It has been an incredible year for Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency crossed the $1,000 mark on New Year's Day 2017. It was a headline maker that was a hint of things to come. Now it is trading below $15,000, after reaching a high of $20,000 earlier this month. This episode of The Crypto Craze dives into the biggest stories of the year in cryptocurrency, and looks at how several start-ups are disrupting industry with blockchain technology.
Cryptocurrency network iCash just launched a digital billboard in Times Square. The advertising campaign just in time for an estimated 1 million people will gather to ring in the new year. iCash's Chief Economist Max Wolff explains the message he hopes these billboards send. "We'd like to be part of the future and that's what new years eve is all about," says Wolff. "We think we are part of the future for everyone's that interested in cryptocurrency."
CryptoBnB is banking on blockchain to transform the travel industry. The company's founder and CEO Tariq Alwahedi explains how this start-up can transform the travel booking industry. "We are building a new disruptive technology," says Alwahedi. He says CryptoBnB is applying blockchain for short term rental application. CryptoBnB is currently in beta stage.
Blockchain has the power to transform the healthcare industry. That's according to cyberneticist Jonny Dubowsky. He explains how this technology can impact the way we protect and distribute data. "We are just exposing the utility and value of blockchain," says Dubowsky. He compares bitcoin to the dot com bubble, and says he we might have further corrections. My Personal Therapeutics is now using blockchain technology to protect and eventually monetize personal data.
The NASDAQ’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Platforms breaks down why you’ll probably see a lot of companies going public in September and December.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.