A new privacy tool, Privacy Pools, launched on Ethereum by 0xbow.io on March 31, allows users to transact privately while proving their funds aren’t tied to illicit activities.

The S&P 500 rose 0.55%, with 10 of 11 sectors up, led by staples, financials, and utilities. Gold hit a record $3,128.06, set for its best quarter since 1986, driven by tariff fears and safe-haven demand. The Coindesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, are up by 1.88%, with Bitcoin down by 0.16% and Ether up by 0.39% in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is WAL, up 28.1%, following the building of trust in the digital world with the power of Walrus and blockchain provenance.

Walrus (WAL), launched in March 2025, is a decentralized storage network on Sui, enhancing Filecoin and Arweave with programmable, scalable storage by distributing file fragments across global nodes for reliability. 

, a key part of the Provenance Stack, ensures content remains unaltered with decentralized storage, while Sui tracks ownership on a fast, scalable blockchain. Blockchain technology offers a solution to the internet's struggle with verifying digital content, combating misinformation and fraud. By adopting these tools, developers, creators, and users can build a more trustworthy digital world based on verifiable content origin.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

, launched on Ethereum by 0xbow.io on March 31, allows users to transact privately while proving their funds aren’t tied to illicit activities. The tool, which earned support from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, uses “Association Sets” to batch transactions into anonymous pools, with a screening process to ensure funds are not linked to criminals. If a deposit is flagged as illicit, users can "ragequit" and reclaim their funds. The project aims to balance privacy with regulatory compliance, following backlash against privacy tools like Tornado Cash. Initial deposits are limited to 1 Ether, with the possibility of increasing the limit once the protocol is tested further. Privacy Pools has already received over 21 ETH in deposits, including Buterin’s. The tool was inspired by a white paper co-authored by Buterin and others, and its code passed a successful audit.

Yesterday, BTC spot ETFs saw a net outflow of $75.7M, with no change in GBTC and all losses from non-GBTC funds.

 the first agentic ecosystem on BNB Chain, allowing users to securely create, train, and collaborate with AI agents. Users can launch AI agents by staking through their EVM wallets, with training hubs and reward systems coming soon. Additionally, gas fees deposited for voting can now be withdrawn via the Mind Network dashboard.

Beginner

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Privacy Pools launches on Ethereum with Vitalik Buterin's support and focus on regulated privacy

AB is a scalable blockchain ecosystem enabling real-world asset tokenization, cross-chain interoperability, and decentralized governance for global adoption.

 technology, projects have to evolve and adapt in order to remain competitive and relevant in the space. One such project that has continued to evolve is AB, which rebranded from Newton Project in February 2025.

Within a month of its rebranding, AB continued on a price rally that saw the AB token hit its all-time high (ATH) price of $0.017 on Mar 22, 2025.

The Newton Project began in 2018 with the vision of creating a community economy whose members would benefit from the project's growth.

Now, with the rebranding to AB, the project has shifted into building a broader and more advanced blockchain ecosystem that includes 

 (RWA) integration and optimized tokenomics.

 is a heterogeneous and interoperable blockchain network designed to help bridge the gap between digital and real-world economies.

 The project builds on the vision of the Newton Project, which was started in 2018 to provide a community-focused blockchain economy centered on decentralization.

The rebranding of Newton to AB signifies a shift toward empowered decentralization, enhanced liquidity, more real-world adoption and better interoperability.

With its shift, AB has developed a more advanced architecture with the following innovative features to cater to the dynamic needs of 

 (DAO) empowers AB token holders to actively participate in the project's governance. Token holders can propose and vote on key decisions, including network upgrades, economic parameters and strategic initiatives, ensuring the ecosystem remains community-driven.

, thereby promoting transparency and accountability. This decentralized model fosters trust and aligns the project's evolution with the interests of its community.

​AB Wallet is a decentralized digital wallet, developed by the AB Foundation, that’s designed to support multiple tokens with an emphasis on speed and security. It serves as the official wallet for the AB Community Economy, allowing users to manage their digital assets efficiently. The wallet is available for download on the App Store, and as an APK for Android devices.

