There are many influencers within the crypto space. Some use their followers for personal gain and some are more reliable. None are bigger and have more impact than that of Elon Musk. It should come as no surprise as [Elon Musk's Twitter](https://twitter.com/elonmusk) account has amassed a staggering 81 million followers.

Along with promoting his businesses, such as Tesla, SpaceX, and The Boring Company, Elon Musk Twitter also occasionally comments on the happenings within the crypto community. In April of last year, Elon's Twitter saw many tweets coming from the man himself promoting and posting memes about a meme coin called [Doge](/coins/doge). This activity from Mr. Musk's Twitter brought much awareness to the coin. Its value went from 5 cents per coin to an incredible 73 cents over the span of only a month. 

## Elon Musk and Dogecoin

At the time of writing, the top holder has an enormous 22.59% of the entire supply of Dogecoin. This information produces some unanswerable questions. Is the top holder Elon Musk and is he promoting the coin for the love of crypto and memes, or is it to make a financial gain off the back of his followers?

Dogecoin is not the only crypto Elon has talked about on his Twitter. He's also spoken dozens of times about Bitcoin, the mother of all crypto coins. At one point, Musk was accepting crypto as payment for his electric automobile company Tesla, so it makes sense why he would often talk about crypto. Like many other people, he wants more people to buy into it to increase the value per coin.

## Musk, McDonald's & the Crypto Community

Elon Musk's Twitter is such a staple within the crypto community that when Elon Tweets something, whatever words he uses in the Tweet get turned into a crypto coin, occasionally amassing up to millions of dollars’ worth in market cap. Until recently, Elon's Twitter was the only account people would create coins based on Tweets. This changed on January 25, 2022, when Elon tweeted at McDonald's, saying: 'I will eat a Happy Meal on TV if @McDonalds accepts Dogecoin.' This provoked McDonald's into replying with 'only if @tesla accepts grimacecoin'. 

Grimace coincides with Ronald McDonald within the McDonald's universe. He was first introduced in a TV commercial back in 1972. This crossover of Elon, McDonald's, and the crypto community saw many new tokens created that night called Grimace Coin. Only one survived the night and continued to make a run up to $12 million in market cap over the next four days.
 
Elon Musk's Twitter is now firmly set in stone to be a staple of the crypto community. It would take a major event to reduce his impact to nothing. Whether it's a good or bad thing that he has this much impact, we can all agree that it is very intriguing to see what will come from his Twitter antics next.


How Elon Musk’s Twitter Account is So Influential

When you read that Peter Jones endorses a [Bitcoin](/coins/btc) scheme, it could spark your interest. But take care, the Dragons' Den star is among celebrities whose names and images have been used without their knowledge in crypto scams. 

Due to being unregulated and with much attention on it, the crypto market is the go-to place for scammers to lay their traps and lure unsuspecting victims into financial ruin.

What do scammers need to fool someone? The promise of quick, easy, or free money backed by false reviews or false promises from socially respectable and trustworthy people. What better way to gain someone's trust than by faking a celebrity endorsement to promote a scam?

## This article delves into what to look for while traversing the crypto markets.

A popular scam back in 2018 saw many UK celebrities featured in fake articles, including Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden from the entrepreneur show  'Dragons Den', Alan Sugar from 'The Apprentice', and even the notorious Simon Cowell. The way this scam works is that a third-party website advertises a story of said celebrity making huge gains from a Bitcoin scheme, with a clickbait photo of the celebrity. One article had a picture of Deborah Meaden with a black eye to get the unsuspecting viewer to click on it. Another just needed to put the words 'Peter Jones Bitcoin' together.

The clickbait picture soon becomes irrelevant. The article explains how the star, such as Peter Jones, apparently recently took an interest in a scheme and, at the bottom of the page, there is a link to join the scheme. It is advertised as an exclusive deal which is soon closing to new members. The site then has you enter your name, email address, and phone number. Time passes, and then you get a phone call from a scammer playing the role of an 'investment manager' who encourages you to make a reserved investment of a couple of hundred pounds in exchange for some Bitcoin. Once you make the payment, you are sent an email with a fake trading platform site where your supposedly bought Bitcoins are held.

