SATURDAY NIGHT LOW

Elon Musk’s net worth has taken a $20billion hit since the Tesla and SpaceX CEO hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

While the eccentric billionaire hosting the comedy sketch show was controversial, it was not the reason behind his net worth plunge.

Forbes reported Musk’s drop in wealth on Thursday, attributing the hit to cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Dogecoin, and Tesla losing value.

However, he is still worth around $145.5billion, making him the world’s second-richest man.

Bitcoin shares have taken a big hit in recent days after Musk announced on May 12 that Tesla would no longer accept it as payment for its electric vehicles.

CRYPTO CON

A teacher broke down in tears after losing her house deposit in a fake ‘Elon Musk’ Bitcoin scam.

Julie Bushnell said she felt ashamed and embarrassed after falling victim to the cryptocurrency con that cost her £9,000.

The scam was posted on a fraudulent website made to look like the BBC.

It used the name of entrepreneur billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to suggest she could double her money in a Bitcoin giveaway.

Julie, from Brighton, East Sussex, forked out $12,650 (£9,007) which she had saved for a deposit on her first home.

More on the story here.

HOW RISKY IS KISHU INU?

All cryptocurrencies are risky.

The pricing is volatile and you could lose all your money.

There is no regulation of individual coins so you are not protected if something goes wrong or if you have been scammed.

Newer coins such as Kishu Inu can also be more risky as they don’t have a long track record so it can be harder to verify their value and performance.

It is harder and can take longer compared with regulated investments to get your cash out, especially if you are dealing with a smaller exchange.

Many coins may also appear popular but could be part of pyramid schemes.

JACK DORSEY’S SQUARE HAS NO MORE PLANS TO BUY BITCOIN AFTER 20M LOSS

Fintech company Square, owned by Jack Dorsey, said it has no more plans to buy Bitcoin for its corporate treasuries after losing $20million in its investment in the last quarter.

“We don’t have any plans at this point to make further purchases,” Square’s chief financial officer Amrita Ahuja told Financial News.

“There’s no plans at this point to re-evaluate where we are from a treasury standpoint.”

NORTH KOREAN HACKERS THAT ‘RIVAL THE CIA’ STOLE $2 BILLION IN CYBERATTACKS, UN REPORT FINDS

ELON MUSK’S NET WORTH DROPS $20BILLION SINCE SNL APPEARANCE

ELON Musk’s net worth has taken a $20billion hit since the Tesla and SpaceX CEO hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

While the eccentric billionaire hosting the comedy sketch show was controversial, it was not the reason behind his net worth plunge.

Read more here.

ONLY A FEW COMPANIES ACCEPTING DOGECOIN AS SUPPLY OF CRYTOCURRENCY IS LIMITED

Few major companies accept Dogecoin for payment, and its supply is unlimited.

In contrast, bitcoin’s gains this year have been fuelled by growing mainstream adoption for payment, as well as a store of value given its limited supply.

“Dogecoin remains a lesson in greater fool theory,” said David Kimberley, analyst at investing app Freetrade, which posits that buying overpriced assets can be profitable, so long as there is a “greater fool” to buy them. 

BITCOIN EXPERIENCING ITS WORST WEEK SINCE FEBRUARY AS PRICE DROPS 13%

Bitcoin was heading on Friday for its worst week since February, while dogecoin leapt by a quarter, as the latest tweets on cryptocurrencies from Tesla boss Elon Musk sent the digital coins on a wild ride.

Bitcoin is down about 13% this week, and was last up 1.6% at $50,503. It has slumped over a fifth from its record of just under $65,000 hit last month.

Cryptocurrency markets have gyrated to Musk tweets for months, with his comments on dogecoin – a token started as a joke that has scant practical use – fuelling a hundred-fold rally this year.

Musk knocked bitcoin this week after tweeting that Tesla would stop accepting it for payment owing to environmental concerns.

“Toppy markets (are) looking for an excuse to breathe,” said Ben Sebley of crypto firm BCB Group. “Long money doesn’t care about Elon’s tweets. Fast money trades around that stuff now.”

CRYPTO MARKET CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE

It’s a tough day in the cryptocurrency markets, with the market down 1.3 per cent overall, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

However, different coins are having very different fortunes.

While Bitcoin is largely flat – down 1.9 percent – dogecoin appears to be making something of a comeback.

It’s up 23 per cent over the last 24 hours.

The coin’s better fortunes may be the result of Elon Musk’s indication that he is working on dogecoin in an attempt to make it cleaner.

SHIBA INU COIN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW CRYPTOCURRENCY

SHIBA Inu coins are one of the latest cryptocurrencies to hit the market – we round up five things you need to know.

