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.
Stocks are rising again as a bit more fear evaporates from Wall Street. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% early Thursday. The benchmark index is on pace for its fifth gain in the last six days.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is set to pay almost $23 billion to stabilize the banking sector. That money comes from an insurance fund that is refilled through fees paid by banks. Now the agency is considering a special assessment on the entire industry to help make up the costs, according to a Bloomberg report.
About 61% of Americans say the economy is impacting their mental health, according to a PayPal survey. Shanthi Sarkar, vice president of financial services at PayPal, joined Cheddar News to break down some key takeaways from the survey and offer tips on saving and managing money.
Monthly VC funding fell below $20 billion in February, marking a two-year low. Jager McConnell, CEO of Crunchbase, joined Cheddar News to discuss the current funding climate and what lies ahead.
Longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is facing sharp questioning before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee where he is defending the company’s actions during an ongoing unionizing campaign.
