market tells us nothing, according to Aaron Brown, a crypto investor who writes for Bloomberg Opinion

Useful attention should be directed to the new ships preparing for departure, the ones who will lead the next boom, he said. Many of the developments of the past week were just the flotsam and jetsam washing ashore long after the storm has passed.

Or maybe Soulja Boy put it best back in his MySpace days when herapped: On the internet, got em jumpin off the wall.

With assistance by Emily Nicolle

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Bitcoin rally stalls as crypto dragnet ensnares Coinbase, Do Kwon, and Lindsay Lohan: We will see more enforcement news like this - Fortune

MCCAMEY, Texas, March 23 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency bankruptcies and worries over electric power consumption have failed to dent the industry's growth in Texas, according to a top trade group, citing the rise in the miners' power demands.

Bitcoin miners consume about 2,100 megawatts of the state's power supplies, said Lee Bratcher, president of industry group Texas Blockchain Council. That power usage rose 75% last year and was nearly triple that of the prior 12 months, Bratcher said.

Those demands amount to about 3.7% of the state's lowest forecast peak load this year, according to data from grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

"There's been some challenges with the Bitcoin mining industry," Bratcher said, noting his group recently saw two prominent bankruptcies and other miners scaling back expansions.

The industry also faces new federal regulations, including a proposed 30% tax on electricity usage for digital mining and calls by the U.S. Treasury secretary and commodities regulator for a regulatory framework.

New York this year imposed a ban on some cryptocurrency mining that runs on fossil fuel-generated power. Other states are expected to follow suit.

But in Texas, some counties have offered tax incentives and miners continue to be drawn to its wind and solar power, which could supply about 39% of ERCOT's energy needs in 2023.

"Bitcoin mining is a very energy intensive business, which is why we tend to find places like West Texas to be full of Bitcoin miners," said Matt Prusak, chief commercial officer at cryptocurrency miner U.S. Bitcoin Corp, which has one of its mining operations in a 280-megawatt wind farm in Texas.

Its McCamey, Texas, site last month consumed 173,000 megawatt hours of power about 60% provided by the grid and nearly 40% from the nearby wind farm. The average American home uses about 10 MWh in a year, according to the Energy Information Administration.

In Texas, where about 250 people died during a winter storm blackout that exposed the fragility of the state's grid, the prospect of higher crypto demand has raised alarms.

"There are a lot of Bitcoin mines that are trying to connect to the system," said Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. "If all of them were to connect in the timelines that they are looking to connect, then it probably would present an issue to the grid because that load would be growing way faster than it ever has before."

Reporting by Evan Garcia and Dan Fastenberg; writing by Laila Kearney; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Bitcoin mining booms in Texas - Reuters