A sign is seen in a stand during the Bitcoin Conference 2023, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., May 19, 2023. Marco Bello | Reuters
U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday, but the pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the day slightly in the red. Germany’s DAX lost 0.1%, as new data showed the country’s July exports dropping 0.9% on the month and 1% year on year, raising fears of Germany’s economy contracting in the third quarter.
Hans-Werner Sinn, president emeritus at the Ifo institute, described Germany as once again the “sick man of Europe”. The HCOB index showed a sharp contraction of the country’s business activity in August. Moreover, Germany’s plans to be carbon neutral by 2045 pose a risk to its industry, leading to a potential “backlash” from the population.
Premier Li Qiang will lead China’s delegation at the G20 summit in New Delhi this weekend, but President Xi Jinping’s attendance is still unknown. Another notable absence will be Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was in Sochi for a meeting with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two leaders discussed the possibility of renewing the Black Sea Grain Initiative, allowing Ukraine to export agricultural products.
63% of U.S. adults don’t meet the requirement of seven to nine hours of sleep per day, but more and more people are becoming conscious of their wellbeing. This is good news for sleep-related stocks, while navigating stocks and bitcoin without the stars is like doing so with a blindfold.
Geoff Kendrick, head of crypto research at Standard Chartered, predicted in April that bitcoin’s value could jump to as much as $100,000 by 2024. On the contrary, Chamath Palihapitiya, who previously said bitcoin would rocket to $200,000, changed his tune and declared “crypto is dead in America”.
As of publication time, bitcoin is trading at $25,774, up around 55% this year but 62% lower than its all-time high of $68,990 in November 2021. Investors are optimistic because a U.S. court recently sided with Grayscale in a lawsuit against the SEC, meaning bitcoin ETFs from major companies are on their way. However, the SEC has also delayed a decision on bitcoin ETFs, causing the digital currency to fall 10% in August.
It’s impossible to tell whether the predictions will come true, as bitcoin is wildly volatile. The only thing we know for sure is that the future of bitcoin is uncertain.
