<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian told <a href="http://fortune.com/2018/05/02/reddit-alexis-ohanian-bitcoin/">Fortune in a recent interview</a> about his love of CryptoKitties, a popular game about collecting and breeding virtual felines on the blockchain.</strong></li><li><strong><strong>Ohanian says that CryptoKitties has become so popular because people on the internet love cats. That's because cat owners don't really get to socialize with other cat owners in real life, so they take it online.</strong></strong></li></ul><p>Reddit cofounder and Initialized Capital investor Alexis Ohanian knows how the internet works.</p><p>In an interview with&#xa0;<a href="http://fortune.com/2018/05/02/reddit-alexis-ohanian-bitcoin/">Fortune published Wednesday</a>, Ohanian admitted that he owns a number of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ethereum-cryptokitties-collectible-2018-1">CryptoKitties&#xa0;</a>-&#xa0;a blockchain-based game consisting of collecting, breeding and trading virtual felines. It's become popular among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, and some players have sold their kitties for <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/06/meet-cryptokitties-the-new-digital-beanie-babies-selling-for-100k.html">upwards of $100,000</a>.</p><p>More importantly, he knew why the game is so successful:&#xa0;"It's because the Internet loves cats," Ohanian told Fortune. " And he presented a compelling reason as to why that is.&#xa0;</p><p><span>He continued, "The reason cats are so popular on the Internet is because cat owners never got to associate or hang out with other cat owners doing cat-owner things," Ohanian said in the interview. "Until the Internet came along."</span></p><p><span>He compares the camaraderie between dog owners in a dog park, to cat owners virtually bonding over their feline friends online.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>Ohanian's theory may be pretty spot on, considering he's both a proud cat owner and a cofounder of the "front page of the internet." Indeed, there are many, many cats on Reddit.</span></p><p>&#xa0;</p><p class="tagline"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/bitcoin-101?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_content=fintech_ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_campaign=fintech_ctgr_leadgen_bitcoin-101"></a></p><div></div><div></div><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-dog-breeds-look-different-cats-do-not-science-breeding-pedigree-animals-2018-1">Why dog breeds look so different but cats don't</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian has a great theory on why the internet loves cats so much

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Non-fungible tokens account for a $250 million market that is continuing to grow.</li><li>NFT investments operate on the same deflationary principles as Bitcoin.</li><li>Many celebrities buy and sell NFTs online for thousands of dollars.</li></ul><p>Non-fungible tokens or NFTs - products that operate as digital assets - have grown to encompass a $250 million market, according to a <a href="https://nonfungible.com/nft-report-2020">2020 report</a> from tech tracking company L'Atelier BNP Paribas and nonfungible.com.</p><p>NFT creators have made millions. On Sunday, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/grimes-nft-art-warnymph-sells-for-millions-20-minutes-2021-3">Grimes made $5.8 million in under 20 minutes selling her digital collection WarNymph</a> on the NFT trading platform Nifty Gateway.</p><p>NFT collectors have also profited off the boom in digital tokens. Last week, an art collector <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/retail-trading-nfts/insight-how-a-10-second-video-clip-sold-for-6-6-million-idUKL8N2KV6X9">sold a 10-second video artwork for $6.6 million</a> after buying the Beeple project for $67,000 in October.</p><p>NFT investments <a href="https://news.bitcoin.com/blockchain-backed-nft-market-value-grew-299-in-2020/">rose 299% in 2020</a>, gaining popularity as cryptocurrencies like <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/bitcoin-btc-price-record-high-market-cap-cryptocurrency-1-trillion-2021-2-1030096685">Bitcoin continued to boom</a>, according to the report. </p><p>However, NFTs operate differently from digital currencies. Unlike popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether, NFTs cannot be directly exchanged with one another.</p><h2>What is an NFT?</h2><p>NFTs are a special class of digital assets that cannot be exchanged with one another for equal value or broken down into smaller values like most currencies.</p><p>No one NFT is the same as another, they are characterized by their unique qualities, as well as authenticity. The digital tokens often operate as a type of collectors item and cannot be duplicated.</p><p>NFT products encompass a whole range of elements, including anything from crypto artwork and digital fashion items to collectible sports cards, virtual real estate and characters.</p><p>Globally recognized brands like <a href="https://nftnyc.medium.com/nikes-dec-2019-patent-reveals-revolutionary-nft-use-a74c115bd0c">Nike</a>, <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/louis-vuitton-owner-lvmh-is-launching-a-blockchain-to-track-luxury-goods">Louis Vuitton</a>, as well as the NBA have already begun generating NFT-based consumer goods and services.</p><p>Some of the top traded NFT brands, according to <a href="https://cryptoslam.io/">digital trading site Crypto Slam</a>, include NBA Top Shot, Crypto Punks, and Street Fighter.</p><p>The most popular NFT platform - NBA Top Shot - has sold nearly $270 million worth of unique NBA video highlights. The platform has seen about $10 million in sales in the past 24 hours, according to Crypto Slam.</p><p>Another popular NFT, CryptoPunks, was one of the first NFTs sold on the Ethereum blockchain in 2017 - the second largest <keyword id="6357017" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</keyword> platform, outside of Bitcoin.</p><p>In order to purchase an NFT, buyers must use digital currencies like Ethereum's Ether (ETH) orWorld Asset eXchange (WAX). While ETH is one of the most popular NFT currencies, each platform chooses its digital wallet service. WAX is popular for virtual character and video game related NFT purchases. </p><p>New NFTs have already begun to pick up steam. Street Fighter - an NFT that was released just a week ago - has already hit the top 10 most-traded digital assets. Street Fighter uses WAX and allows collectors to own unique characters from the 1987 arcade game.</p><p>One of the most popular NFT sectors is the multiverse, which includes digital assets that can be bought for an alternate, fully virtual reality. </p><p>NFT buyers interested in virtual assets can buy digital land and real estate, as well as virtual gaming tokens. </p><h2>Why are NFTs worth millions of dollars?</h2><p>NFTs gain value off the same deflationary principles as Bitcoin - there is a limited number of the tokens and the items cannot be duplicated.</p><p>Authenticity also plays a role in the rise of NFTs. The tokens are easily verifiable and can always be traced back to the original creator. In this way, owners of NFT tokens are able to fully possess the individual digital assets with the knowledge that they have the only token of its kind.</p><p>The value of NFTs is also based on the product's immutability. NFTs cannot be destroyed, deleted, or duplicated. The token exists solely on its native platform, stored on the blockchain. Elements from one platform cannot be moved to another.</p><p><a href="https://nonfungible.com/pages/about-us">Nonfungeable.com</a> found that the number of buyers of NFT rose 66% in 2020, while the value of the transactions climbed from around $63 million to $250 million. </p><h2>Many celebrities have also spoken out on <keyword id="35175" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="investing">investing</keyword> in NFTs</h2><p>Billionaire investor Mark Cuban has been <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/22/mark-cuban-the-business-id-start-now-would-center-around-blockchain.html#:~:text=Cuban%20has%20already%20cashed%20in,as%20a%20physical%20sport%20card.">vocal about his investment in digital tokens</a> like NFTs. Cuban has auctioned digital goods online, as well as bought various NFT assets, including a Maxi Kleber dunk moment card from NBA Top Shot.</p><p>Actress Lindsay Lohan has also gotten in on the action.  The "Mean Girls" actress <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/lindsay-lohans-nft-sells-for-59-000-despite-an-unfortunate-blunder">sold</a> an NFT for $59,000 in February and <a href="https://decrypt.co/58592/daft-punk-lindsay-lohan-nft">posted</a> a $15,000 Daft Punk NFT on the trading platform Rarible Sunday.</p><p>Last week, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ethereum-nft-meme-art-nyan-cat-sells-for-300-eth-2021-2">digital comic artist Chris Torres sold an NFT of his 2011 viral Nyan Cat for nearly $600,000.</a></p><p>The cofounder behind the studio that launched "Fortnite," Tim Sweeney, has also spoken out on NFTs. In January, Sweeney <a href="https://twitter.com/TimSweeneyEpic/status/1355574604979441670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1355574604979441670%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Ffortnite-founder-says-nft-tech-going-places-but-currently-speculative-messmess">tweeted</a> "the tech is going places," but warned investors that digital assets are still a "speculative mess."</p><p>Investors have expressed interest in digital assets in the past. In 2018, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cryptokitties-blockchain-beanie-babies-transactions-plummet-2018-6">top investors invested $12 million on the digital equivalent of Beanie Babies, CryptoKitties.</a></p>

