SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said that cryptocurrencies are a highly speculative and volatile investment vehicle.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler tweeted a Twitter space session in which he discussed the risks of cryptocurrency investments with SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw on Jan. 27.

Speaking to the US army, Gensler said that cryptocurrencies are a highly speculative and volatile investment instrument. He went on to say that several crypto projects are unregistered securities, as they do not comply with securities law.

The SEC chairman has stated that the commission should register many crypto projects because they qualify as securities. However, the crypto community has accused the regulator of employing “regulation by enforcement” tactics.

Gensler on How to Spot Fraud Projects

Gary Gensler gave advice on how investors can spot crypto scam projects. According to Gensler, a project can be a scam if it doesn’t prove it’s compliant or can’t provide adequate information about how it works or what it does. He added that other signs that a project might be a scam would be its inability to explain what it is about.

Other signs highlighted by the regulatory chief included projects offering very high and unsustainable returns. He advised crypto investors to think before investing, adding that they should not get caught up in fear of missing out (FOMO).

Commissioner Crenshow repeated Gensler’s warning. She said the following:

“The bottom line is that there is increased risk when investing in these novel, speculative and volatile investments that really lack basic protections and regulations. So if you are considering investing in crypto, consider how much of your portfolio you are putting into it, and certainly no more than you can afford to lose.”

SEC Intensifies Crypto Regulation Efforts

Following the FTX collapse in November 2022, the SEC has intensified its efforts to bring the crypto industry into compliance. The financial watchdog accused FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of defrauding investors with his trading platform.

The regulator filed charges against bankrupt lender Genesis and cryptocurrency exchange Gemini over their now-defunct Earn program. According to the regulator, the program was not registered with a commission, as required by federal securities laws.

More recently, reports revealed that the SEC has increased scrutiny of crypto companies planning to go public. Stablecoin issuer Circle said its public listing efforts failed because it was unable to get regulatory approval. Grayscale has also seen his plan to turn its Bitcoin Trust into an ETF sunk by the financial regulator. It should be remembered that earlier this month, Grayscale’s chief legal officer, Craig Salm, stated that the firm’s proposal to convert its trust into a spot ETF satisfies the law. He further claimed that the ETF is designed to prevent fraud and manipulation while protecting investors and the public interest.

By Audy Castaneda

Cardano’s course could continue to rise or lose a lot due to a crypto crash.

January 2023 was one of the most successful months for the Cardano (ADA) price since the start of the bear market. The course has gone from a very low $0.24 to over $0.37 in recent weeks. Will the price increase continue in the coming weeks? What is the Cardano forecast for February?

Cardano (ADA) price has seen a stronger rise in recent weeks, rehabilitating itself after heavy losses in late 2022. Cardano price has risen from $0.24 to over $0.38 in the last 3 to 4 weeks. This increase was more than 50 percent.

The percentage increase was even higher than the one in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The ADA token has been one of the most successful cryptocurrencies of 2023 so far. Cardano came from a very low point. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the ADA token still experienced very significant losses.

Why Could the Cardano Price Go up So Much?

The market woke up again in early 2023. The price of Bitcoin was able to rally above $17,000 in the early days of 2023. With a break of this resistance, Bitcoin was able to rally massively, causing the market to explode. Of course, this also caused massive increases for the ADA token.

Nevertheless, the Cardano course was able to rise considerably in the early days. The cryptocurrency reacted particularly strongly to the bull market, as in the previous weeks, the ADA token had to accept painful losses. 2023 has been a rally so far, which explains the stronger increases at the beginning of the year.

What is the Cardano Forecast for February 2023?

In recent weeks, the Cardano price has finally been able to reflect how the network has evolved, because especially in the bear market, there are always very good developments in the background. The Vasil upgrade took place on Cardano, and this is the first step of the Basho development phase, which aims to increase scalability on Cardano.

With Vasil alone, the Cardano network has gained scalability. Moreover, in recent months it became known that Cardano is now the number 3 Blockchain for NFTs. These developments are ultimately reflected in the price, and could also cause the price to rise in February.

However, as always, the market development in general has the last word. If the market remains bullish, and the Bitcoin price rises above the $23,000 resistance, the Cardano price could continue to rise. However, if a Bitcoin crash is imminent, Cardano or the ADA token should lose more again.

Where is Cardano Price in the February Forecast?

Cardano’s course could continue to rise or lose a lot due to a crypto crash.

In the first scenario, a continuation of the Bitcoin price rise can be seen, as well as no events that cause the market to fall. In this case one Cardano forecast of $0.45 to $0.55 by the end of February could be assumed.

In the second scenario, another cryptographic crash occurs. Therefore, an insolvency of Digital Currency Group could lead to such an event. If this happens, there could be a sharp drop of the Cardano rate, from $0.22 to $0.30, until the end of the month.

By Audy Castaneda

A year ago this week, Paris Hilton appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss her Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs.

A year ago this week, Jimmy Fallon and Paris Hilton got together on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to show off their NFTs. Both Hilton and Fallon had purchased “Bored Apes” from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT Collection. It was a project that, even then, was synonymous with “expensive JPEGs”.

“Last time you were on the show, I asked you to explain NFTs,” Fallon said, with his usual plastic charm, “and you did it in a great way.” As a gracious host, Fallon later named Hilton one of Forbes’ 50 Most Influential People in NFTs. The socialite responded with one of the most banal series of words ever put together, as follows:

“Thank you, I am very proud. I love being a part of this community, being a voice and sharing my platform, and just getting the word out. Because I think it’s such an amazing thing.”

The damning coverage was impossible to ignore: Forbes, The Atlantic, The Telegraph, VICE, The Cut. This was public interest journalism; two rich people talking about their exorbitant monkeys. It was funny, it was reportedly embarrassing, among other things.

Jimmy Fallon?

The whole brand and vibe is the exact opposite of what Web3 and the vision of decentralization is supposed to be. The idea is not exactly to help the rich get richer.

That same month, reports that Justin Bieber paid $1.3 million for a BAYC NFT only added to the animosity. By the spring of last year, the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s celebrity roster was packed with household names.

Despite the cries of “shame” from the cheap seats, maybe Yuga Labs (the creators of BAYC) were onto something. Hilton’s appearance on Fallon’s show coincided with an increase in the BAYC minimum price.

However, the higher prices did not necessarily mean that people thought of BAYC as less embarrassing. An appearance on one of America’s most popular talk shows is a bullish sign.

BAYC and NFT Brand Damage

The extensive media coverage of celebrities and their boring overalls seemingly did little for the broader NFT brand. A February 2022 survey of UK residents by YouGov showed that 43% of respondents would feel less favorable if a business started offering NFTs. Only 3% of respondents would feel more favorable.

There is also a big difference in people’s perceived value depending on whether or not they own one. According to a survey conducted by Variety magazine, consumer perceptions of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been declining, especially among those who have not purchased them.

The power of shame has meant that even bullish companies like Reddit have moved away from the term NFT, opting instead for the term ‘Collectible Avatars’.

By Audy Castaneda