After rallying to record-setting prices, recapturing the attention of the public and becoming once-again the topic du jour, cryptocurrencies are losing ground today.

Bitcoin, the best-known cryptocurrency, peaked at more than $41,000 apiece on January 8. Today after shedding a little over 23% in the last 24 hours, one bitcoin is now worth around $31,800.

Similarly, ether, the token associated with the Ethereum blockchain, peaked at a little over $1,300 on January 10. Today, after losing an even sharper 29% in the last 24 hours, ether tokens are worth around $960 apiece.

Coins remain far above recent prices, with bitcoin setting new all-time highs this month and ether nearly reaching its early 2018 all-time highs. CoinMarketCap, a data platform tracking the cryptocurrency market that was purchased by the Binance exchange in 2020, reports that the value of all cryptocurrencies has fallen by just over 22% in the last day to $832.4 billion.

Whether the recent declines, or the fact that cryptos were very recently worth north of $1 trillion in aggregate is bigger news will be determined by your perspective on the asset class.

For startups focused on the digital token market, however, it’s been a heady start to the year. Coinbase, an American cryptocurrency exchange, filed to go public in late 2020. The recent rally in the price of bitcoin, for example, has led to record trading volumes for the coin. That could translate into lucrative incomes for Coinbase and its rivals.

If so, the venture capital market could warm to companies in the space, opening wallets to crypto projects that may have been closed since 2017.

?A Bitcoin ad has appeared on the cover of Apple Daily, a popular Hong Kong-based newspaper. In the ad, the phrase “Bitcoin will never ditch you” is written in English, and this is accompanied by “Banks, you’re not ditching me today - I’m ditching you.” in Cantonese.

The front-page ad doesn’t seem to be promoting anything other than advocating Bitcoin. However, there is a single mention of Genesis Block, a crypto firm based in Hong Kong. Apple Daily is one of the largest tabloids in the city, and has seen its popularity surge since the protests started.
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What happened
The price of bitcoin is volatile these days, so I apologize if real-time prices differ significantly. As I began this writing, bitcoin nearly hit $42,000 per token -- an all-time high -- though it's since cooled off a little. Still, the price of bitcoin has more than doubled in just one month. And its market capitalization is now over $750 billion. Yes, billion.

When something this big goes up this fast, it's bound to attract attention as investors look for hidden ways to profit from the trend. Small-cap cryptocurrency stocks have been popular vehicles and many are on the rise again today. Consider these moves as of 12:30 p.m. EST:

Shares of Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ:MARA) were up 18%.
Shares of Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ:RIOT) were up 13%.
Shares of Bit Digital (NASDAQ:BTBT) were up 5%.
But not all crypto/blockchain stocks were rising today. For example, Xunlei Limited (NASDAQ:XNET) stock and Ebang International Holdings (NASDAQ:EBON) stock were down 15% and 6% respectively. This is a big change from yesterday when Xunlei was the big winner and Bit Digital was losing.

Finally, making its debut in my crypto coverage is Future FinTech Group (NASDAQ:FTFT). The stock is up 31% today but it had nearly doubled earlier in the session. I believe Future FinTech has something to teach investors today. Note the company was formerly known as SkyPeople Fruit Juice, Inc. And no, I'm not kidding.

So what
Future FinTech Group is self-described as "a leading blockchain based e-commerce company and a financial technology service provider." But it wasn't always. Until 2019, its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) say it was "engaged in the production and sales of fruit juice concentrates, fruit juice beverages and other fruit-related products in the People's Republic of China." The juice business got too hard, though (high costs and environmental concerns were the cited reasons), so the company decided to offer financial technology (fintech) services instead.

According to various reports, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is planning to create another $3 trillion for Covid-19 relief and infrastructure. The massive stimulus plan and the backers behind the Biden administration have made crypto proponents believe that bitcoin will prosper greatly.

Biden Proposes to Finance Covid-19 Relief and Infrastructure With $3 Trillion
Ever since the coronavirus outbreak took hold across America, politicians and members of the U.S. Federal Reserve has distributed massive amounts of dollars to special interests and Wall Street trading houses. Americans did get a stimulus check for $1,200 during the last program, and then $600 per person during the most recent stimulus plan.

https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-advocates-think-joe-bidens-3-trillion-stimulus-plan-will-bolster-bitcoin/

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Deputy Minister of Trade (Wamendag) Jerry Sambuaga asked all relevant stakeholders, including the Indonesian Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (ICDX) to develop digital trade. One thing that can be facilitated is blockchain trading which is currently in demand by the world community, including Indonesia. Throughout 2020, bitcoin's price tripled, despite the pressure on financial markets.

In fact, the price was at the threshold of the price range of US $ 30,000 or around Rp. 421.5 million (exchange rate Rp. 14,050). "This must be synchronized and synergized, implemented. Blockchain is in great demand and is one of the instruments that can be facilitated by Bappebti, together with stakeholders, actors and stakeholders," said Jerry at the Commodity Futures Trading Opening in 2021, Monday (4 / 1/2021). Jerry said that currently the Ministry of Trade is trying to penetrate the digital world to digitize trade, both for traditional markets, modern markets, and institutions.
With digitization, increasing exports, developing exports, and developing value-added processed products can be marketed in the global market.

"Therefore, this must be developed, must be improved. Moreover, we see the latest data in November 2020, Indonesia reached a surplus of 19.65 billion US dollars. This is a positive condition, showing our nation has resilience," said Jerry. One of the initial commitments from the Ministry of Trade was to finalize and execute trade agreements in the region and the global arena throughout 2020. Currently, Indonesia has entered into a Regional Comprehensive Economic Participation (RCEP) agreement which unites countries in the ASEAN circle and 5 countries from outside ASEAN. Most recently, the Ministry of Trade visited South Korea to perpetuate the IK-CEPA trade agreement. "This shows how our great nation is in great demand, seen as a big potential player both in the Southeast Asia region and globally. Of course we hope that in the coming year we can make concrete contributions to Indonesia," Jerry concluded.