What you need to know about NFTs, the collectible digital tokens that are selling for millions online

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>"Wild Wild West"</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><strong>Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider's roundup of all the <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/BTC-USD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bitcoin</a> and <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/cryptocurrencies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cryptocurrency news</a> you need to know today. Sign up <a href="http://e.businessinsider.com/join/crypto-insider" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox</a>.</strong></p><p>Market data giant IHS Markit is steering clear of cryptocurrencies until the sector gets formal regulation.</p><p>Lance Uggla, CEO of the $20 billion company, told Business Insider at the Innovate Finance Global Summit in London this week that cryptocurrencies are "very speculative at the moment" and the market is "no different to a lot of young people that like to bet on the football."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ihs-markit-ceo-lance-uggla-cryptocurrencies-bitcoin-2018-3">Read the full report by Business Insider's Oscar Williams-Grut.</a></p><p><strong>Here are the current crypto prices:</strong></p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>MI</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><div><p><strong style="color: #222222;">What's happening:</strong></p><section><ul><li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cryptokitties-raises-12-million-from-andreessen-horowitz-2018-3">Cryptokitties, which is like Beanie Babies on the blockchain, just got $12 million from Andreessen Horowitz</a></li><li><a href="http://time.com/5206835/exclusive-russia-petro-venezuela-cryptocurrency/">Russia secretly helped Venezuela launch a cryptocurrency to evade US sanctions</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-20/bitcoin-spikes-as-g-20-expresses-no-desire-for-crypto-oversight">Bitcoin spikes after G-20 expresses no desire for crypto oversight</a></li><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/hot-cryptocoin-market-chilled-by-sec-scrutiny-1521557569">Has the cryptocoin market met its match in the Securities and Exchange Commission?</a></li></ul><section><p><strong style="color: #222222;">Join Business Insider's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BI.CryptoInsider/">Crypto Insider Facebook group</a> today to discuss cryptocurrencies and blockchain with readers from all over the world, as well as BI editorial staff. </strong></p></section></section><section><section></section></section></div><p class="tagline">Get the latest Bitcoin price <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/BTC-USD">here.&gt;&gt;</a><br><br><br><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/bitcoin-101?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_content=fintech_ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_campaign=fintech_ctgr_leadgen_bitcoin-101"></a></br></br></br></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-nasa-has-not-sent-humans-to-mars-2018-2">The surprising reason why NASA hasn't sent humans to Mars yet</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

CRYPTO INSIDER: A big data CEO explains why he won't touch the crypto 'Wild West'

