Welcome to the Friends with Money podcast, brought to you by Money Magazine, creating financial freedom for Australians since nineteen ninety nine.

Welcome to the Friends with Money podcast, brought to you by Money Magazine, creating financial freedom for Australians since nineteen ninety nine.

Hello and welcome to the Friends with Money podcast, your weekly pod to help you earn, save and make more money. My name is Michelle Baltasar. I'm the editor in chief here at Money Magazine. Thank you for joining us on this bonus podcast on the bitcoin price surging past one hundred thousand US dollars and we want to explain why this is such a big deal. Joining me is Money Managing Editor Vanessa Walker, to talk about this news and our July cover story Crypto breaks through. Is it time to invest? Vanessa? What a big moment for crypto investors, Michelle, it's huge.

Hello and welcome to the Friends with Money podcast, your weekly pod to help you earn, save and make more money. My name is Michelle Baltasar. I'm the editor in chief here at Money Magazine. Thank you for joining us on this bonus podcast on the bitcoin price surging past one hundred thousand US dollars and we want to explain why this is such a big deal. Joining me is Money Managing Editor Vanessa Walker, to talk about this news and our July cover story Crypto breaks through. Is it time to invest? Vanessa? What a big moment for crypto investors, Michelle, it's huge.

The price of bitcoin has more than doubled from around US forty two thousand in early January of this year to one hundred thousand today.

The price of bitcoin has more than doubled from around US forty two thousand in early January of this year to one hundred thousand today.

For us our listeners who are new to bitcoin, let's start with defining a couple of important terms. Now, bitcoin is a type of crypto currency. So what is a crypto currency?

For us our listeners who are new to bitcoin, let's start with defining a couple of important terms. Now, bitcoin is a type of crypto currency. So what is a crypto currency?

Look.

Look.

Essentially, a cryptocurrency is a digital currency and it allows people to make payments directly to each other online, now look, ultimately though, because they have no legislated or intrinsic value, listeners have got to understand that. The IRBA states that cryptocurrencies are only worth what people are willing to pay for them. They don't have inherent value.

Essentially, a cryptocurrency is a digital currency and it allows people to make payments directly to each other online, now look, ultimately though, because they have no legislated or intrinsic value, listeners have got to understand that. The IRBA states that cryptocurrencies are only worth what people are willing to pay for them. They don't have inherent value.

So it's not like a gold coin being two bucks, it will always be two bucks. It can fluctuate in value pretty much. It's got relative value. Now, according to research, this industry has exploded and there are more than ten thousand crypto assets, including those that are infrequently traded and also tiny types of crypto assets. But there is one big one called Bitcoin, which we've been talking about. Why is there so much focus on this particular crypto currency.

So it's not like a gold coin being two bucks, it will always be two bucks. It can fluctuate in value pretty much. It's got relative value. Now, according to research, this industry has exploded and there are more than ten thousand crypto assets, including those that are infrequently traded and also tiny types of crypto assets. But there is one big one called Bitcoin, which we've been talking about. Why is there so much focus on this particular crypto currency.

Look, largely it's name recognition, but also Bitcoin has the largest market cap of any cryptocurrency. We're talking more than two trillion dollars at least in the middle of this year. Now to give some context to that figure, it's three times larger than the second last largest crypto by market cap, which is Ethereum, which is six hundred and eighty billion. And Bitcoin is a whopping eighty four times larger than the tenth largest currency by market cap, which is Cadano. So In general, Bitcoin accounts for roughly seventy percent of all of cryptocurrency's market value.

Look, largely it's name recognition, but also Bitcoin has the largest market cap of any cryptocurrency. We're talking more than two trillion dollars at least in the middle of this year. Now to give some context to that figure, it's three times larger than the second last largest crypto by market cap, which is Ethereum, which is six hundred and eighty billion. And Bitcoin is a whopping eighty four times larger than the tenth largest currency by market cap, which is Cadano. So In general, Bitcoin accounts for roughly seventy percent of all of cryptocurrency's market value.

