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Although investing in cryptocurrencies is volatile and risky, it is still very popular. According to the latest Crypto Wealth Report from British consultancy Henley & Partners, 425 million people worldwide are currently invested in some form of cryptocurrency, and more than half of Generation Z (ages 18-25) have cryptocurrencies in their portfolios. . The report also revealed that there are 88,200 people worldwide who claim to be cryptocurrency billionaires but have crypto assets of $1 million or more.
The total value of the cryptocurrency market is estimated at $1.18 trillion, and Singapore is the country with the largest number of cryptocurrency investors in the world. The United States is the fifth largest investor in cryptocurrencies.
As regulators continue to crack down on cryptocurrencies and large price fluctuations remain the norm, the popularity of cryptocurrencies and tokens is declining. News that exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will soon be approved for launch in the United States adds to the excitement. Here are our top three cryptocurrency picks for the rest of 2023.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Although the price is down 20% from its peak of $32,000 in July this year, there are still reasons to be optimistic about Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Currently around $25,700, the price of BTC has recently fallen along with the stock. Interestingly, bearish bets on Bitcoin are low despite the recent pullback. The activity of options traders on the SynFutures decentralized exchange indicates that they are not willing to bet on the continued decline of BTC.
SynFutures options moves in recent weeks, where it lost the $30,000 support level, are only a short-term deflection for Bitcoin, and the price may rise again soon. In a note to clients, SynFutures said that options trading activity “...[traders] do not see the $30,000 level turning into significant resistance, at least in the near term. Meanwhile, approval of any cryptocurrency ETF in the U.S. United will undoubtedly be a big boost for Bitcoin as it is the most traded digital asset.
Ripple (XRP)
US bank Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) made headlines in early August when an analyst predicted that the price of the cryptocurrency Ripple ( XRP-USD ) could reach $500. With XRP now trading for just 50 cents, the prediction of a price increase has caught the attention of cryptocurrencies. Of course, XRP has been down this year, rising 48% since January and nearly outpacing Bitcoin's 55% year-to-date gain. However, the current price of XRP is below the 5-year high of $1.65 that was reached in April 2021 during the cryptocurrency craze.
While some analysts gave XRP a price target of $10, Wells Fargo's forecast made a big difference. Wells Fargo analyst Shannon Thorpe says he sees all major financial institutions moving to hold XRP tokens following a recent court ruling that the cryptocurrency is not a security and should not be regulated like stocks. The price of XRP has risen 97% since the court ruling on July 13, though the entire cryptocurrency market has since retreated, giving back most of the gains.
Notably, several cryptocurrency exchanges that had previously delisted XRP, including Coinbase (NASDAQ: Coin ), relisted the digital token following the court ruling. Many analysts consider XRP to be one of the important cryptocurrencies that facilitate safe and fast financial transactions between blockchain networks.
Coinbase (COIN)
Although not a cryptocurrency per se, Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, and its stock has risen more than 130% this year since January. In August, Coinbase scored a big win when it was approved to offer cryptocurrency futures trading to retail investors in the United States . Previously, only institutional Coinbase customers could trade cryptocurrency futures.
Coinbase is expected to be the biggest winner of any crypto ETF that can be traded and traded by retail investors. Approval to offer futures trading to retail investors and potentially have cryptocurrency ETFs is a major victory for Coinbase in its fight with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in court.
In court, the SEC argued that Coinbase was operating illegally by not registering as a securities exchange. Coinbase is fighting back, and the consensus seems to be that the cryptocurrency exchange is helping boost its stock price by defeating the regulator in recent court rulings.
As of the date of publication, Joel Bagul holds no position (directly or indirectly) in any of the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author in accordance with InvestorPlace.com's publishing guidelines.
Joel Bagul has been a business journalist for 20 years. He spent five years as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and has written for The Washington Post and Toronto Star, as well as financial sites such as The Motley Fool and Investopedia.
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