Aptos Soars 391.8%: Reaches All-Time High of $19.92

• Aptos (APT), a layer one blockchain asset, has increased 391.8% against the U.S. dollar in the past 30 days, reaching an all-time high of $19.92 on Jan. 26th, 2023.
• The project is supported by venture capital firms, as well as by two developers who previously worked on Meta’s Diem project.
• Aptos is the 28th largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, with a current market capitalization of $2.83 billion and a circulating supply of 160.54 million APT tokens.

Aptos, a layer one blockchain asset, has been on a remarkable run since it went live in mid-October 2022. After trading at around $3.08 per coin on Dec. 29, 2022, the price of the token soared to an all-time high of $19.92 per unit on Jan. 26, 2023. This represents an increase of 391.8% in the past 30 days and a rise of 474% since the all-time low of $3.08 per coin.

The cryptocurrency was created by two developers who previously worked on Meta’s Diem project before it was discontinued. The project has also recently been supported by venture capital firms such as Parafi, Andreessen Horowitz, and Multicoin Capital.

Currently, aptos is the 28th largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, with a total market capitalization of around $2.83 billion. The token has a circulating supply of 160.54 million APT tokens, and in the last 24 hours, the token has seen $813 million in global trading volume.

Although some traders attempted to short the market during the climb in value, many were ultimately unsuccessful. This surge in value has been attributed to the growth of decentralized finance, infrastructure support, and NFTs.

All these factors have combined to create an incredibly bullish market for aptos, and the token has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon. With a market capitalization of $2.83 billion and a circulating supply of 160.54 million APT tokens, the potential for further growth is huge and the future of the token looks very bright indeed.

Dr. Doom Warns Investors to Absolutely Stay Away from Crypto

• NYU Professor Nouriel Roubini, aka Dr. Doom, warned that 99.99% of crypto is a scam and advised investors to „absolutely stay away“ from it.
• He claimed that most people in the crypto space are „all crooks“ and shared his opinion on the collapsed crypto exchange FTX and its disgraced founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
• He advised against investing in cryptocurrencies and noted that 99% of bitcoin investors bought the cryptocurrency “well above the current market value.”

New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business professor of economics and international business, Nouriel Roubini, more commonly known as “Dr. Doom”, warned investors to “absolutely stay away” from cryptocurrency during an interview with Yahoo Finance Live Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He warned that “99.99% of crypto is a scam, a criminal activity, a total real-bubble Ponzi scheme that is going bust”.

Roubini is both the chairman of Roubini Global Economics, a global macroeconomic and market strategy research firm that he co-founded, and is infamous for his predictions of the 2008 Financial Crisis. He believes that most people in the crypto space are “all crooks”. He shared his opinion on the collapsed crypto exchange FTX and its disgraced founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). FTX filed for bankruptcy last November and SBF is currently facing several fraud charges, all of which he has pleaded not guilty to.

“FTX and SBF are not an exception — they’re a rule,” Roubini exclaimed.

Roubini advised against investing in cryptocurrencies and noted that 99% of bitcoin investors bought the cryptocurrency “well above the current market value”. He suggested that these investors “lost their shirts” when bitcoin skyrocketed from $20,000 to $69,000. He also highlighted the “nightmare” of investing in bitcoin when the market value was so much higher than the current rate.

Dr. Doom’s warnings have not been the only ones to come out. Numerous financial advisors, economists, and investors have all warned that cryptocurrency is a high-risk investment. But despite widespread warnings, cryptocurrency continues to be a popular investment among those looking for quick and high returns.

Whether or not investors heed the warnings of Dr. Doom and other financial professionals, cryptocurrency remains a high-risk investment that investors should be wary about. It is important for any investor to understand the risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies before taking the plunge.

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Set to Increase 10% on Jan 15

Bulletpoints:
1. Bitcoin’s mining difficulty is set to increase significantly on January 15, 2023.
2. The network’s hash rate is currently at 268.79 exahash per second and the blockchain’s computational power reached an all-time high on January 6, 2023.
3. Foundry USA and Antpool command nearly half of Bitcoin’s global hashrate.

The Bitcoin network is preparing for a notable difficulty increase in three days, on or around January 15, 2023. This difficulty increase is estimated to be around 10%, raising the difficulty from 34.09 trillion to an all-time high of 37.57 trillion. This will make it more difficult to find and add new blocks to the blockchain, meaning that miners will need to increase their hash rate in order to remain profitable.

The Bitcoin network’s hash rate is currently at 268.79 exahash per second (EH/s) and the blockchain’s computational power reached an all-time high on January 6, 2023. At that time, the network’s hash power was at 361.20 EH/s. The block interval, or the average amount of time it takes for a new block to be added to the blockchain, is designed to be around 10 minutes per block. However, due to the fact that the last difficulty change was on January 2, 2023, the block intervals have been faster. This means that the difficulty retarget on January 15 will be a notable increase that has not been seen since October 2022.

Foundry USA and Antpool are two of the largest miners in the Bitcoin network, controlling nearly half of the global hashrate. Foundry USA, a subsidiary of the Digital Currency Group, controls nearly 18% of the network’s hash rate. Antpool, a Chinese-based mining pool, controls nearly 30% of the network’s hash rate. Both companies are expected to increase their hash rates in order to prepare for the upcoming difficulty increase.

The upcoming difficulty increase is expected to have an impact on the Bitcoin network, and miners will need to make sure they are prepared in order to remain profitable. The increase in difficulty is expected to result in a higher hash rate, which will make it more difficult to mine new blocks. With the network’s hash rate currently at an all-time high, miners need to make sure they are prepared for the upcoming difficulty increase in order to remain competitive.

Nexo Investigated for Money Laundering, Sanctions Violations

Bullet Points
• Bulgarian law enforcement officials are investigating crypto lender Nexo for alleged money laundering and sanctions violations.
• Bulgarian law enforcement raided Nexo’s offices on Jan. 12, 2023 as part of the investigation.
• Nexo has denied any wrongdoing and stated that they have always held stringent anti-money laundering and know-your-customer policies.

The Bulgarian law enforcement officials have recently launched a large-scale investigation into crypto lender Nexo for allegedly violating sanctions against Russia and committing money laundering crimes. The investigation, which involves 300 investigators from various agencies, including the National Security Service, Gendarmerie, and Sofia Police, is being led by spokesperson for Bulgaria’s attorney general, Siika Mileva.

On Jan. 12, 2023, the Bulgarian law enforcement officials raided the offices of cryptocurrency lender Nexo as part of their investigation. According to Svetlio Vasilev, head of Bulgaria’s cybercrime unit, a client of the platform who transferred cryptocurrency has been officially declared an organizer of terrorist activity. More than 15 addresses are being searched, and new persons of interest are being established.

Following the story, Nexo released a statement on Twitter denying any wrongdoing. The company stated that they have always held stringent anti-money laundering and know-your-customer policies and have turned down a lot of business because of these policies. They further added that this is how they have built a sustainable business, but unfortunately, with the recent regulatory crackdown on crypto, they are now facing this investigation.

The Bulgarian law enforcement officials are continuing their investigation into Nexo and it remains to be seen who will be charged with the crimes. The outcome of the investigation will have a significant impact not only on Nexo but also on the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.