NewBridge, which is integrated within the AB Wallet, is a cross-chain platform developed by the AB Core Team that facilitates the transfer of assets across different blockchains. It enables users to move assets such as 

Developers can also utilize NewBridge's APIs to create 

 (DApps) with cross-chain capabilities. ​

AB operates at a more advanced level than its predecessor, the Newton Project, while remaining true to the vision of a community-focused blockchain economy.

Central to AB's operations is its MainNet (formerly known as New Chain in Newton). This public blockchain is fast and scalable, with a

 (PoA) consensus mechanism that entrusts several pre-approved validators with the security and validation of transactions on AB’s network.

 is designed to provide technical support to business 

 by delivering real value. This technology layer supports various features, such as supply chain, digital and credit identity, payments and self-finance. One of AB's first applications powered by this technology is New Mall, an e-commerce store that leverages blockchain technology.

With the rebranding, AB introduced sidechains to ensure optimized functionality on AB, which leads to scalability and better efficiency.

AB also enhances the Hyper Exchange Protocol's real-world utility by facilitating the tokenization of RWAs into blockchain tokens on its network. This makes it easier to trade these assets, which leads to more adoption.

The AB token (formerly NEW) is the native cryptocurrency of the AB crypto project. Its various use cases include the following:

As of Apr 1, 2025, AB was trading at $0.015, which is a 13.1% drop from its ATH of $0.017 on Mar 22, 2025, and an increase of almost 400,000% from its ATL of $0.0000038 on Oct 11, 2022.

AB has a total supply of 100 billion tokens, with a circulating supply of approximately 50 billion. With the rebranding, AB has revised its tokenomics to promote liquidity and incentivize participation in the network.

With the updated token distribution model, 56.6 billion AB tokens were locked as of February 2025. These tokens will be released monthly over a period of 12 months, and will be fully in circulation by February 2026.

Also, from February 2025, token incentives were made exclusive to machine node operators on the MainNet and sidechains. However, the project is exploring ways to incentivize AB token holders in the future through 

AB marks a significant evolution in blockchain technology, rebranding from the Newton Project to better align with its vision of real-world adoption. By leveraging the AB MainNet, high-performance sidechains and cross-chain interoperability, AB is positioning itself as a scalable and efficient blockchain ecosystem.

With use cases spanning finance, gaming, supply chain and asset tokenization, AB enables seamless integration of blockchain tech into everyday applications. Its decentralized governance model via the AB DAO ensures transparency and community-driven innovation. As AB continues expanding its ecosystem, it stands to drive mainstream blockchain adoption, providing traditional industries with a bridge to web3 solutions.

Intermediate

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AB (AB): Scaling blockchain for real-world adoption

Space Nation is a web3 gaming and media ecosystem. Gamers play as space explorers, fulfilling a variety of quests and earn cryptocurrency. Learn more here.

Massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are one of the most popular types within the online world of 

. These immersive worlds, where players level up characters through exploration, fighting and trading, are a great way to capture gamers' imaginations. It's no surprise, then, that there's a big demand for MMORPGs with 

 capabilities. By combining classic gaming strategies with blockchain technology, Space Nation hopes to create the most immersive gaming experience ever. Keep reading to learn all about Space Nation's design and see what its crypto tokens are like.

 is a web3 gaming and media ecosystem. Gamers play as explorers navigating through outer space to fulfill a variety of quests and earn cryptocurrency. The game also has links to a live-action TV show and other real-world media.

. Its founding team has decades of collective experience working with AAA games, including 

, and also includes filmmakers who have worked on movies like 

. This diverse set of founders is united by their love of science fiction and gaming. To help make their dream a reality, they’re joined by a team of over 10 cryptocurrency and game design experts. Space Nation has been in development since 2022, and has acquired over $50 million worth of funding.

 is to create a vibrant, immersive gaming ecosystem for users to enjoy. While many web3 games are focused more on fast releases and impressive crypto prices, there’s a real need for quality 

 games. Space Nation hopes to create a complex system that entertains and challenges users while using blockchain technology as just one of many tools. Its stated four primary goals are as follows:

As a huge MMORPG with thousands of assets, locations and players, Space Nation's system is highly complex. Its games are designed to be fully playable for both Web 2.0 and web3 users. Anyone can download 

 onto their computer as standard software, and the player interface will guide users through enjoying the game. As with most MMORPGs, there’s a whole team of designers behind the project who come up with asset designs, questlines and world-building to make the game entertaining.

 chain is known for its scalability and cost efficiency, and Space Nation believes it can easily accommodate massive numbers of players. The blockchain handles things like buying and selling ships, buying fuel and other in-game essentials. Meanwhile, the Space Nation account system lets users log in with their 

, and then automatically handles game token management for players. 