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Travis Scher</span></p><p class="caption">Travis Scher, head of the investment arm at Digital Currency Group.</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>While crypto tanked in 2018, investors are still pouring billions into the space. Blockchain and crypto-related firms raised $3.9 billion as of October 2018.</strong></li><li><strong>Travis Scher, who heads the investment arm at Digital Currency Group, shared his outlook on the crypto space with Business Insider. </strong></li><li><strong>Scher says the areas worth watching in 2018 include the rise of crypto infrastructure for institutional investors, blockchain-based games, and non-fungible tokens. </strong></li></ul><p>The cryptocurrency market kicked off the year of 2018 with a bang <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-bitcoin-crashing-2018-11">but wrapped up with a slump.</a></p><p>After peaking at $20,000 in December 2017, bitcoin now trades at around $4,000 per coin. </p><p>But despite this sell-off, venture investors are still pouring money into the nascent industry. Blockchain and crypto-related companies raised $3.9 million in the first three quarters of 2018, according to Pitchbook. </p><p>Business Insider spoke with Travis Scher, who heads the investment arm at Digital Currency Group (DCG), to get his outlook on the key crypto trends he's watching in 2019. Founded by Barry Silbert, DCG has made investments in 130 crypto-focused portfolio companies, including market leaders like Coinbase, Circle, and Ledger. Here are the key trends he's following in the new year. </p><p><strong>More crypto infrastructure for big Wall Street investors </strong></p><p>From crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken to crypto wallets like Abra, Blockchain, and Ledger, there's been a lot of growth in infrastructure for retail investors looking to enter the crypto space. Proper infrastructure for big, sophisticated Wall Street investors, however, like custodians and security standards, has lagged behind.</p><p>That is, until now, Scher says. </p><p><span>A number of established Wall Street firms have started to</span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-pops-after-report-goldman-sachs-will-start-trading-products-linked-to-bitcoin-2018-5"> dip their toes into trading crypto products and</a><span> are looking for market safeguards to which they're accustomed.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, is <a href="https://medium.com/bakkt-blog/launch-and-faqs-e1a3f7691d7b">poised to launch</a> a bitcoin futures product on its Bakkt platform in January. ErisX, an exchange heavily backed by Wall Street investors like DRW, Virtual Financial and <span>TD Ameritrade</span>, will offer spot trading in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether as well as future contracts in Bitcoin, subject to approval by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. </span></p><p>Digital Currency Group has invested in four types of institutional infrastructure firms, including exchanges like ErisX, institutional custodians like BitGo and Ledger's enterprise Vault solution, new trading platforms like Omniex and SFOX, and data companies like Digital Assets Data and Flipside. </p><p><strong>Blockchain games and non-fungible tokens</strong></p><p>While blockchain is typically known as being a platform that facilitates the transaction of digital currencies, there are alternative uses of the technology. One includes games which are built on the blockchain. An early pioneer of these "blockchain games" is CryptoKitties in which gamers can collect, breed and trade cartoon kittens on the Ethereum blockchain. The game took off in late 2017 and went so viral that it once caused Ethereum network congestion.</p><p>Non-fungible tokens is what facilities digital collectible games like CryptoKitties. Each token is unique and distinguishable from others of the same class. A common analogy of non-fungible tokens is baseball cards - each has distinctive information and different degrees of scarcity. That compares to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether which are fungible tokens, meaning they can be exchanged, much like a dollar bill. You can swap a dollar bill with another dollar bill, and it wouldn't make any difference.</p><p>Scher thinks the development of blockchain games and non-fungible tokens may allow the nascent technology to be adopted more widely. </p><p>"We'll see more experimentation around gaming and non-fungible tokens, which will see some adoption, hopefully some big hits, push the infrastructure forward and [lead to] a variety of other use cases," he said.</p><p>This sector is largely ignored by venture capitalist because the games are a hit-driven business, Scher said</p><p>"Venture capitalists should be paying attention to the ones that are building platforms and developer teams, companies that are not creating just one game but are building several developed business models that can succeed," he said. </p><p><strong>Slower funding for blockchain startups and crypto hedge funds</strong></p><p>Scher expects funding for crypto ventures to slow down in the first half of this year as the market cools down from crypto-mania. </p><p>"The first half of 2018 saw tremendous amount of venture investments in the crypto markets, but now we have been in a bear market for so long that no matter what way the market goes over the first six months of this year, I think venture fund convictions around this industry are definitely going to be lower," he said. </p><p>This means it will be much harder for new blockchain startups to raise money and for existing crypto companies to raise follow-on rounds. The plunge in the crypto market has caused a number of blockchain startups to shutter operations or downsize, as <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-06/crypto-market-crash-is-causing-startups-to-shutter-operations">Bloomberg reported in December</a>. </p><p>Scher thinks the prolonged winter in crypto will have an impact on crypto hedge funds and that will ripple through token sales.</p><p>"A lot of these funds suffered tremendous losses in 2018, and I think a lot of them are going to shut down," he said. "There is going to be a real struggle to raise new money. As there is going to be less money going into the crypto funds, there is going to be less money available for token projects."</p><p>Crypto markets started off last year with a bang, and a large amount of new crypto hedge funds swarmed into the market. But as 2018 neared its end, the market lost nearly 80% of its value from the all-time high it recorded in 2017. According to Crypto Fund Research, 35 crypto hedge funds were forced to close shop in 2018. </p>

A leading investor at Barry Silbert's bitcoin investment firm shares his top crypto trends for 2019

NFT game Axie Infinity clocks highest-ever $1 billion in trade with its crypto-based virtual economy

