Crypto News, Dec. 7: How Will Bitcoin Do Next Year?

Yesterday, analysts had warned Bitcoin was set to stay below $50,000 for some time. BTC was determined to prove them wrong. A 7.8% surge means Bitcoin has rallied to $51,372 at the time of writing. Ether is performing even more strongly — up 11% and managing to break $4,400. It comes as the ETH/BTC conversion rate hits its highest level in three-and-a-half years. Overall, there's a sea of green in the top 100 — with many altcoins posting double-digit gains. Here's the latest.

Bloomberg Intelligence says 2022 is looking bullish for the crypto markets. While BTC may face "initial headwinds" if the Fed cuts stimulus, Mike McGlone believes the world's biggest cryptocurrency will ultimately be a "primary beneficiary." Overall, he thinks it's a matter of time before BTC hits $100,000. As for Ether, he's looking to see "how overextended prices may need to get for a pullback" — but believes the No. 2 crypto can "fend off challenges to its leadership" from rival blockchains. Read more.

A verdict has been reached in a court battle over 1.1 million Bitcoin — with both sides claiming victory. The case centered on Craig Wright, an entrepreneur who has long claimed he is BTC's creator Satoshi Nakamoto. He was accused of plotting to "steal from his dead best friend" Dave Kleiman, whose brother was suing for a 50% share of the Bitcoin that Satoshi mined. The jury ruled Kleiman's estate won't be entitled to any BTC, but will share $100 million in compensatory damages. What happened.

Making a profit on non-fungible tokens is much harder than it looks, a new report suggests. According to Chainalysis, there are tactics that can boost a digital art collector's chances of making money. The blockchain analytics firm says "whitelisting is key to success in trading newly minted NFTs" — and it is "nearly impossible" to achieve outsized returns unless a user is involved in a project from the early days. Find out some of the other tips for success — and how to get on a whitelist.

OpenSea has announced that it is hiring a chief financial officer for the very first time — but some of the company's future plans have sparked fierce criticism in crypto circles. Brian Roberts is moving to the NFT marketplace after spending seven years as the CFO of Lyft, and he told Bloomberg that a stock market debut is on the cards. Angry users want the company to distribute tokens to users instead, with one writing: "Their VCs didn’t get them to where they are today. We did." Our story.

Although the crypto markets have started to bounce back after the carnage seen over the weekend, some sectors were hit harder than others. Metaverse tokens suffered sharp sell-offs because they were predominantly owned by short-term holders. The downturn has also been especially pronounced in the decentralized finance market — and according to Bloomberg, an index tracking major DeFi tokens has failed to rebound after plunging 24% over the weekend. Check out the stats here.

Some 26% of Americans now own Bitcoin, according to a new report by Grayscale Research. That's compared with 23% in 2020, and comes as demand for BTC "has risen tremendously" following a dramatic bull run. Despite price fluctuations and unexpected bouts of volatility, it seems many investors have been determined to ride out any downturns. Here's a powerful statistic: 55% of current investors began purchasing crypto for the first time in the past 12 months. What the report says.

A crypto exchange in Australia has collapsed — meaning users may never get their funds back. MyCryptoWallet had been troubled for some time, and had been described as the country's "first zero-fee" exchange. Liquidation proceedings have now begun, and the insolvency firm SV Partners is urging anyone who has been affected to get in touch. This is the second Australian cryptocurrency exchange to collapse in as many months. Will the country tighten regulations as a result?