Bitcoin was in rally mode on Friday, ascending to a two-week high above $40,000. More specifically, the cryptocurrency BTCUSD, +2.21% was trading at around $40,245 on Friday with a nearly 10% gain over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk data. Bitcoin is still about 42% below its all-time high of $68,991 in November. The…

Despite their volatile and occasionally inscrutable nature, cryptocurrencies are becoming more widely traded, used and held — El Salvador recently started accepting Bitcoin as legal tender, the Federal Reserve is studying whether to issue its own digital coin, and wealth managers are encouraging clients to explore crypto assets.So how does a new investor make sense…

India on Tuesday announced plans to launch a digital currency by next year and tax cryptocurrencies and NFTs as the country moves closer to recognizing cryptocurrencies as legal tender in the world’s second largest internet market. Income from the transfer of any virtual assets will be taxed at 30%, the nation’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman…

Cryptocurrency like bitcoin BTCUSD, +1.27% and ethereum ETHUSD, +4.07% have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, and are now traded by both retail investors and big companies like Citibank and Tesla TSLA, -0.52%. During parts of 2021, the total crypto market cap approached $3 trillion. The crypto craze allowed companies like Robinhood HOOD, +2.82% to…

Hello! Welcome back to Distributed Ledger, our weekly crypto newsletter that reaches your inbox every Thursday. I’m Frances Yue, crypto reporter at MarketWatch, and I’ll walk you through the latest and greatest in digital assets this week so far. Find me on Twitter at @FrancesYue_ to send feedback or tell us what you think we…

A growing number of factors suggest a “crypto winter” could be on its way, analysts at UBS have warned. The case for bitcoin as a currency and inflation hedge is dwindling, and its tech has several flaws, they said. Bitcoin has fallen sharply in recent weeks as investors brace for the Federal Reserve to raise…