It comes as crypto fans are on the hunt for the next success story to follow Bitcoin.

Read more here.

FACEBOOK-BACKED DIGITAL CURRENCY PROJECT DIEM SHIFTS TO US

A once-ambitious Facebook-backed digital currency project formerly known as Libra, now called Diem is shifting operations from Switzerland to the U.S. and said it plans to launch a cryptocurrency tied to the U.S. dollar later this year.

As part of the move, Diem said it is also withdrawing its application for a payment system license from the Swiss Financial Markets Authority, which it has not been able to secure thus far.

The Diem Association, which includes Facebook and 25 other companies, said Wednesday has it entered a partnership with Silvergate Capital Corp. to issue a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar.

A stablecoin is a digital currency backed by real-world assets such as national currencies or other commodities.

MUSK ‘STRONGLY BELIEVES IN CRYPTO’ AFTER TWEETS LED TO PLUNGE IN DIGITAL CURRENCY

Elon Musk says he still “strongly believes in crypto” after a series of his Tweets led to a huge plunge in the Bitcoin’s price.

“To be clear, I strongly believe in crypto, but it can’t drive a massive increase in fossil fuel use, especially coal,” he wrote in a new post today.

THE SUN EXPLAINS: WHAT IS CARDANO?

Cardano is a cryptocurrency that uses blockchain, making it difficult to be hacked.

It was launched in 2017 and set up by Charles Hoskinson, who was one of the eight co-founders of Bitcoin rival, Ethereum.

Every time someone buys or sells the cryptocurrency, it’s permanently recorded on the platform’s blockchain.

Unlike some other cryptocurrencies, the blockchain is more transparent so anyone can see it. It’s managed by the Cardano Foundation.

The “altcoin” has been designed to make sure that investors can have some say in how the currency is run. It means those who own Cardano have the right to vote on any proposed changes to the software, reports Coinmarketcap.

Read more here.

DAVE CHAPPELLE WADES IN ON ELON MUSK’S SNL APPEARANCE

The comedian spoke to Joe Rogan in a wide-ranging interview uploaded on Friday, in which he reflected in a three-hour-plus podcast on his own comedy career and said he didn’t understand the fuss over Musk’s hosting gig.

“Like you said, no one can be woke enough,” Chappelle told Rogan of those criticising the decision to invite Musk to the show.

“I’m torn, because I like a warrior for a good cause, but I’m really into tactics. You’re not going to nag people into behaving. … In fact, if you continue with this tone, even if you’re right, you’ll be very hard to hear.

NORTH KOREAN HACKERS THAT ‘RIVAL THE CIA’ STOLE $2 BILLION IN CYBERATTACKS, UN REPORT FINDS

THE SUN EXPLAINS: WHAT IS CRYPTO MINING?

Mining cryptocurrencies is a complex and energy-intensive process, which requires a lot of computer power.

Bitcoin is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, and the process for mining it is similar for other coins.

Mining Bitcoin requires a computer solving a difficult mathematical problem with a 64-digit solution. For each problem solved, one block of Bitcoin is processed. In addition, the miner is rewarded with new Bitcoin.

To compensate for the growing power of computer chips, the difficulty of the puzzles is adjusted to ensure a steady stream of new Bitcoins are produced each day.

There are only about 21million Bitcoins that can be mined, and roughly 18.5 million have been found so far.

ONLY A FEW COMPANIES ACCEPTING DOGECOIN AS SUPPLY OF CRYTOCURRENCY IS LIMITED

Few major companies accept Dogecoin for payment, and its supply is unlimited.

In contrast, bitcoin’s gains this year have been fuelled by growing mainstream adoption for payment, as well as a store of value given its limited supply.

“Dogecoin remains a lesson in greater fool theory,” said David Kimberley, analyst at investing app Freetrade, which posits that buying overpriced assets can be profitable, so long as there is a “greater fool” to buy them. 

BITCOIN EXPERIENCING ITS WORST WEEK SINCE FEBRUARY AS PRICE DROPS 13%

Bitcoin was heading on Friday for its worst week since February, while dogecoin leapt by a quarter, as the latest tweets on cryptocurrencies from Tesla boss Elon Musk sent the digital coins on a wild ride.

Bitcoin is down about 13% this week, and was last up 1.6% at $50,503. It has slumped over a fifth from its record of just under $65,000 hit last month.

Cryptocurrency markets have gyrated to Musk tweets for months, with his comments on dogecoin – a token started as a joke that has scant practical use – fuelling a hundred-fold rally this year.

Musk knocked bitcoin this week after tweeting that Tesla would stop accepting it for payment owing to environmental concerns.

