Ripple's XRP cryptocurrency soaring to new heights this week. Coindesk's Director of Research Nolan Bauerle and Fortune Staff Writer Robert Hackett explain factors driving altcoins up, and Bitcoin down.
"Bitcoin has an enviable problem of being so popular, and such strong brand name that it became hard to access," says Bauerle. "I think when people saw that surge hit in December they said well I'll try something else." Altcoins like Ripple's XRP, Ethereum, and Tron posted significant gains in the first week of 2018.
"Retail investors are gobbling it up," says Hackett on some companies adding the word "Blockchain" to their name. " On Thursday Ripple's co-founder Chris Larsen became one of the wealthiest Americans on paper with his shares of the cryptocurrency growing to more than $59 billion. But Hackett says its important to note these shares are hard to transfer to direct wealth. Even if he were able to cash out all of his fortune, the markets would not handle it well says Hackett.
Bobbi Rebell, financial expert and author of Launching Financial Grownups: Live Your Richest Life by Helping Your (Almost) Adult Kids Become Everyday Money Smart, gives some tips on how to negotiate your bills to save serious money.
JPMorgan said it plans to close 21 around 25 percent of First Republic's branch location by the end of the year. The financial giant purchased the regional bank after it effectively collapsed amid an ongoing crisis in the banking sector.
Airbnb sued New York City on Thursday over an ordinance that the company says imposes arbitrary restrictions that would greatly reduce the local supply of short-term rentals.
Rapper, producer and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs sued Diageo Wednesday, saying the spirits company didn’t make promised investments in his vodka and tequila brands and treated them as inferior “urban” products.