Although Space Nation is just starting out, it's already released quite a few features for gamers to enjoy.

 revolves around ships that players can create and operate to fly through space and reach various location markers. Players can choose between combat, mining and exploration ships, depending upon how they wish to play the game. Quests guide a player through certain activities, and the player receives rewards that help them level up their spaceship and captain. In addition, players are in charge of their own growth, and can choose various development paths based on how they want to interact with the game. 

. The first, craftable NFTs, consists of in-game assets that can be made from game materials or purchased if players don't want to craft them themselves. Craftable NFTs are primarily tools or simple ships. 

There are also collectible, non-craftable NFTs that provide exclusive perks, such as the ability to participate in alpha and beta playtests. Some of these non-craftable NFTs also offer rare skins for your spaceship or profile picture. 

After testing its system through several closed betas and soft launches, Space Nation is aiming for a full public global launch, set to take place sometime in 2025 after the final soft launch concludes. Once the game is operational, the system will launch the Space Nation 

 (DAO) in stages. The eventual goal is to give players full control over their world. There are also plans to expand to a mobile game that can be played directly from a player’s cell phone.

Unlike some other games, Space Nation actually has two tokens. This dual-token system supports flexibility and ensures that people can enjoy the game, regardless of their particular web3 capabilities.

. People can use it to participate in community governance and to interact with subsidiary games that use Space Nation IP. OIK is fully on-chain, and can be bought and sold in 

. Even if you don't have a blockchain wallet, or want to operate the game as a play-to-earn system, you use CHR for tasks such as purchasing game assets. CHR is available as a reward for various activities, and can be used to obtain useful items. The token is currently off-chain, but it can be converted into USDC–Immutable zkEVM tokens that have real-world value.

 to get people involved in its ecosystem. You’re eligible for the OIK airdrop if you've participated in closed beta testing, or in 

 or Discord events for Space Nation. Users can also burn some of their NFTs in exchange for OIK, and can claim their portions of the airdrop by signing into their online Space Nation accounts. 

The OIK Space Nation ecosystem token can be used for everything from staking to 

. In addition to being bought and sold publicly, you can also earn it playing the game. There’s a total supply of 

, to be unlocked over a 10-year schedule. All tokens will be distributed as follows:

Looking to trade Space Nation tokens? Bybit now offers the OIK/USDT Spot trading pair. To get started, you’ll first need to create a Bybit account, then fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

Since its release in mid-March, the OIK token’s price has bounced between an all-time high (ATH) of $0.1587 and an ATL of $0.04119. There’s been some enthusiasm for this token due to the game’s positive reviews from players. Furthermore, the potential 

 based on the Space Nation universe could be an extremely valuable form of marketing for OIK. However, some traders have expressed concern about Space Nation’s tokenomics and the fact that the development team reserves the right to change OIK’s minting and selling opportunities.

Ultimately, this coin is a good choice for investors looking to put their extra cash into an intriguing crypto project. Keep in mind that its prestigious backers don't entirely remove risk from the coin. You'll still need to account for market volatility and avoid investing all your essential funds into Space Nation's OIK token. And as always — 

Space Nation is a great example of how a well-designed game can be augmented with blockchain technology. The 

 space exploration game is perfect for fans of 

 and similar MMORPGs. In addition to providing an exciting environment for gamers, Space Nation also has some great opportunities for investors. As it works on releasing the OIK token, be sure to keep an eye on this project.

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Space Nation (OIK): Conquer the cosmos in your starship saga

Bybit Learn spoke to TraderMercury, a long-time Bybit partner and trader known for his disciplined and philosophical approach to markets. 

Bybit Learn spoke to TraderMercury (@TraderMercury on X), a long-time Bybit partner and trader known for his disciplined and philosophical approach to markets. 

Mercury reveals his journey as a trader, how he overcame his biggest challenges and navigated markets to become a successful trader.

