Despite the ongoing cryptocurrency bear market, investors have been increasingly looking at Bitcoin (BTC) as a safe haven, a new study suggests. The rise in correlation between Bitcoin and gold (XAU) is one of major indicators demonstrating investors’ confidence in BTC amid the ongoing economic downturn, according to digital strategists at the Bank of America. Bitcoin’s correlation with gold — which is commonly viewed as an inflation hedge — has been on the rise this year, hitting its highest yearly levels in early October. The growing correlation trend started on Sept. 5 after remaining close to zero from June 2021 …

An army of small Bitcoin (BTC) investors has been fighting with their larger counterparts for months to keep the price above $18,000. Bitcoin accumulation strong among fishes Notably, there has been some on-chain divergence between so-called whales (entities that hold more than 1,000 BTC) and fishes (entities that hold relatively smaller amounts of BTC) as Bitcoin continues to fluctuate inside the $18,000-$20,000 area. Bitcoin fishes have been accumulating BTC during the coin's sideways trend. For instance, the net Bitcoin supply held by addresses with 100-1,000 BTC balance has increased from 3.71 million in June to 3.77 million in October, according …

U.S. think tank Bitcoin Policy Institute is calling for the United States to reject Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and look to Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins as alternatives. In a whitepaper shared on Sept. 27, authors including Texas Bitcoin Foundation executive director Natalie Smolenski PhD, and former Kraken growth lead Dan Held argue CBDCs would strip the public of financial control, privacy and freedom. #CBDCs don’t solve any problem. They do extend state control to the last remaining free areas of individual economic life. My latest white paper for the #Bitcoin Policy Institute. ⬇️ https://t.co/PS4rOlvcOw — Natalie Smolenski (@NSmolenski) September …

Bitcoin's (BTC) month-to-date chart is very bearish, and the sub-$18,000 level seen over the weekend was the lowest price seen since December 2020. Bulls' current hope depends on turning $20,000 to support, but derivatives metrics tell a completely different story as professional traders are still extremely skeptical. It’s important to remember that the S&P 500 index dropped 11% in June, and even multi-billion dollar companies like Netflix, PayPal and Caesars Entertainment have corrected with 71%, 61% and 57% losses, respectively. The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points on June 15, and Federal …

Despite the financial volatility that has engulfed the global economic landscape over the last month or so, there seems to be no stopping the growth of the cryptocurrency market, especially the nonfungible token (NFT) sector. This growth is highlighted by the fact that crypto’s total market capitalization has increased from around $800 billion to $1.8 trillion since the start of 2021. Furthermore, a report from NonFungible.com released late last month reveals that sales associated with the NFT market ballooned to hit an all-time high of $17.6 billion during 2021, representing an increase of 21,000% from 2020. The report further suggests …

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway dumped a portion of its Visa and Mastercard holdings and increased exposure in Nubank, the largest fintech bank in Brazil that's also popular among the country's Bitcoin investors. In a securities filing late Monday, the industrials conglomerate disclosed that it had purchased $1 billion worth of Nubank Class A stock in Q4/2021. On the other hand, it sold $1.8 billion and $1.3 billion worth of Visa and Mastercard stock, respectively, signaling a shift away from credit companies to gain exposure in their fintech rivals. Buffett, the so-called "Oracle of Omaha," is popular for his cautious approach …

It appears that the U.S. will finally be moving forward to create its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) according to the Bank of America. Bank of America crypto strategists Andrew Moss and Alkesh Shah wrote in a Jan. 24 note that CBDCs “are an inevitable evolution of today’s electronic currencies,” according to a Bloomberg report. The analysts wrote: “We expect stablecoin adoption and use for payments to increase significantly over the next several years as financial institutions explore digital asset custody and trading solutions and as payments companies incorporate blockchain technology into their platforms.” Meanwhile, a Jan. 20 report …

Top U.S.-based banks and financial institutions have filled more than 1,000 positions for crypto experts in the past three years. According to a Nov. 1 report from Bloomberg, financial institutions are offering significant bonuses to attract crypto talent, with human resource consultant Johnson Associates estimating that crypto positions pay salaries that are between 20% and 30% higher than comparable positions not related to digital currency. The firm added that many senior crypto roles benefit an up to 50% bump in salary over comparable positions, with managing director Alan Johnson concluding: “The banks can’t run the risk that their clients go …

Welcome to the latest edition of Cointelegraph’s decentralized finance, or DeFi, newsletter. Blogging platform Mirror expanded to the public market this week. Read on to discover the impact of this move for Ethereum wallet holders. What you’re about to read is a more succinct version of the newsletter. For a comprehensive summary of DeFi’s developments over the last week, subscribe below. Mirror expands blockchain blogging to the public This week, Mirror, a decentralized publishing protocol focused on fostering data ownership and free expression, expanded its platform to the public market for the first time. In the previous version, a weekly …

Walt Disney, Fox Corporation, and JP Morgan are among a list of 20 publicly traded United States companies with some level of exposure to crypto and digital assets, based on data by Bank of America, or BofA. According to a BofA report published on Monday, companies like Morgan Stanley, Signature Bank and Warner Music Group also have some exposure to digital assets. In all, the 20 firms identified by BofA have their stocks rated as either “Buy” or “Neutral” by America’s second-largest bank by assets under management. As part of the report, BofA categorized these companies as seeking significant market …

The Bank of America Corporation (BoA) has published a research report offering a bullish outlook for the long-term prospects of cryptocurrency. The report, published on Monday by BoA subsidiary, BofA Securities, offers a nuanced appraisal of the digital asset sector that highlights innovation taking place within the decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) sectors. The report asserts that the cryptocurrency sector’s $2.15-trillion market capitalization is “too large to ignore,” highlighting that the digital asset ecosystem has evolved to encompass “so much more” than just Bitcoin (BTC). The report characterizes the sector as comprising “tokens that act like operating systems, …

Bank of America, one of the nation’s largest financial institutions based on total assets, believes El Salvador could have a lot to gain with its latest foray into Bitcoin (BTC). In a report published last week, analysts at the bank said El Salvador’s decision to recognize BTC as legal tender could streamline remittances, promote financial digitization, provide consumers with greater choice, and open up the country to American firms and digital currency miners. The bank noted that remittances account for a staggering 24% of El Salvador’s gross domestic product, but a sizable chunk of that goes toward transaction fees. “Using …