'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Bitcoin has hit new highs amid a broad-based rally in cryptocurrencies as the market as a whole inches toward a total crypto market cap of US$3 trillion.
In other words, cryptocurrencies are growing more and more popular, and becoming more mainstream. Companies such as MasterCard, PayPal, Square, Visa and many others recognize that Bitcoin and others will soon be critical to their payment infrastructure.
According to Alex Tapscott, managing director of the Digital Asset Group at Ninepoint Partners, "while there are plenty of exciting and high-growth cryptoassets, Bitcoin remains the 800 pound gorilla and is still by far the biggest contributor to the sector's growth."
The growth potential is huge. Tapscott sees cryptocurrencies as one of many new types of digital assets that are profoundly transforming financial services and the economy. Others include protocol tokens, governance tokens, non-fungible tokens and stablecoins, to name a few.
There are many who see Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation. While it is only a fraction of the size of the gold market -- a more traditional hedge -- the volatility is seen as a good hedging opportunity, as the market tends to bounce back fairly quickly during times of uncertainty.
The reason I bring all of this up is because one of the top questions I'm asked is if it's too late to invest in this space.
I reached out to Brian Mosoff, CEO of Ether Capital, to help answer that question.
"It's not too late for investors to get exposure to crypto before it becomes mainstream," he told me. For retail investors who are new to the industry, he said he would encourage them to begin to understand the core value propositions of Bitcoin and Ethereum to help guide their investment decisions.
Fundamental to any investment is to do your research to understand what you are investing in and recognize your tolerance for risk. Be very clear on not only what you are prepared to lose, but what you can afford to lose.
If this is an arena you want to dabble in, I would argue for allocating a small portion of your portfolio initially, and investing only in the blue-chip assets that are more reliable and known, such as Bitcoin and ether. Mosoff reminded me that one of the biggest risks to new investors is jumping on the latest coin frenzy. Often, they turn out to be bad investments. We saw that recently with Squid coin, when the project's founders suddenly decided to pull out and take investors' money with them.
An investor might be better off getting exposure by way of ETF's here in Canada, at least as a place to start.
However, it is still back to fundamentals. Consider: why are you investing in cryptocurrencies in the first place?
Mosoff believes potential investors should ask themselves if they are putting money into the market because they think prices will continue to rise and they can eventually cash out, or if it's because they think that five years from now, these assets will be more accepted in society as payment method.
Depending on your response, it is important to remember that sharp market downturns happen all the time -- so proceed with caution.
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
After a final frame that saw the visiting Vancouver Canucks claw their way back and tie the game late, a slap shot from the point by Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard with 38 seconds left (until what seemed like certain overtime) iced the 3-2 victory for Edmonton to knot the series.
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker railed against Pride month, working women, President Biden's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and abortion during a commencement address at Benedictine College last weekend.
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.