Please note that this article and any tokens mentioned does not constitute financial advice. The interview has been edited for formatting and grammatical accuracy.

Q: Firstly — congratulations on retiring your parents! How did that feel?

 It feels incredible. My family has been through a lot and many of my followers have heard my story about how my parents went from being broke, to millionaires, to being homeless. My ultimate goal has been to grant them an early retirement ever since I was 14 years old, and at the end of 2024 I was finally able to do that, thanks to markets.

Q: You've tweeted that you got into crypto 7 years ago — how did you first get into trading crypto? What sparked your interest, and what motivated you to dive into the wild west of crypto?

 I initially got into crypto by scrolling Twitter and seeing an ad for XRP/Ripple at the time. It piqued my interest and I immediately saw crypto as a ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme. I was naive enough to dive into things head first, and ironically I actually did get rich quick — I bought just before the final push upwards in 2017, and my account was up 4x in the span of a few weeks. I remember thinking to myself: “I’ll just hold these assets forever and retire,” to which I was met with -90% drawdowns over the course of the next few months, after taking no profit at all.

I became intrigued by the premise of volatility. My large losses only exacerbated my fuel to achieve large gains; I figured someone was making money from this market, why couldn’t it be me?

Q: Tell us about TraderMecury's trading journey — what were some of the biggest challenges you faced as a beginner, what advice would you give yourself if you were just starting out?

 My trading journey was initially described above, and was followed by a large humbling in March of 2020. Prior to that, I had spent the past 2 years recovering my losses from that initial naivety since joining crypto, and once again managed to rally my account 5x in that time period, leading up to March 2020. When the covid crash happened, I was caught with positions in the middle of it, and due to a failure of applying risk management, and overconfidence in my abilities, I was once again met with -80% drawdown on my entire portfolio — which, because I was only 20 years old at the time, also happened to be 100% of my net worth.

That moment was by far the most difficult event I’ve ever dealt with, but the most difficult aspect of trading was my inability to hold unrealized profit.

After my humbling, I regathered myself and restructured my approach from the very foundation. I began to view the market differently than my prior-self. I was now finding myself detaching from the market and at peace with the way I was trading, which felt very refreshing in comparison to the 2 years I had spent prior slaving away at the charts and utterly destroying my mental health.

But I was met with a new issue: I often closed positions too early, out of fear that the market would take those gains away just as quickly as it gave me those gains. I was now struck with trauma due to my experiences.

It was difficult, but I had to pace myself; slowing down with the amount I was trading with, and also forcing myself to hold positions, no matter how much my brain wanted to impulsively close positions out of randomness.

Q: You're known for your disciplined approach to trading, your 'snowball to snowman' way of thinking and trend-following strategy. Tell us about how you use it to navigate markets.

 After March 2020, when the dust had settled and I was forced to look at my new, networth of -80% lower than where it had been just a few weeks prior, I remember thinking to myself “there was nothing I could have done.” But I soon realized that was not true — I saw the downtrend, I acknowledged the drawdown, I knew what options I had, yet I consciously decided to do nothing. I had friends that made a doctor's annual salary during that same event. Again, I thought to myself, “why couldn’t that be me?”

I vowed to never let the market ‘catch me off-guard’ ever again. I realized that for whatever happens next, I must see it coming to a smaller degree first in order for that same momentum to be exaggerated further — hence “it is impossible to build a snowman without making a snowball first.”

Combine that analogy with the manner of which you build a 1000-piece puzzle. You do not randomly grab two pieces and question if they go together — you grab the pieces with a flat-edge, which clearly makes the border for the puzzle, and start there. You then fragment the puzzle and categorize by color schemes, using objects within the puzzle that are more easily identifiable, and begin piecing those together. From there, the puzzle’s completion is well on its way, and by understanding each section of the puzzle, you’ve now given yourself the clarity to understand the puzzle in its entirety, with the utmost clarity.

The analysis I make about any market operates in the same manner. I understand what’s occurring on one timeframe, and how that relates with the timeframes higher or lower. I keep repeating this process until the chart as a whole makes sense — at which point I’m now able to break down the market's complicated movements to a 5-year old, as if I were reading a storybook. Context is key, so considering the context of one timeframe into the next is a great way of adopting an intuition, a feel for the market’s movements and getting a jump on what may happen next.