“Toppy markets (are) looking for an excuse to breathe,” said Ben Sebley of crypto firm BCB Group. “Long money doesn’t care about Elon’s tweets. Fast money trades around that stuff now.”

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF CRYPTO INVESTMENTS?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned people about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.

• Consumer protection: Some investments advertising high returns based on cryptoassets may not be subject to regulation beyond anti-money laundering requirements. 
• Price volatility: Significant price volatility in cryptoassets, combined with the inherent difficulties of valuing cryptoassets reliably, places consumers at a high risk of losses.
• Product complexity: The complexity of some products and services relating to cryptoassets can make it hard for consumers to understand the risks. There is no guarantee that cryptoassets can be converted back into cash. Converting a cryptoasset back to cash depends on demand and supply existing in the market. 
• Charges and fees: Consumers should consider the impact of fees and charges on their investment which may be more than those for regulated investment products.  
• Marketing materials: Firms may overstate the returns of products or understate the risks involved.

MILEY CYRUS SAYS SHE DOESN’T UNDERSTAND DOGECOIN

Elon Musk may have dubbed himself The Dogefather – but his SNL musical guest Miley Cyrus doesn’t have a clue when it comes to Dogecoin.

The singer, 28, shared a tweet of her practicing her scales ahead of her Saturday Night Live performance – and poked fun at the complexities of the cryptocurrency.

The virtual “money” started as an internet parody more than seven years ago, according to CNN, but has since become a legitimate digital currency.

Jackson Palmer, an Australian marketer, made a joke about combining cryptocurrency and the Doge meme in 2013, but that joke has taken on a life of its own: its market cap is now over $17 billion.

Dogecoin is simply a digital coin with a picture of dog on it, according to CNET. That dog is the subject of an internet meme of a Shibe with an “inner monologue” featuring phrases like “so scare,” “much noble,” and “wow.”

SPACEX VP WILL APPLY CRYTOCURRENCY ‘BEYOND EARTH’S ORBIT’ DOGECOIN TO FUND MOON MISSION

SpaceX vice president of commercial sales Tom Ochinero said in a statement that DOGE-1 “will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce.”

“We’re excited to launch DOGE-1 to the Moon!” Ochinero said.

BITCOIN EXPERIENCING ITS WORST WEEK SINCE FEBRUARY AS PRICE DROPS 13%

Bitcoin was heading on Friday for its worst week since February, while dogecoin leapt by a quarter, as the latest tweets on cryptocurrencies from Tesla boss Elon Musk sent the digital coins on a wild ride.

Bitcoin is down about 13% this week, and was last up 1.6% at $50,503. It has slumped over a fifth from its record of just under $65,000 hit last month.

Cryptocurrency markets have gyrated to Musk tweets for months, with his comments on dogecoin – a token started as a joke that has scant practical use – fuelling a hundred-fold rally this year.

Musk knocked bitcoin this week after tweeting that Tesla would stop accepting it for payment owing to environmental concerns.

“Toppy markets (are) looking for an excuse to breathe,” said Ben Sebley of crypto firm BCB Group. “Long money doesn’t care about Elon’s tweets. Fast money trades around that stuff now.”

WATCH: WHAT IS THE CRYPTOCURRENCY DOGECOIN?

DAVE CHAPPELLE WADES IN ON ELON MUSK’S SNL APPEARANCE

The comedian spoke to Joe Rogan in a wide-ranging interview uploaded on Friday, in which he reflected in a three-hour-plus podcast on his own comedy career and said he didn’t understand the fuss over Musk’s hosting gig.

“Like you said, no one can be woke enough,” Chappelle told Rogan of those criticising the decision to invite Musk to the show.

“I’m torn, because I like a warrior for a good cause, but I’m really into tactics. You’re not going to nag people into behaving. … In fact, if you continue with this tone, even if you’re right, you’ll be very hard to hear.”

FACEBOOK-BACKED DIGITAL CURRENCY PROJECT DIEM SHIFTS TO US

A once-ambitious Facebook-backed digital currency project formerly known as Libra, now called Diem is shifting operations from Switzerland to the U.S. and said it plans to launch a cryptocurrency tied to the U.S. dollar later this year.

As part of the move, Diem said it is also withdrawing its application for a payment system license from the Swiss Financial Markets Authority, which it has not been able to secure thus far.

The Diem Association, which includes Facebook and 25 other companies, said Wednesday has it entered a partnership with Silvergate Capital Corp. to issue a stablecoin backed by the U.S. dollar.

A stablecoin is a digital currency backed by real-world assets such as national currencies or other commodities.