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11892696" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ethereum" source="Orion">Ethereum</keyword> is a general-purpose decentralized computing platform that uses blockchain technology.</li><li>Ether (ETH) is Ethereum's native currency, and it is currently the second-largest <keyword id="11892695" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrency" source="Orion">cryptocurrency</keyword> by volume.</li><li>Despite its popularity and wide applications, Ethereum remains a highly speculative investment. </li></ul><p>Ethereum and Bitcoin have nearly become household names. However, while they're often mentioned in tandem, they're far from the same. </p><p>Bitcoin was created as an alternative, decentralized currency. Ethereum draws inspiration from Bitcoin, but has bigger aspirations: To create a software platform that not only supports cryptocurrencies, but any kind of decentralized application that can run without the need of a third party, thus giving people more control over their data.  </p><h2><strong>What is Ethereum? </strong></h2><p>Ethereum is an open-source, decentralized computing platform network. The Ethereum network works like the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-bitcoin">Bitcoin network</a> in that it's built on blockchain technology, essentially a digital public ledger where financial agreements can be verified and stored entirely by software - without intervention of a third party. </p><p>The easiest way to think of the Ethereum network is as a secure database that's accessible to anyone. When new "blocks" of data get added, they're cryptographically "chained" to a parent block, effectively making an uneditable record of the previous changes. </p><p>Ethereum is considered one of the largest <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-cryptocurrency">cryptocurrencies</a> (next to Bitcoin), because ether is the second largest crypto next to bitcoin by market capitalization. </p><p><strong>Note:</strong> The process of mining cryptocurrency is known as proof of work. However, Ethereum developers have plans to adopt an alternative method, <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/proof-of-stake">called proof of stake</a>, which requires less energy and makes mining more accessible.</p><p>But what makes Ethereum so exciting to users and enthusiasts is the network's potential to do more than just handle financial transactions. Ethereum takes the Bitcoin blockchain further by allowing developers to run programs (known as "smart contracts") that can host any kind of decentralized application (known as "dApps"). </p><p>"Bitcoin was the pioneer of blockchain technology, used to create a peer-to-peer payment system," says Jacob Wade, a financial coach and president of <a href="http://iheartbudgets.net.">iHeartBudgets</a>. "Ethereum uses similar blockchain technology, but added the ability to create decentralized applications on top of its platform." </p><p>People have already created and launched a variety of dApps on Ethereum, including games, marketplaces for digital art, and decentralized <keyword id="11895316" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="finance" source="Orion">finance</keyword> (DeFi) apps.</p><h2><strong>How does Ethereum work? </strong></h2><p>Ethereum works by using computing power to power the network. In practice, this means people and organizations are using their computers to run specific software, or nodes. Anyone can set up their computer to run a node. </p><p>"Ethereum relies on node operators to process transactions on the Ethereum network," says Wade. "These operators collect a fee for running the hardware and software necessary to facilitate these transactions." </p><p>The fees are called gas fees because they keep the network running. And they're paid in <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/eth-usd">ether</a> (ETH). </p><p>Consider the many ways that you could use a large network of computers. Similar to Bitcoin, Ethereum uses it to power peer-to-peer transactions and track who owns the ether cryptocurrency. Additionally, developers can create and run dApps on the network.  </p><p>The dApps connect to the Ethereum blockchain with "smart contracts," which are more like computer programs than contracts in the traditional sense of the word. </p><p>"Smart contracts are small programs stored on the Ethereum blockchain that can self-execute when certain conditions are met," says Robert Farrington, founder of <a href="https://thecollegeinvestor.com/">The College Investor</a>. "A good way to think about it is that the dapp is the front-end of the program, and the smart contract is the backend of the program."</p><p>Also, dApps rely on the decentralized and open-source Ethereum network and can't be controlled by a single entity. In fact, once a dApp is added to the Ethereum platform, it can't be taken down - even if the original creator wants to remove it or disbands entirely. </p><p>The decentralized system can lead to more anonymity for users, who may be able to pseudonymously use dApps. And it can also result in less control and censorship from third parties, including corporations and governments.</p><h3>Is ether the same as Ethereum?</h3><p>Ethereum and ether work in tandem, but they're not the same. "Ethereum is the technology, and ether is the actual cryptocurrency," explains Farrington. "You can think of ether as the actual 'cash' or fuel that powers the Ethereum network." </p><p>If you want to invest in Ethereum, you can buy ether on a cryptocurrency exchange. You may also be able to use ether to buy other products or services, similar to how you can use bitcoins and other currencies. Ether could also potentially act as a "<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/ethereum-ether-network-upgrades-store-of-value-saxo-bank-2021-7">store of value,</a>" similar to how you may want to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-buy-gold">buy and hold gold</a>.</p><h2><strong>A brief history of Ethereum </strong></h2><p>Ethereum was originally conceived of by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vitalik-buterin-created-ethereum-one-of-the-worlds-three-largest-cryptocurrencies-2019-1">Vitalik Buterin</a>, who published an introductory white paper on the idea in 2013. The basic idea was to build on the blockchain technology that Bitcoin uses to create a decentralized and programmable platform. </p><p>Here are a few key moments in Ethereum's history beyond its original inception:</p><ul><li><strong>2014: </strong>Ether goes on sale for the first time and people could initially buy 2,000 ether for one bitcoin. The Ethereum blockchain publicly launched the next year. </li><li><strong>2016: </strong>The <a href="https://www.insider.com/dao-hacked-ethereum-crashing-in-value-tens-of-millions-allegedly-stolen-2016-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) hack</a> leads to a disagreement about whether people should get back the money they lost. The resulting DAO fork leads to the creation of Ethereum Classic - a continuation of the original blockchain - and Ethereum. </li><li><strong>2017: </strong>Popular dApps launch, including the CryptoKitties game. The price of ETH increased from around $8 to over $700 during 2017. </li><li><strong>2021: </strong>The London hard fork makes several important changes, including EIP-1559, which makes network fees more predictable and reduces the supply of ether.</li></ul><h2>Forks of Ethereum</h2><p>Ethereum has also changed since it was first launched. "When blockchain technology changes (or upgrades), a fork can occur - just like a fork in the road," says Farrington. "When this happens, it can be a soft fork or hard fork." </p><p>In general, there are what's known as soft forks and hard forks in ethereum:</p><ul><li><strong>Soft forks</strong> can be minor changes that are backward compatible. Node operators can stay connected to the blockchain, but they're incentives to upgrade to the latest version if they want to continue earning ether. </li><li><strong>Hard forks</strong> are major upgrades that can significantly change the system and aren't backward compatible. Node operators need to switch to the latest version to keep the blockchain going. Or, if there's a disagreement, a split could result in two competing blockchains.</li></ul><p>Often, changes are proposed and discussed in an attempt to form consensus before making a change. For example, there's a multiple-step upgrade to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/ethereum-upgrades-boost-ether-price-eip1559-prrof-of-stake-2021-5">Ethereum 2.0</a>, which may be completed in late 2021 or early 2022. The update will make significant changes to how Ethereum works, and may help make it more scalable and ecologically sustainable.</p><h2>Ethereum vs. Bitcoin</h2><p>Ether and bitcoin are both popular cryptocurrencies that rely on blockchain technology, but they're far from identical. </p><p>"Ethereum is also a technology platform that enables smart contracts - which is very different from Bitcoin, which is essentially just a store of value," says Farrington. "This aspect of smart contracts on Ethereum unlocks a lot of potential use cases that you can't do with Bitcoin."</p><table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;" border="1"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 50%;">Ethereum</td><td style="width: 50%;">Bitcoin</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 50%;"><ul><li>It's an open-source platform built with blockchain technology that uses the ether cryptocurrency. </li><li>Developers can create and run dApps on the Ethereum network.  </li><li>The total number of potential ether isn't predetermined.</li></ul></td><td style="width: 50%;"><ul><li>It's a cryptocurrency built using blockchain technology.</li><li>It's primarily used to store value or purchase goods and services. </li><li>There's a finite number of bitcoins that can be created.</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table><h2><strong>Is Ethereum a good investment? </strong></h2><p>It depends. There's no one right answer for anyone looking to invest in Ethereum. The major thing to know that like any investment - it's risky and should be considered as such before adding it to any portfolio.</p><p>Ether is becoming more widely available and there's a lot of noise in the news about it's rising value - but it's always important not to get sucked into the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-speculation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speculation</a> too much.</p><p>"It may serve some purpose in a portfolio, but it should be a very small amount and be viewed as highly speculative," says Farrington. "It's also important to note that it's still very early - so while the technology is promising, it's unknown which technology may win in the long run."</p><p><strong>In the news: </strong><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/ethereum-upgrades-crypto-staing-industry-boom-jpmorgan-ether-2021-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ethereum network changes</a> could make cryptocurrency staking a $40 billion industry within a few years. </p><h2><strong>The financial takeaway</strong></h2><p>Ethereum uses blockchain technology to create a decentralized platform. The ether cryptocurrency is the "fuel" that powers the network, and you can invest in the Ethereum network by buying ether. "As with any cryptocurrency, buying Ether is a speculative investment," warns Wade. "Always do your research before investing into any digital currency, and don't risk more than you are willing to lose."</p><p>If you're interested in cryptocurrencies more broadly, you could also look for ways to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-invest-in-blockchain-technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invest in companies</a> that participate in the space rather than buying a single cryptocurrency.</p><a data-type="5fdc12cc3617355d27686ece">How to invest in bitcoin: The major ways to buy, their pros and cons, and the strategies to consider</a><a data-type="5fd1032bbca41b06e2352e87">Bitcoin taxes: Understanding the rules and how to report cryptocurrency on your return</a><a data-type="5fc82cf036173566ec233b96">Alternative investments are exotic assets that can diversify your portfolio - here are the five major kinds and everything you should know about them</a><a data-type="5fac1720bf96b9125f748159">How to diversify your portfolio to limit losses and guard against risk</a>