Q: What was your best trade? How did you go through with the thesis, setup, execution and exit?

 My best trade as of now was just recently, as I bought Bitcoin around $57k, and sold it at an average of $100k. The percentage gain may not seem like much for crypto natives, but due to my conviction in the thesis I was playing into, I was able to justify risking more than usual in order to fully capitalize on the opportunity before me. Conviction is that feeling in your gut that tells you you’re witnessing an incredible opportunity in its’ infancy, before the greater market has been able to identify it — I remember telling the members in my discord that the price action in September 2024 and the sentiment in the air reminded me of the bear market lows in 2022. As a trader that thrives off of exaggerated momentum driven moves, it’s my job to extract lots of value from those moves; I also remember telling my members, both at the time and now, about how “even though I’ve managed to benefit from all 6 of the major rallies throughout the past 2 years, I’ve only ever compared to the bear market lows once” — that’s conviction.

Prior to that rally, my biggest win was in March 2023, once again on Bitcoin, after USDC began to depeg. I felt my back was against the wall as I hold most of my trading portfolio in USDC whenever I’m pending a new setup, and the environment at the time was plagued with uncertainty — not just for stablecoins, but for banks that were seemingly going insolvent every other week as well. Even though it was against my trading philosophy to do so, I managed to buy Bitcoin at the exact bottom with a bulk portion of my trading account, just beneath $20k, before it rallied to $30k in the next week — thanks to a fundamental understanding of Bitcoin as an asset. Whenever I tell this story, people immediately interject that I got lucky, and whilst luck plays a role in every success story, I like to believe that my luck was a byproduct of my discipline and decisions leading up to a major FUD event. Remember in March 2020 I did not have the luxury of ‘buying the dip’ — this time, I had previously cut positions 15-20% higher than where the market bent my hand and forced me to buy Bitcoin due to its’ fundamentals. The tier of quality of options that I had given myself were substantially greater than what an alternate version of myself could have been presented with, and therefore, so was the outcome.

Q: How do you maintain emotional control and deal with FOMO or fear during extreme market volatility?

 At some point, I think you become numb to it. I’ve found myself treating volatility as ‘normal’ and because I’ve traded the market for over 7 years now, there’s nothing that I haven’t seen, in either direction. That emotional discipline and maturity comes with experience — which is why it’s frequently mentioned that experience, especially in crypto, is invaluable. I also like to remind myself that “opportunity is abundant.” In a true manic rally, there is always more opportunity than what you can catch, so it’s inevitable that you will miss out on most things. The beauty in this is: even if you manage to capture a crumb of the opportunity that’s presented to you, that alone can be sufficient. It’s imperative to accept that you will not catch everything, and also realize that you do not need to. Bend your perspective to be in an ‘abundance’ mindset as opposed to a ‘scarcity’ mindset.

Fear on the other hand is inevitable; regardless of your positioning, there is always something to be fearful of. If you’re long: you fear a selloff. If you’re sidelined or short: you fear a market rally. If fear is inevitable, then it is also redundant. Find a way to mitigate fear of the market by taking comfort in whatever risk you’re taking, and formulate a strategy that allows you to express that positioning in a rational manner in order to achieve that comfort. ‘Balance’ is incredibly underrated, and allows for greater and more consistent results over time, in my experience; whereas extreme positioning and stances in the market invoke emotions and often create large setbacks.

Q: The recent market selloff has hit a lot of traders hard. How did you navigate the drawdown, and what tips would you give to those who’ve taken significant losses?

 As mentioned above I managed to cash out some of my investments, as well as close positions near the highs. There were a few losses that were taken since then as the market began to chop up and eventually downtrend, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary for me with my system — I navigated this selloff just like every other selloff in the market, and to the degree that I expect myself to. I have my fair share of bags that went to 0, but that was a calculated risk, which had previously paid off, and is not a substantial portion of my trading account by any means, mostly because I knew exactly what I was doing and “if you play stupid games, you’ll win stupid prizes.” 

