NFT’s $10 billion Profit Gusher | Bitcoin’s Bear Swoon

BITCOIN WEAKNESS CONTINUES

Bitcoin prices suffered some weakness on Tuesday, falling close to $55,000, its lowest since mid-October, as market observers cited several factors as potentially triggering these declines. This represents an approximate 20% decline for its all-time high near $69,000 a couple of weeks ago. According to analysts, there is no single explanation for the fall, but some reasons include continued profit-taking from longer-term investors and ongoing fears about inflation. On the other hand, the dollar has risen in recent weeks, with the dollar index reaching its highest point in almost 18 months.

Source: Messari. Prices as of 2:00 p.m. on November 24, 2021.

AN OPEN SEA FOR NFTS

No company has benefited more from the rise of NFTs than marketplace OpenSea. In March 2020, a little over two years after going live in 2017, the company had just 4,000 active users doing $1.1 million in transactions a month, which translated (given OpenSea’s 2.5% sales commission) to a paltry $28,000 in monthly revenue. However, this past August as NFT hype (and FOMO) reached a fever pitch, volume spiked tenfold to $3.4 billion —an $85 million commission windfall for OpenSea in a month when it likely burned less than $5 million on expenses. Now there’s talk of another round of venture investment at a valuation that could reach $10 billion. However, to reach this lofty perch the company will need to fend off oncoming challengers such as Coinbase, Binance and FTX, which are launching their own marketplaces. Forbes Senior Editor Jeff Kauflin has the full story of OpenSea’s spectacular rise here.

ARE ALL BITCOINS CREATED EQUAL?

As interest in bitcoin mining grows, especially among investors in publicly traded bitcoin mining companies, many people are looking for ways to differentiate between this ostensibly homogenous group. Does one firm mine more efficiently than another? Does it depend on the energy source or physical location? Galaxy Digital, a Canadian-based trading firm, investor and miner is helping to answer this question by releasing a research report and open-source methodology for calculating the cost of mining bitcoins. Its revelations could help investors determine the best companies to back in 2022 and beyond.

ELSEWHERE

Ethereum Metaverse Tokens Keep Climbing: MANA, SAND Hit All-Time Highs [Decrypt]

Hackers Circle As Individual Investors Pour Cash Into Crypto [WSJ]

EToro To Limit Cardano And Tron For U.S. Customers; Coin Prices Fall [CoinDesk] 

Steven Ehrlich
Editor 
Forbes CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor

Nina Bambysheva
Reporter
Forbes Money & Markets

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