What is Ethereum? What to know before investing

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/ETH-USD"></a><p class="source"><span><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/ETH-USD">Markets Insider</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/ETH-USD">Ethereum</a>, the third largest cryptocurrency, cleared the much anticipated $1,000 benchmark Thursday, according to Markets Insider data. </strong></li><li><strong>The market capitalization of the digital currency also broke $100 billion for the first time.</strong></li><li><strong>The records follow the release of the cryptocurrency's quarter four roundup.</strong></li></ul><p><br /><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/ETH-USD">Ethereum</a> is kicking off 2018 with impressive new milestones.</p><p>The red-hot cryptocurrency cleared $1,000 for the first time early Friday morning, <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/ETH-USD">according to data from Markets Insider</a>.</p><p>The coin, which started 2017 at around $10, has since fallen back below $1,000 and was trading up roughly 2.74% in the last 24 hours, at $974 per token. Ethereum's market capitalization broke through $100 billion on Thursday.</p><p>These fresh milestones follow the release of the cryptocurrency's fourth quarter report, which was tweeted out by founder Vitalik Buterin.</p><p>"<span style="font-weight: 400;">Ethereum has grown very rapidly in the last few months," the report said. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Transactions volume on its network doubled, according to the <a href="https://blog.ethereum.org/2018/01/02/q4-roundup/">blog post</a>, "surpassing 10 transactions per second for days at a time."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ethereum's blockchain, unlike bitcoin's, can support layered-on applications. One such application that has taken the crypto-world by storm was digital cat breeding game "CryptoKitties." Pending transactions on Ethereum's blockchain <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ethereum-is-jamming-up-because-of-a-game-for-buying-virtual-cats-2017-12">reached new highs after the game exploded in popularity</a>, according to data from Etherscan.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"As attention and interest in the blockchain space as a whole continues to hit new highs, we are entering a new phase in the industry's growth: the phase where we are finally going from experiments and tests to real, live applications," according to Ethereum's Q4 report.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Etherscan</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p class="tagline"><div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:90px; padding:10px;vertical-align:top;"><a href="http://read.bi/bitcoin-101-free"></a><strong>EXCLUSIVE FREE REPORT:</strong><br>The Bitcoin 101 Report by the BI Intelligence Research Team.<br><strong><a href="http://read.bi/bitcoin-101-free">Get the Report Now »</a></strong></br></br></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-krugman-says-bitcoin-is-a-bubble-2017-12">PAUL KRUGMAN: Bitcoin is a more obvious bubble than housing was</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Ethereum clears $1,000 for the first time

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Anthony Harvey / Stringer</span></p><p class="caption">Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Coinbase acquired Cipher Browser, an ethereum wallet that competed with its existing Toshi ethereum browser, the company announced Friday.</strong></li><li><strong>It's the first acquisition the $1.6 billion cryptocurrency exchange has made since hiring away former LinkedIn M&amp;A leader Emilie Choi in March.</strong></li><li><strong>It's also a sign that Coinbase is willing to dish out cash to buy up its competitors.</strong></li></ul><p><br />Coinbase <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-exchange-coinbase-wants-to-be-next-google-2018-2">has big plans</a> to be the Google of cryptocurrency. So it's no surprise that the $1.6 billion bitcoin exchange has taken a page from Google's own playbook: acquiring a small, but nimble competitor. </p><p>On Friday, Coinbase announced its acquisition of <a href="https://www.cipherbrowser.com/">Cipher Browser</a>, a cryptocurrency wallet company that lets users store ethereum-based tokens. It's similar to Coinbase's existing ethereum browser, Toshi. </p><p>Cipher's one man team, Pete Kim, will take on the title of head of engineering for Coinbase's Toshi and work alongside Sid Coelho-Prabhu, the current Toshi product lead. The company didn't disclose the terms of the deal.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>LinkedIn</span></p><p class="caption">Cipher Browser founder Pete Kim is joining Coinbase.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>It's the first acquisition Coinbase has made since poaching <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/coinbase-just-poached-a-linkedin-exec-to-lead-an-acquisition-spree-as-the-firms-first-ma-boss-2018-3">LinkedIn's mergers and acquisitions boss</a> Emilie Choi.</p><p>Coinbase's latest $100 million funding round and $1 billion revenue stream gives the company plenty of cash to put toward acquisitions. But the exchange has been fairly light-handed since its founding in 2011.</p><p>In January, Coinbase acqui-hired the small engineering team behind Memo.AI, a two-year-old startup that built a Slackbot to help manage technical teams. And in 2014, it made two other acqui-hires: Kippt and Blockr.io.</p><p>Like its past acquisitions, Cipher and Kim will be blended into Coinbase's existing structure. The company also plans to integrate features from the Cipher Browser into Toshi. </p><p>Coinbase <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-toshi-bitcoin-api/">launched Toshi in 2014</a> as an open-source tool kit to make it easier for bitcoin developers to build new tools. But it's since become clear that the bitcoin blockchain is too slow and expensive to use for anything but digital money.</p><p>Then ethereum came onto the scene. Ethereum, which itself has a successful cryptocurrency traded on Coinbase, is a blockchain network designed to host applications on top of it. It's the blockchain that supports games like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cryptokitties-raises-12-million-from-andreessen-horowitz-2018-3">Cryptokitties</a>, as well as a whole slew of other startups. </p><p>In theory, Toshi makes it easier for casual users to access applications built on the ethereum network. </p><p>"We're excited to combine forces and build the best browser for the decentralized web," a Coinbase spokesperson said in the announcement. </p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Bitcoin price <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/BTC-USD">here.&gt;&gt;</a><br><br><br><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/bitcoin-101?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_content=fintech_ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_campaign=fintech_ctgr_leadgen_bitcoin-101"></a></br></br></br></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/richard-sherman-bitcoin-price-cobinhood-exchange-no-fees-2018-2">NFL superstar Richard Sherman is all-in on cryptocurrencies, but doesn't think his grandmother should invest</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