So it’s not to say that I was unaffected by the market’s downturn, it’s just that it’s nothing new for me, and is no different than any other downturn, and I’ve allowed myself the grace to see it that way due to my philosophical approach to markets, and the foundation I’ve built for myself. When I see a downtrend that looks like, smells like and trades like a downtrend… and it continues downtrending, I am not allowed to be surprised. From there, it’s a matter of expressing the discipline and patience to step out of the way and wait for better days; knowing when to deploy capital to take asymmetric risks, but also knowing when to preserve capital in order to have the luxury of deploying later on.

Q: What are your thoughts on the current market condition? Which part of the cycle do you think we are at now, and has the cycle played out as you expected?

 There are lots of caveats, but the cycle has pretty much done exactly what I expected it to. I know people say it’s the worst bull market ever, but I think the market is what you make of it, and it seems unfair to throw labels onto something like that with no way of quantifying it — this has been my best bull market ever. With that said, I’m not sure what to expect next from a cyclical standpoint, and I truly think it’s best to avoid those thoughts because it seems like energy wasted in comparison to the value those thoughts bring, even if uncannily accurate. I do, however, think that the crypto market is broken as of my time of writing, and I’m waiting to see if stocks are as well, because that would be potentially indicative of a market that disallows for recoveries as we’ve seen the past 2 years. Many charts in crypto need lots of repair before we can have a conversation of a bull market resumption, and that’s typically not something that occurs in a few days.

Q: Finally, how do you use Bybit in your day-to-day crypto trading or investing, and what aspects of the platform do you like? Is there anything you would like to see improved on Bybit?

 Bybit has been my primary trading platform since 2019 — back when they only had 3 pairs to trade, and they were all inverse perpetuals, haha! It’s come a long way, and I remain in awe at the improvements made, the integrity of Bybit and its team, and the seamlessness of the trading experience. It is truly incredible to watch Bybit succeed and continue to grow, and I look forward to the future. I think the recent hack, and how Bybit managed to communicate, handle and operate through that unfortunate event, put on a global display of the same values that established my desire to be a partner with Bybit for all these years — absolutely incredible job.

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Mastering crypto market psychology with TraderMercury

Bybit Learn

Investing

Trading

Crypto

Compare the pros and cons of investing in cryptocurrencies versus stocks, including risk, regulation, and potential returns.

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Over the past few years, cryptocurrencies have become a popular and commonly traded asset class. Although the crypto market is still well behind the stock market by size and trade volumes, it has achieved impressive growth in recent years, with many investors increasingly appreciating the unique benefits that this young asset class may deliver. Among these benefits are higher potential returns, with Bitcoin (BTC) having vastly 

 in recent years; low barriers to entry; diverse choice of assets; and independence from a central controlling authority.

Despite these benefits, many investors are concerned about levels of regulation for both cryptocurrencies and their trade. Having grown accustomed to the tightly regulated stock market, some investors find crypto too risky for their taste. Yet, over the last few years, the levels of regulatory control and oversight applied to cryptocurrency have grown substantially, increasingly blurring the lines between crypto and stocks. 

While cryptocurrencies are still less regulated than traditional asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, commodities and forex, they now operate under a much more defined and rigorous regulatory system that allows more investors — including those who have traditionally stuck with the stock market — to take advantage of crypto's unique benefits.

With crypto becoming increasingly accepted as a viable form of investment, many investors and traders are now wondering if trading cryptocurrencies can provide an edge over trading stocks, or any advantages as an accompaniment to trading stocks. In this article, we look at these two major asset classes of modern finance — crypto and stocks — to help you answer these questions with more clarity.

 are digital assets issued generally circulated on 

 — networks whose operations and security are enforced by a 

 among many (often thousands) of independent network nodes. On these networks, cryptocurrencies are used as the asset directly utilized for facilitating decentralized consensus and on-chain security. 

Additionally, cryptocurrencies act as digital currencies for value exchange and storage within individual blockchains. In addition to its on-chain uses, crypto is also utilized beyond blockchain networks as a digital currency available for trading on both 

In fact, trading crypto via CEXs has become a major activity for many traders and investors, due to its use of an 

 system that greatly resembles that of traditional stock markets. This structure has created a new and vibrant market within the overall finance ecosystem. As of the time of this writing (Oct 21, 2024), the overall market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies stands at over $2.48 trillion, a figure that makes the crypto market hard to ignore.

