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.
Chris Salgardo, founder and CEO at Atwater, joined Cheddar News to discuss how the company is making men's personal care mainstream. “I think that the simplicity of it is what's really resonated,” he said.
Thanh Nguyen, CEO, and co-founder of OpenComp, joined Cheddar News to discuss salary trends and how to negotiate a raise amid historically high inflation and recent data on compensation.
John Haar, managing director of Swan Private Client Services at Swan Bitcoin, joined Cheddar News to discuss the different forces which affected the price of the cryptocurrency in 2022.
Bed Bath & Beyond on Thursday warned investors that bankruptcy is now on the table, as a turnaround effort begun in the third quarter failed to right the firm's financial ship.
