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Dogecoin rallies on Elon Musk tweet, anticipated Coinbase itemizing

Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Dogecoin rose more than 40% early Friday after a tweet from supporter Elon Musk and, as Coinbase said, it would list the meme-inspired cryptocurrency.

According to Coin Metrics, the price of Dogecoin rose to an intraday high of around 55 cents at 2:30 a.m.CET. It’s still down 18% from a record high of almost 67 cents a week ago.

Musk tweeted Thursday that he is working with Dogecoin developers to improve transaction efficiency.

On Wednesday, Tesla’s CEO surprisingly announced that his electric car company would no longer accept Bitcoin as a form of payment due to concerns about its environmental impact.

This resulted in a brutal sell-off of cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin. Dogecoin had already fallen significantly after Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, in which he described the digital coin as “hustle and bustle”.

Meanwhile, the crypto exchange platform Coinbase announced on Thursday that it would be offering Dogecoin support for the next six to eight weeks. Many crypto traders have chosen the zero-fee investment app Robinhood to trade with the meme token. Now Coinbase’s move could lead to more trading activity.

Dogecoin is not taken very seriously by loyal Bitcoin supporters. It started as a joke in 2013, inspired by the “Doge” meme, but has since found a growing online community. Dogecoin is now the fourth largest crypto by market value on CoinMarketCap, valued at over $ 69 billion.

Financial experts warn that Dogecoin is a highly speculative asset. It has fueled concerns about a possible bubble in the crypto markets – although some economists would say that all cryptocurrencies are in a bubble.

Last week, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warned crypto investors “be ready to lose all your money,” reiterating a similar warning from the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

Bitcoin was marginally higher on Friday, with the world’s largest digital asset gaining about 0.3% at $ 49,052. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, rose 3.6% to $ 3,805.

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Bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) costs rally forward of Coinbase itemizing

The Coinbase logo is displayed on a smartphone.

Chris Delmas | AFP via Getty Images

LONDON – Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies hit new heights on Wednesday. Traders were waiting for Coinbase’s much-anticipated debut.

According to data from Coin Metrics, the world’s most valuable digital coin rose to an all-time high of $ 64,841 on Wednesday morning. The price of ether, the second largest sign by market value, briefly hit the $ 2,400 level for the first time.

As of 8:30 a.m. ET, Bitcoin was trading at $ 6.24,248, up 2.2%, while Ether rose 4.5% to $ 2,390. Other Bitcoin alternatives also rose, with XRP rising 0.5% to $ 1.81 and Cardano hitting a new price record of $ 1.56.

Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States, will go public on Wednesday via a landmark direct listing that could value the company at up to $ 100 billion. The Nasdaq gave Coinbase a reference price of $ 250 per share, which, if fully diluted, would value the company at around $ 65.3 billion.

Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency company to go public. According to CoinMarketCap, it is the second largest exchange for digital assets in the world in terms of trading volume. With its easy-to-use app, crypto was brought into the mainstream. The company had estimated sales of $ 1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2021 as the value of Bitcoin and other tokens skyrocketed.

The company’s public listing has sparked renewed excitement in the crypto market, and some investors have referred to this as a “turning point” for the industry. According to analysts, the Coinbase debut shows that crypto has matured significantly in the past two to three years – but it is still in its infancy and continues to be marred by price volatility and regulatory uncertainties.

Bitcoin’s comeback – the price of which more than doubled in 2021 – was marked by big bets from mainstream investors. Tesla invested $ 1.5 billion in the token earlier this year, and Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley wanted to offer their wealthy customers some exposure to crypto.

Bitcoin bulls see it as a kind of “digital gold” that does not correlate with other assets and can serve as a hedge against rising inflation. However, skeptics say the digital asset is still very speculative and consider it to be one of the largest market bubbles in history.

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Baidu Hong Kong itemizing to boost not less than $Three billion

Robin Li, General Manager of Baidu.

Nelson Ching | Bloomberg | Getty Images

GUANGZHOU, China – Baidu will raise $ 3.6 billion in an upcoming Hong Kong secondary listing if stocks are valued at the high end of their range.

On Thursday, the Nasdaq-listed Chinese technology giant published its prospectus for the Hong Kong listing. Baidu will issue 95,000,000 Class A common shares at a price not exceeding 295 Hong Kong dollars or US $ 38.05.

At that high end, Baidu’s net proceeds from the offering will be Hong Kong $ 27.6 billion, or $ 3.6 billion.

The banks that subscribe to the listing also have the option to purchase up to 14,250,000 additional shares. That would bring the net proceeds from the deal to Hong Kong $ 31.8 billion, or $ 4.1 billion.

The final price for the shares will be determined in part by the price of the US-listed Baidu shares on the last trading day prior to the price of the global offering, which is expected to occur on or about March 17, the company said.

Earlier in the day, CNBC reported that Baidu will raise at least $ 3 billion, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The listing will be completed before the end of the month, they said.

The book-making process could begin as early as Friday with final stock pricing, which will be announced late next week. This was announced by the person on CNBC, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the details of the deal are not yet public.

Baidu declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.

Diversification plans

Baidu could also benefit from a huge 128% surge in its shares over the past 12 months to raise capital.

While Baidu is traditionally known for its search and advertising business, more recently it has looked to diversify.

The company has focused on its autonomous auto business and is creating independent companies. CNBC reported in February that Baidu plans to raise money for an artificial intelligence semiconductor company.

Baidu has also built a standalone electric vehicle business with automaker Geely and is raising money for a biotechnology company.

The company said it will use the proceeds from the Hong Kong listing to invest in technology and commercialize its artificial intelligence products, improve monetization and diversify, and for general corporate purposes.