The world's first and still largest cryptocurrency asset — BTC, more frequently referred to simply as 

 — was launched in early 2009. While thousands of cryptocurrencies have been introduced in the years following Bitcoin's birth, none has managed to topple the pioneer of the cryptocurrency world. Bitcoin still holds slightly over half (54%) of the $2.48 trillion market cap that makes up the entire crypto market. Native to the Bitcoin blockchain, BTC is used to secure the network's operations, pay for on-chain transaction fees and to store and transfer value.

With close to 13% of the total market cap share, 

 (ETH) is the crypto market's second-largest asset. ETH, often referred to as Ether, performs exactly the same essential functions on its own blockchain, Ethereum, as BTC does on the Bitcoin chain — securing the network's operations, acting as a means of payment for on-chain transfer fees and being used to store and transfer value. However, the Ethereum blockchain has an additional functionality that Bitcoin largely lacks — the ability to support 

 (DApps), blockchain-based applications powered by complex programmable logic via 

. ETH, along with the many cryptocurrencies native to these applications, can generally be used for transaction fee payments within the DApps.

The Bitcoin and Ethereum duo dominate the cryptocurrency market cap rankings, together holding nearly two-thirds of the entire crypto market's capitalization.

Stocks are regulated financial assets that grant holders the right to a share of public company ownership. They’re traded on highly regulated stock exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX). In the U.S., the primary regulator for stock exchanges is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Stock ownership may entitle you to receive dividends distributed by a company, of which you’re a partial owner. However, dividend payments aren't an obligation for a public company, and in many cases, investors don't get this perk for years, if ever. Just ask any stock owner of Tesla (TSLA), a business well-known to have never paid dividends.

Many stock market investors, however, aren't relying on or even expecting dividends from their assets. The typical stock owner is counting on their stocks’ price appreciation to turn a profit.

Stock ownership can also act as an indirect way to invest in a particular commodity. For instance, some investors who want to include gold-linked assets in their portfolios may choose stocks of gold mining companies, such as Newmont Corporation (NEM), Barrick Gold Corporation (GOLD), Gold Fields Limited (GFI) and more.

Crypto vs. Stocks: Similarities and Differences

Both cryptocurrencies and stocks are traded mostly on dedicated order book-based exchange platforms — stock exchanges in the case of stocks, and CEXs in the case of crypto. A small volume of stock trade does occur outside of exchanges, on both private and over-the-counter (OTC) markets. However, the majority of trade volume in stocks occurs on exchanges. Likewise, a modest proportion (usually around 10 to 15%) of crypto trade takes place on blockchain-based DEXs, with the remaining trade flowing through CEX platforms.

Both crypto and stocks can be valuable assets for the purpose of diversifying portfolios. In fact, a popular strategy is to combine these two asset classes to form a well-diversified investment position. Additionally, both markets offer a wide variety of choices for investors. As of mid-October 2024, there are around 60,000 publicly traded company stocks in existence, with the world's largest exchange by market cap (NYSE) listing close to 2,300 of those companies. Meanwhile, the number of cryptocurrencies is far from trivial — approximately 15,000, per data from CoinGecko.

Both cryptocurrencies and stocks can involve scams and underhanded tactics on the part of the companies and entities behind them. Within crypto markets, 

 are the most publicized form of fraud. In a typical rug pull, the cryptocurrency issuer quickly withdraws all liquidity and support for the asset, leaving investors with worthless coins. In the stock market, insider trading — whereby certain investors and groups trade the stock using non-public information that gives them an unfair advantage over other market participants— is a common problem.

 before investing in a stock or crypto token is imperative for all investors who wish to avoid falling victim to such scams.

On average, cryptocurrencies feature a markedly higher level of 

 than stocks. While this reality makes crypto a relatively riskier asset type, it also means higher potential returns. However, that's not necessarily the case in all scenarios. For example, for extended periods of time, certain stocks — particularly in the technology sector — may exhibit greater volatility than the more stable cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.

The stock market is heavily regulated, while cryptocurrencies currently operate in an environment with much lower regulatory oversight. It should be noted, however, that in recent years, the level of regulation in crypto markets has gradually increased. Regulatory authorities such as the U,S, SEC are increasingly turning their attention to crypto. 