$1.6 billion bitcoin exchange Coinbase just acquired a smaller competitor

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="902592" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="NFTS">NFTs</keyword> account for a rapidly growing market that is valued at $250 million.</li><li>NFTs have sold for millions, while those who flip NFTs have made nearly 1,000% profit in some cases.</li><li><keyword id="4668945" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="nft">NFT</keyword> marketplaces encompass anything from digital art to trading cards, virtual games or real estate.</li></ul><p>Non-fungible tokens or NFTs - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-nft-mean-crytpo-non-fungible-tokens-art-explained-2021-2">products that operate as digital assets</a> - have grown to encompass a $250 million market, according to a <a href="https://nonfungible.com/nft-report-2020">2020 report</a> from tech-tracking company L'Atelier BNP Paribas and nonfungible.com.</p><p>Investments in NFTs <a href="https://news.bitcoin.com/blockchain-backed-nft-market-value-grew-299-in-2020/">rose 299% in 2020</a>, gaining popularity as cryptocurrencies like <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/bitcoin-btc-price-record-high-market-cap-cryptocurrency-1-trillion-2021-2-1030096685">Bitcoin continued to boom</a>, according to the report. In the past 30 days alone, NFT Marketplaces have generated over $1 billion in sales, according to <a href="https://www.cryptoslam.io/">CryptoSlam.</a></p><p>NFT creators and resellers have made millions. In March, artist Beeple smashed digital art records and became one of the most valuable living artists <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/art-auction-nft-beeple-top-selling-most-expensive-sale-millions-2021-3">when he sold a crypto art piece for nearly $70 million.</a></p><p><keyword id="10871093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crypto-art">Crypto art</keyword> flippers have also made headlines with record sales. In February, an art collector <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/retail-trading-nfts/insight-how-a-10-second-video-clip-sold-for-6-6-million-idUKL8N2KV6X9">sold a 10-second video artwork for $6.6 million</a> after buying the Beeple project for $67,000 in October - nearly a 1,000% profit.</p><p>NFTs encompass anything from digital trading cards and art to virtual real estate and gaming. </p><p>Unlike popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether, NFTs cannot be directly exchanged with one another and are spread out across numerous different types of platforms.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-startups-non-fungible-tokens-the-art-world-2021-3">Here are 4 NFT startups transforming the way we buy art and sports memorabilia</a></em></p><p>Most NFT platforms require buyers to have a digital wallet and use cryptocurrencies platforms like Ethereum, World Asset eXchange (WAX) or Flow. </p><p>Here's what you need to know about where to buy and sell NFTs. </p><h2>Digital art has brought in millions for creators and sellers</h2><div type="image" title="Mike Winkelmann's &quot;Crossroads&quot; was resold for $6.6 million off Nifty Gateway" height="694" width="925" msid="81419359" hostid="261"></div><p>Most digital-art trading platforms allow creators to gather a royalty. Some art platforms are more exclusive, while others focus on letting anyone create and sell their art.</p><p>For professional digital artists, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-artists-make-millions-traditional-galleries-adapt-cryptoart-2021-3">NFTs have opened creators to a windfall of profit.</a> NFT artist Trevor Jones <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-artists-make-millions-traditional-galleries-adapt-cryptoart-2021-3">told Insider</a> that digital-art trading platforms could make more traditional art markets obsolete.</p><p>Some traditional auction houses have already started to get in on NFTs. In February, Christie's - an auction house that was founded in 1766 - made its first foray into digital tokens with the $69 million Beeple sale. Since then, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sothebys-nft-art-sales-pak-auction-2021-3">famed auction house Sotheby's has also announced plans to sell NFTs.</a></p><p>For multimillion-dollar digital artists like Mike Winkelmann - more commonly known as Beeple -  platforms like <a href="https://superrare.co/">Super Rare</a>, <a href="https://foundation.app/">Foundation</a>, and <a href="https://niftygateway.com/">Nifty Gateway</a> allow buyers to pick from carefully curated work. Nifty Gateway co-founders Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster told Insider their company works one-on-one with artists.</p><p>"One of the coolest things about Nifty Gateway is that there are all these artists who basically only existed on Instagram or Twitter who were creating all this really special work, but never had a way to make money from it," Griffin Cock Foster told Insider. "They started selling crypto art and they're already starting to see some benefits and recognition."</p><p>Platforms like Nifty Gateway, Super Rare, and Foundation have been home to names like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/grimes-nft-art-warnymph-sells-for-millions-20-minutes-2021-3">Grimes</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ethereum-nft-meme-art-nyan-cat-sells-for-300-eth-2021-2">digital comic artist Chris Torres.</a> These platforms provide artists with around 10% royalties on any future sales of their work.</p><h2>Other digital art platforms have less restrictions</h2><div type="image" title="Mark Cuban announced he was selling his own line of NFTs on Rarible in January." height="462" width="688" msid="81419360" hostid="261"></div><p>While Nifty Gateway strives to be more accessible to buyers by allowing them to use a credit card to purchase items off the site, other platforms focus on having a lower barrier to entry for creators.</p><p>Platforms like <a href="https://zora.co/">Zora</a> operate as invite-only, while <a href="https://rarible.com/">Rarible</a> and <a href="https://mintable.app/">Mintable</a> allow any user to upload and sell images and text as NFTs on the site.</p><p>These sites still allow artists to garner royalties, but are much less curated. Creators on Rarible can upload anything from blank images to their own interpretations of famous art pieces.</p><p>One NFT creator on Rarible, <a href="https://www.kapwing.com/resources/how-to-create-and-sell-nft-crypto-art/">Robert Martin</a>, said he thinks the sites need to develop more security, but says he has been pleased with how easy it was to upload content on Rarible.