Stellar Soars in Valuation This 2018, Making It to Top Fiat Money

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. – Stellar has gotten plenty of attention as its ranking shifted from 10th place to sitting at the 8th in the top digital currencies in the world based on market cap.
Stellar’s sudden climb illustrates approximately 65 percent growth, which means that it can be traded 17.5 percent higher compared with its original standing.

In line with Stellar’s success is evident earl this 2018, it has already earned the confidence of particular business partners like IBM. The said tech company is now using Stellar’s network to build a cross-border system of payments with some of the biggest banking companies in the market.

Bitcoin which has a market cap of $232 billion is overshadowed by Stellar these past few nights due to the high takes. Financial analysts say that Bitcoin has lost to Stellar its upward motion during the two weeks that had passed. What took the place of the fast developments of Bitcoin was Stellar.

In Bitcoin’s Defense

Despite statistical evidence, many Bitcoin enthusiasts are still firm that the digital money will keep on growing all throughout 2018.

Their arguments are grounded on the huge decline in the US dollar ever since year 2003 highlighting its 3-month low against other currency competitors.

Ever Bank World Markets Chris Gaffney suggested that the US dollar will mostly like keep on tumbling down until the end of 2018, also emphasizing the lack of short-term recovery.

Meanwhile, Exante Data CEO Jens Nordvig came to the US dollar’s defense saying that after a huge loss, it is expected that recovery will occur thereafter. He stated that most cryptocurrency enthusiasts and analysts just so happen to be biased about the dollar.

ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees was among the cryptocurrency analysts defending Bitcoin. He said the market valuation of digital money keeps on rising primarily due to the supposed separation between the state and money.

Voorhees noted that greed is the primary component fueling cryptocurrency bubbles. However, he clarified that the continuous price growth which occurred illustrated the demand for financial freedom from the state.

Lash Back on Bitcoin

Due to the price correction which occurred this past December, many jitters were sent from cryptocurrency doubters regarding the price yields of Bitcoin.

However, American billionaire Tilman Fertitta came to Bitcoin’s rescue explaining the difference between big and small players.

Fertitta categorized Bitcoin worriers are the small players. According to her, these investors are not prepared to put too much of their money at risk. She also emphasized that Bitcoin is nothing but paper which means that the digital money is not different from any other fiat currency.

The only slight difference befalls the fact that these cryptocurrencies are not insured by the FDIC. She noted until the FDIC insures digital money, many people will remain to be weary regarding its market valuation.

Larger corporations have already entered the Bitcoin trade following the integration of digital currency and smart contracts. However, there is still some reluctance in investing bigger amounts of money.

The Head of currency and Forex technology company, FiREapps Wolfgang Koester, made it clear that even though huge companies enjoy trading with smaller costs, they are not comfortable investing their money in a speculative environment.

Russian Bishop Against Cryptocurrencies

In the meantime, whether digital money is an all-time low or all-time high is not important for Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of the Russian Orthodox Church.

According to Alfeyev, the rise of cryptocurrencies like Stellar is just another one of those Ponzi schemes, wherein there is no value waiting for the investor.

His apathy towards digital money is grounded by the natural progression of the entire banking system. Due to the advancement of technology, banking systems are growing alongside technology.

With that in mind, real assets are converted to virtual ones. He ended the note saying that this banking progression makes way for usury, which Alfeyev believes has been condemned by the church dating back to history.

Despite that, the bishop admitted that the church is powerless against the issue since everyone, including them, has to keep their money in the bank.

According to Alfeyev, there is a cutoff between traditional assets and digital money. In reality, what is considered as money is the one that is tangible. However, with the rise of digital money, most people have started to believe that electronic numbers in themselves have market valuation, which according to the bishop illustrates some sort of danger for the future.

The bishop also pointed out that there are already more dollars in the world than there are gold assets. In that way, Alfeyev says that dollar has already become some sort of digital currency wherein the rise and fall of value, not to mention the money in circulation, can no longer be controlled.

The India’s Ministry of Finance also chimed in voicing the same opinion as Alfeyev about the Ponzi scheme aspect of cryptocurrencies.

The ministry of finance stated that cryptocurrency lacks intrinsic value and is mostly based on mere speculations.

In the long while, investors and other consumers are exposed to certain risks. They can either lose large amount of their investments or they can lose it entirely.

Israel’s National Cryptocurrency

Setting aside the negative views about digital money, there still remain countries that welcome the financial advancement with open arms. Some of them are Dubai and Russia, and evidently, Israel plans to follow their footsteps.

Digital shekels will soon join Bitcoin, Stellar, Altcoin, and other cryptocurrencies. The said digital money was said to correspond with the physical shekels.

The decision to integrate this cryptocurrency was grounded on the fact that the black market comprises most of Israel’s gross domestic product. Digital shekels are Israel’s way to make the occurrence less evident.

Israel has also confirmed that it is working on new laws that will discourage the use of paper cash such as paying fees in paper money.

The digital shekel development project is still up for discussion, but there is already a proposed bill for Economic Arrangements Bill. If approved, there will be a separate board for digital shekels.

At the end of it all, it is not really whether Stellar is going to be the next big thing following Bitcoin. Rather, it is the awareness that digital money is crawling its way to people’s lives despite negative reactions.