While some decentralization purists in the crypto industry dislike this development, the fact is that increased regulation has allowed cryptocurrencies to enter the financial mainstream via products such as 

Stocks entitle each of their holders to a share of company ownership. The company, including its assets, is the underlying entity owned by the stockholder. In contrast, most cryptocurrencies don't confer part-ownership of the blockchain platform or app from which the crypto is issued. The exceptions to this generality are 

, which may mimic the utility of stocks by providing ownership rights with regard to their native crypto projects. However, the full regulatory status of security tokens is still a gray area as of late 2024.

Stock markets are much older and more mature than crypto markets. The first stock exchanges appeared centuries ago, with the oldest exchange — the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX, now referred to as Euronext Amsterdam)— established in 1602. Since at least the 19th century, trading stocks has been a major component of the world’s overall financial system. In contrast, the first (and now defunct) platforms that facilitated trade in crypto assets — Bitcoinmarket.com and Mt. Gox — emerged only in 2010, about a year after the launch of Bitcoin.

Pros and Cons of Investing in Crypto vs. Stocks

The key advantages of investing in crypto include the generally higher potential for returns, crypto’s 24/7 markets and the ability to diversify away from overreliance on stocks. The last point is particularly relevant for investors who tend to concentrate their asset allocations exclusively on stocks and bonds, increasing their dependence upon these markets. Some crypto investors also greatly value the ability to own and trade assets independent of a centralized authority's control.

Among the disadvantages of crypto investment are higher risk/volatility levels, lack of full regulation, and the potential vulnerability of some blockchains to technology hacks. Due to their lower trading volumes than those of stock markets, crypto markets might also be influenced by 

 — market participants who control large shares of a certain crypto asset, giving them more leverage to manipulate its prices. The influence of whales is more of a concern for smaller-cap coins than for assets like Bitcoin, Ether or other major cryptos that feature significant trading volumes.

Investing in stocks provides advantages such as lower volatility/risk, more regulatory protection, familiarity (for many investors) and a lower incidence of outright scams. The stock market is also solidly established, with a long history of data. This allows investors and traders to apply time-tested trading strategies and approaches.

The primary disadvantages to investing in stocks include their lower potential for returns, their limited trading hours and higher barriers to entry for smaller investors. While you can start trading crypto with minimal investment (literally a few dollars), trading stocks involves higher initial investment requirements, often comes with a plethora of setup and brokerage fees, and may have more stringent identification and qualification requirements, particularly when trading stocks internationally.

Crypto vs. Stocks: Which Investment Is Better for You?

You can trade crypto to benefit from the potentially high return rates, low barriers to entry and potential to diversify a stock-heavy portfolio. To start your crypto trading, it's recommended you open an account at an established exchange with significant trading volumes and a sufficient variety of assets on offer. As one of the largest CEX platforms in the world, 

 you various ways to trade crypto assets, including 

 products, such as standard futures contracts, perpetual futures and options.

You can trade stocks if you prefer the protections offered by a highly regulated market, and would like to stay within the confines of a familiar environment. Note that most investors who believe in the power of portfolio diversification allocate their funds to different asset classes, including stocks, crypto, commodities, forex, bonds and more. Thus, it's rarely a choice of one asset class versus another.

For investors interested in trading various asset classes and using a unified environment, Bybit offers the 

, forex and various stock market opportunities, including gold mining stocks and popular indices like the FTSE China A50, Dow Jones, Nasdaq-100 and Hang Seng. 

 investments under an MT5 account are structured in the form of CFDs (contracts for difference).

Through Nov 8, 2024, opening an MT5 account and trading just 100 USDT will qualify you to participate in Bybit's 

Both cryptocurrencies and stocks are highly popular asset classes, with each offering their own unique benefits. Which one you choose largely depends largely upon your 

, starting capital, understanding of crypto and blockchain technology, trading style and willingness to go beyond familiar investment environments. At the same time, for a savvy investor it's unlikely to be the choice of one or the other. To benefit from 

 offered by portfolio diversification, it's always advisable to use both — and perhaps even more — asset classes. At the end of the day, it’s not about which one to choose, but what proportion to allocate to each.

Crypto vs. Stocks: Which Is Better For Investing?

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