</p><p>"The site and their moderation of copyrighted and offensive uploads needs some improvement," Martin told Insider.</p><p>These sites sell NFTs from anywhere from $10 to hundreds of thousands of dollars.</p><h2>OpenSea is a catch-all platform for NFTs</h2><div type="image" title="OpenSea sells a wide variety of NFTs, including CryptoKitties." height="727" width="1502" msid="81419362" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://opensea.io/">OpenSea</a> claims to be the largest NFT marketplace and is home to anything from art to virtual reality, sports and trading cards. The site has over 200 categories and 4 million items. </p><p>People looking to buy popular NFT items like CryptoPunks, CryptoKitties, or virtual real estate can use ether to buy items off OpenSea. <a href="https://dappradar.com/blog/top-7-nft-marketplaces-beginners-guide">DappRadar</a>, a site that tracks and analyzes decentralized applications, calls OpenSea "the eBay on the blockchain."</p><p>Several marketplaces also operate off OpenSea, including Decentraland, a popular virtual real-estate site. OpenSea has sold nearly $28 million in NFTs over the past week, according to DappRadar.</p><h2><strong>Sports also account for a large portion of NFT sales</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="Sports clips sell for anywhere from $20 to thousands of dollars on NBA Top Shot." height="821" width="1213" msid="81419366" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.nbatopshot.com/">NBA Top Shot</a>, a site where people can buy video highlights as NFTs, has sold over $260 million in NFTs in the past month, according to <a href="https://www.cryptoslam.io/">CryptoSlam</a>. </p><p>In February, a<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nba-top-shot-virtual-highlights-for-sale-moments-blockchain-explained-2021-2"> LeBron James dunk set the record for the most expensive Top Shot sales at $208,000 worth of the cryptocurrency Flow.</a></p><p>Fantasy sports has also taken a chunk of NFT sales. The site <a href="https://sorare.com/">Sorare</a> operates as a fantasy soccer game, where people can buy, sell, and manage virtual teams via digital player cards.</p><p>The platform was founded in 2018, but has recently taken off. Sorare sold over $14 million in ether last month, according to CryptoSlam.</p><h2>NFTs offer opportunities for gamers and trading-card collectors</h2><div type="image" title="Axie Infinity provides NFTs that cater to the gaming community." height="926" width="1235" msid="81419367" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://axieinfinity.com/">Axie Infinity</a>, a site that sells cartoon characters that are created to fight, much like Pokémon, is one of the top 10 most popular crypto-collectible platforms, according to CryptoSlam. </p><p>The site had over 10,000 monthly active users in 2020, making it the most popular game on Ethereum, according to <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/nft-game-axie-infinity-axs-governance-token-sale">CoinDesk</a>.</p><p>Other NFT collectibles based on arcade games like <a href="https://www.streetfighter.cards/">Street Fighter</a> have also gained popularity - generating over $1.5 million only weeks after the site was launched and over $600,000 in the past month, according to CryptoSlam data.</p><p>NFT gaming is expected to continue to grow. In February, Altitude Games <a href="https://medium.com/arkane-network/launching-the-matic-nft-market-with-battle-racers-2-2-2021-358da09092e0">launched</a> a blockchain racing game called Battle Racers on the <a href="https://arkane.network/">Arkane Market</a>, a site that is home to over <a href="https://arkane.network/">100,000 gamers</a> on the blockchain.</p><p>Other popular trading card and memorabilia sites include <a href="https://myth.market/">Myth.Market</a> and <a href="https://treasureland.market/">Treasureland</a>.</p><h2>Virtual real estate is booming </h2><div type="image" title="Decentraland allows users to buy and sell virtual real estate." height="610" width="1309" msid="81419368" hostid="261"></div><p>Digital real estate might be the next big area for investment, according to the co-head of Republic Real Estate <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/here-comes-the-virtual-real-estate-boom">Janine Yorio</a>.</p><p>On Friday, one of the first NFT digital houses in the world sold for over <a href="https://twitter.com/ProductHunt/status/1378021791512227845">$500,000 on SuperRare's marketplace</a>.</p><p>NFT sites that capitalize on virtual reality and real estate also include <a href="https://decentraland.org/">Decentraland</a>, which is built on Ethereum and owned and created by users. </p><p>Decentraland operates as a multiplayer role-playing game and allows users to build an entire virtual world as an NFT. Yorio calls it a more sophisticated "SimCity," "Minecraft," or "Fortnite."</p><p>In March, Atari, the gaming company known for "PAC-MAN," <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/atari-casino-decentral-games-crypto">announced</a> plans to develop a <keyword id="6357017" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</keyword> casino in Decentraland.</p><p>Decentraland's internal currency, "MANA," has a $225 million market value. MANA prices have risen over 321% in the past year, according to Yorio.</p><h2>There are several niche NFT marketplaces</h2><div type="image" title="Jack Dorsey" height="1999" width="2666" msid="81419370" hostid="261"></div><p>In March, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-sell-first-tweet-nft-sunday-2021-3">sold the site's first tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million. </a> After Dorsey's announcement Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased he would sell an NFT, but later <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/elon-musk-nft-non-fungible-token-tweet-for-1-million-2021-3-1030218330">turned down a $1 million offer for his tweet.</a></p><p>The site, <a href="https://v.cent.co/">Valuables</a>, allows anyone to auction off their tweet for payment in the form of ether. The platform focuses solely on selling tweets as NFTs.</p><p>Many sites have found success in niche NFT collectible markets, including <a href="https://lookingglassfactory.com/">Looking Glass Factory</a>, a site that generates digital holograms and allows them to be sold as tokens. </p><p>One person, Petter Rudwall, has even put himself up for <a href="https://mintable.app/collectibles/item/Immortalized-on-the-blockchain-Buy-the-first-human-on-the-blockchain/R3ajgXBwwgypC0-">auction</a> on Mintable. Rudwall told Insider the NFT includes his own personal information, including birth date, weight, as well as social media accounts.</p>