It's massive, so it's pretty much the dominant crypto currency if you like, How do mom and dad investors invest in this asset?

It's massive, so it's pretty much the dominant crypto currency if you like, How do mom and dad investors invest in this asset?

ETFs? I think ETFs is the answer to any investment question these days. There's a spot Bitcoin ETF that was released around earlier this year. That's the way to get into it. That's the way to invest.

ETFs? I think ETFs is the answer to any investment question these days. There's a spot Bitcoin ETF that was released around earlier this year. That's the way to get into it. That's the way to invest.

So now we've talked about how to invest. Now let's talk about the risks. So what are the risks for those who are in you to this concept of investing in digital currency.

So now we've talked about how to invest. Now let's talk about the risks. So what are the risks for those who are in you to this concept of investing in digital currency.

What you really need to know is, unlike legal tender at the moment notes and coins, which if you lose them you might be able to refine them, they are a physical entity, Bitcoin is wholly digital. You lose it, you can't get it back. There's no clawback, you can't ask the bank to refund you nothing. You are in a pickle if you lose it. You've got to think also about investment scams. When it comes to investment scams, you have to go back to the back premise. There's no such thing as easy fast returns. Particularly on crypto. If someone is promising your returns of fifty percent, one hundred percent, two hundred percent, it's simply not real. You might have read about some crypto bro earning that, but that will be a face. Just to reiterate, there are no way to claw back any mistake you make with crypto. It's not held anywhere. It's simply traded between people. It's very different to a bank transfer, because if you can call up your bank to try to reverse a transfer that you've done incorrectly, they're persistence in place to prevent those kind of things. Twenty four hour locks, et cetera. Cryptos entirely different thing. You can't get it back.

What you really need to know is, unlike legal tender at the moment notes and coins, which if you lose them you might be able to refine them, they are a physical entity, Bitcoin is wholly digital. You lose it, you can't get it back. There's no clawback, you can't ask the bank to refund you nothing. You are in a pickle if you lose it. You've got to think also about investment scams. When it comes to investment scams, you have to go back to the back premise. There's no such thing as easy fast returns. Particularly on crypto. If someone is promising your returns of fifty percent, one hundred percent, two hundred percent, it's simply not real. You might have read about some crypto bro earning that, but that will be a face. Just to reiterate, there are no way to claw back any mistake you make with crypto. It's not held anywhere. It's simply traded between people. It's very different to a bank transfer, because if you can call up your bank to try to reverse a transfer that you've done incorrectly, they're persistence in place to prevent those kind of things. Twenty four hour locks, et cetera. Cryptos entirely different thing. You can't get it back.

And I believe that in terms of crypto scams, one hundred and seventy one million dollars has been lost to crypto scams last year. Thank you Vanessa for all that information. So if you want to know more, check out our July cover story Crypto Breaks Through, available online through Magshop dot com dot au. Or you can also read our online article on why crypto is surging on moneymag dot com dot au. We'll put down the links in our show notes. Thanks for listening to this bonus podcast. I'm Michelle Baltazar. Bye for now.

And I believe that in terms of crypto scams, one hundred and seventy one million dollars has been lost to crypto scams last year. Thank you Vanessa for all that information. So if you want to know more, check out our July cover story Crypto Breaks Through, available online through Magshop dot com dot au. Or you can also read our online article on why crypto is surging on moneymag dot com dot au. We'll put down the links in our show notes. Thanks for listening to this bonus podcast. I'm Michelle Baltazar. Bye for now.

Thanks for listening to the Friends with Money podcast. For credible, independent and easy to understand financial commentary, visit moneymag dot com dot au. Please remember that the views and opinions expressed in this podcast are general in nature and further independent advice and research based on your personal circumstances should be sought before making an investment decision

Thanks for listening to the Friends with Money podcast. For credible, independent and easy to understand financial commentary, visit moneymag dot com dot au. Please remember that the views and opinions expressed in this podcast are general in nature and further independent advice and research based on your personal circumstances should be sought before making an investment decision