Later, you check your account on the platform to see that your £200 has now doubled or even tripled. Your 'investment manager' is persuading you to buy more. You tell them you're thinking of taking some of your money out, and he sends you 40% of your initial investment, creating a false sense of security and legitimacy. You feel reassured and continue sending money. But when you ask to withdraw again, you are met with silence from the supposed manager, who has now disappeared with your money.

## 212 Reported Celebrity Endorsement Fraud Cases in 2019

[Which?](https://www.which.co.uk/) obtained police data regarding cryptocurrency scams in 2019. In the first six months, there were 212 reported cases of fraud where the scammer had used a celebrity endorsement to trick them. Although the celebrity isn't at fault here, their reputation gets tarnished by these people impersonating them.

Always question and be sceptical of people with grandiose claims, as, more often than not, they are trying to gain your trust to pull one over on you. One rule that applies heavily to the crypto markets; if it is sounding too good to be true, it usually is.


Peter Jones, Bitcoin and Dodgy Crypto Scams


When it comes to crypto investment, the UK wants to be at the front of the field.

With the rise in popularity of the crypto markets, it is no surprise that countries put in plans to benefit from this surge of new money. One country in particular that wants to be at the forefront of new technologies is the United Kingdom.

The interest levels are clearly evidenced by the popularity of the search term 'crypto investment uk'.
The government has decided that stablecoins will be recognised as a form of payment. This is one step closer to crypto being accepted as forms of currency instead of just stores of value.

## Cryptoasset Engagement Group Will be Created

This is only one measure as part of a package to make the UK a global technology and crypto investments hub. Another is legislating a 'financial market infrastructure sandbox' which will help firms and companies innovate, experiment, and create, leading to more jobs opening up and more money flowing into the UK, helping boost the economy. A Cryptoasset Engagement Group will also be created to increase communication between the government and the industry. It will advise the government on any issues it may face while building the crypto-asset sector.

Not only is the government trying to regulate, it is also creating its own non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has asked the Royal Mint (the government-owned company responsible for minting coins within the UK) to create NFTs by the summer of 2022. With summer coming, we expect more info to be brought to light relatively soon. This opens many doors and opportunities for crypto enthusiasts and UK crypto investment firms.

## Other Measures Taken to Assist Regulation

Other measures the UK is taking to help regulate the markets include looking for ways to enhance UK tax system competitiveness to encourage crypto-asset market development in the UK. It will also review how DeFi loans are treated for tax purposes. In May, a two-day event will see the [Financial Conduct Authority](https://www.fca.org.uk/) meet industry participants to learn their views regarding crypto-asset regime development.

The UK, well known for its advancements in technology and innovation, will unlock a massive new stream of income and business opportunity. This will create many new jobs as start-up companies and crypto investment firms look to take on new employees and build up their businesses. 

This will help boost the economy by an enormous margin. As I write, the total crypto market cap is $2.02 trillion. Tapping into just a fraction of this amount will do wonders for the UK. Not only will the UK dabble in the market, it will be one of the top leaders and innovators in the entire world. This is exciting news, and it will be interesting to see how the future of crypto investments in the UK unfolds.

More [Business news](/news/category/crypto-business-news).


Cryptocurrency Investment: UK Plans to be Global Hub

So you want to start trading cryptocurrencies? Is paying [eToro](https://www.etoro.com/) fees the only way, and how do you begin your crypto journey?

You need first to purchase some crypto with your fiat money. This is where centralised exchanges come into play, such as eToro.

You deposit your money into the platform and can now purchase Bitcoin or altcoins. Most platforms charge a percentage fee when buying or selling coins; the eToro fees are 1% when you open or close a position. While this seems like a low percentage at first, it can quickly build up if you make lots of trades. Another example is Bitcoin.com which has fees of 0.04 to 0.4%, a much better rate than eToro fees.

Most exchanges have features including spot trading, leverage trading, trading bots, charts and chart tools, crypto lending, mining, and staking.