People are buying and selling crypto collectibles in a $250 million market - check out the sites where you can browse and bid on NFTs

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Andreessen Horowitz</span></p><p class="caption">Andreessen Horowitz general partners Chris Dixon and Katie Haun.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Andreessen Horowitz is launching a $300 million fund to invest in cryptocurrency companies and protocols, called "a16z crypto."</strong></li><li><strong>The top VC firm hired Katie Haun, a former prosecutor with the US Department of Justice, to lead the fund alongside partner Chris Dixon.</strong></li><li><strong>The new crypto fund plans to invest consistently over time, even in the event of another "crypto winter."</strong></li></ul><p> </p><p>As the price of bitcoin slips to a 2018 low, top Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz shows it's not backing down with the launch of a $300 million venture fund, called a16z crypto, which will invest in cryptocurrency companies and protocols.</p><p>Leading the effort alongside partner and crypto fanatic Chris Dixon is Katie Haun, a former prosecutor who helped bring down corrupt agents on the Silk Road task force, as well as the head of BTC-E, a digital currency exchange popular with criminals.</p><p>Haun is the first-ever female general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.</p><p>The new crypto fund will invest in companies and protocols at all stages, from seed-stage pre-launch projects to fully developed later-stage networks like bitcoin and Ethereum. The firm said it plans to hold investments for over 10 years, which means it cares a lot less about the day-to-day fluctuations in price than about building long-term platforms and infrastructure that it hopes will serve billions of people someday.</p><p>The plan is to invest consistently over time, even in the event of another "crypto winter." Bitcoin fell below $6,000 on Sunday, reaching a new low for the year.</p><p>"We've been investing in crypto assets for five-plus years. We've never sold any of those investments, and don't plan to anytime soon," Dixon said in a statement.</p><p>Dixon believes that products and services built on the blockchain will someday be used by "hundreds of millions and eventually billions of people," he told Business Insider.</p><p>"That takes time," Dixon said. "We think that, in the same way that if you went back and invested in social networks 15 years ago, the right answer would have been to hold onto those investments for 10-plus years. It really took that long for those networks to kind of get to scale and for people to really realize their full value."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Christinne Muschi</span></p><p class="caption">A worker checks the fans on miners at a cryptocurrency farming operation in Canada.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>While other traditional venture firms were slow to get into crypto, Andreessen Horowitz has been making bets on blockchain technology since 2013.</p><p>The young venture firm led the Series B funding round for Coinbase, an online platform for buying, selling, and storing digital assets that <a href="https://qz.com/1139524/bitcoin-price-nears-10000-as-coinbase-pulls-in-millions-of-users/">added thousands of users a day</a> during the bitcoin price bull run of 2017. It's the largest bitcoin exchange in the US.</p><p>Andreessen Horowitz has <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research/a16z-usv-blockchain/">shifted its strategy slightly</a> from early investments in bitcoin mining and exchanges, like Coinbase, toward new foundation-layer protocols, cryptocurrencies, and decentralized applications. In 2018, the firm <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cryptokitties-raises-12-million-from-andreessen-horowitz-2018-3">put $12 million into Cryptokitties</a>, one of the first successful games built on the blockchain.</p><p>It also participated in a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/polychain-andreessen-horowitz-dfinity-2018-2">$61 million funding round for the Dfinity blockchain project</a>, a not-for-profit foundation that's building a crypto-powered "internet computer."</p><p>Haun said she's especially interested in applications that use blockchain technology to put people in control of their own data, for reasons around security and privacy.</p><p>"The basic architecture of crypto is to give power back to individuals. And I think there are a lot of promising ideas that we're hearing about just now," Haun said.</p><p>Before joining the firm, Haun spent over a decade as a federal prosecutor with the US Department of Justice, where she focused on fraud, cybercrime, and digital assets. She is perhaps best known for her role in the criminal investigation around Silk Road, the notorious online black market that sold everything from heroin to fake passports.</p><p>Haun prosecuted - and convicted - two federal agents who were <a href="https://qz.com/1236501/the-woman-who-once-policed-the-crypto-world-for-the-us-government-says-a-crackdown-is-coming/">working undercover to investigate Silk Road</a>, while stealing millions of dollars worth of bitcoin.</p><p>Haun, who also sits on the board at Coinbase and HackerOne and teaches at Stanford, said the transition from prosecutor to venture capitalist has felt natural.</p><p>"I think fundamentally being a prosecutor is in sourcing out the good from the bad," Haun said. "So I think when my team is talking about separating out the wheat from the chaff, in terms of projects and people, just having that sense will translate well."</p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Bitcoin price <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/BTC-USD">here.&gt;&gt;</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-the-blockchain-hype-is-really-about-cryptocurrencies-tech-2018-2">Put simply, blockchain technology is 'a security and transparency innovation'</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

You Searched For "cryptokitties" and got 10 results

Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian has a great theory on why the internet loves cats so much

Katie Canales

What you need to know about NFTs, the collectible digital tokens that are selling for millions online

Grace Kay

CRYPTO INSIDER: A big data CEO explains why he won't touch the crypto 'Wild West'

Frank Chaparro

A leading investor at Barry Silbert's bitcoin investment firm shares his top crypto trends for 2019

Madeline Shi

NFT game Axie Infinity clocks highest-ever $1 billion in trade with its crypto-based virtual economy

Shivam Vahia

What is Ethereum? What to know before investing

Louis DeNicola

Ethereum clears $1,000 for the first time

Graham Rapier,Frank Chaparro

$1.6 billion bitcoin exchange Coinbase just acquired a smaller competitor

Becky Peterson

People are buying and selling crypto collectibles in a $250 million market - check out the sites where you can browse and bid on NFTs

Grace Kay

Andreessen Horowitz is launching a $300 million fund to invest in crypto - and it hired its first-ever female general partner to lead the effort

Melia Robinson