## Spot Trading

Spot trading is your traditional method of trading coins in which you are doing straight swaps from one coin to another.
Leverage trading is trading with a larger size than what you have in your portfolio. To a beginner, this sounds like a fantastic strategy to make massive gains. In reality, it should only be used by experts who know how to handle risk management properly, as you can quickly lose money.

## Trading Bots

Trading bots are computer algorithms where you set the parameters and rules and a bot trades on your behalf.

## Charts

Charts are where you can see the price history of a coin, and tools help you confirm a bias of where you think a trade will go.

## Crypto Lending

Crypto lending is an opportunity to let people use your crypto in return for rewards - yes, you get your crypto back, and if you do it through a reputable exchange, there's less worry about security or being scammed.

## Mining

Mining uses your computer or phone's computing power to work out calculations to allow transactions to be processed.

## Staking 

Finally, staking is setting aside some crypto, like lending except it goes into a pool to be used as liquidity rather than directly to another person. This also allows you to gain passive income rewards.

Some exchanges have other features, but these are the main ones you will encounter. Picking the right exchange for you is vital when trading cryptocurrencies. You need to factor in what you want to use the platform for while minimizing costs and maximizing profits. This can be done by avoiding exchanges with high costs, such as eToro fees.

More [Business news](/news/category/crypto-business-news).


eToro Fees, Crypto Exchanges, and You

Taxes are an important part of realising profit while trading cryptocurrencies and considering your British [Bitcoin](/coins/btc) profit. It is crucial to be on the right side of the law and pay what you owe to the government.

The UK does not have a specific tax for bitcoin or cryptocurrencies; instead, it falls into the categories of Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax. We will explain the main differences between the two to help you understand into which of the two you fall.

Capital Gains Tax is implemented when doing the following with cryptocurrencies; selling crypto, trading crypto, spending crypto, and/or gifting crypto. You don't pay tax on all proceeds, or if one of these actions results in a loss, you only have to pay on crypto gains or, in other words, when you've made a profit.

You don't pay tax if you gift crypto to a spouse or civil partner.

It would be best to consider what tax bracket you fall into when calculating your gains. Unlike other countries, the UK taxes all capital gains and is taxed under the same rates and based on how much you earn annually. 

## The following are from the 2020-2021 tax year:

•	if the amount earned is more than £50,279, you are charged 20%

•	if the amount earned is below £50,270, you pay 10%

It's worth noting that if your crypto gains are less than £12,300 for the year, you do not need to pay any tax.
To calculate Capital Gains Tax, you need to work out your cost basis. To do this, you need to find out the Great British pound (GBP) price at which you bought plus any transaction fees. Once you have this figure, it is pretty straightforward. Capital gain is the difference between the price at which you purchased and the price at which you disposed of the asset. For example, if you buy Bitcoin worth £3,000 at the time of purchase and decide to sell it a month later for £3,300, your capital gain would be £300. It is important to keep track of your losses too, as recording them with [HMRC](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs) can offset against your gains, reducing the total amount you owe in taxes.

### The following actions are excluded from paying tax in the UK:

•	buying crypto with GBP

•	holding crypto

•	transferring between wallets

•	donating crypto to charity

Lost crypto is also not considered to be disposed of. For example, if you lose your private key and prove that you cannot regain access, you can submit a negligible value claim. If your application is successful, you may be able to claim that as a capital loss, reducing your taxes.

So, we've discussed Capital Gains Tax, but what is Income Tax? Crypto is taxed as income when a person gets paid in crypto, acquires staking rewards, mines tokens, or receives airdrops. HMRC has yet to decide what decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols are considered income. Examples of unclear but most likely income-taxed protocols include; referral rewards, learn to earn, watch to earn, play to earn, and shop to earn.

### Lastly, let's look at the Income Tax brackets for crypto:

•	up to £12,570 = 0% tax

•	£12,571 - £50,270 = 20%

•	£50,271 - £150,00 = 40%

•	any amount over £150,000 = 45%

Hopefully, this maximizes your British bitcoin profit!


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