Day: December 5, 2017

Bitcoin may soon move to fresh all-time highs above $12,000, but there are still signs of a possible correction ahead.

PayPal Co-founder Max Levchin believes that Blockchain technology is revolutionary, but isn’t so sure on Bitcoin.

In its public statement released on Dec. 4, 2017, the Russian government said that it has already developed a pilot system for the monitoring of votes during elections through Blockchain.

The introduction of Bitcoin futures into the market by a number of sources may provide the greatest short opportunity of this generation.

In a post by a Reddit user in early December 2017, the company advised the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken that it is not processing a transaction related to digital currencies because it is against its internal rules.

As Bitcoin’s market capacity rapidly approaches $200 billion it may be time to reflect on what the king of cryptocurrencies has recently surpassed. The unprecedented demand and resultant price surge mean that the digital asset is now has a greater market cap than some nations, a lot of big companies and a number of billionaires.

Coin tracking website coinmarketcap.com currently lists the capacity as $199.2 billion with a price of $11,900, a 24-hour trade value of $6.28 billion, and a supply of 16.7 million coins. Of course, these figures are all likely to have changed by the time you read this which is one of the major drawbacks with the cryptocurrency – its volatility.

With over a thousand percent increase since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin has eclipsed a number of notable things. The GDP of New Zealand for starters is valued at $185 billion according to World Bank data this year. Bitcoin is also bigger than that of Kuwait, Hungary, and Qatar.

Chigaco based Boeing which is the self-described largest aerospace firm in the world has a market capacity of $165 billion. It is over a hundred years old, employs 140,000 people in 65 countries and makes a product that nearly all of us have used. However, it is now smaller than Bitcoin in terms of market cap.

Bitcoin is also beating the banks that despise it so much. Two of the world’s most highly influential institutions, Goldman Sachs Group and Zurich-based UBS Group AG, had market caps of $95 billion and $66 billion respectively. It has already surpassed HSBC’s $147 billion market cap is rapidly approaching that of Citigroup which currently has a $203 billion. Top bankers from JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have recently denounced cryptocurrencies calling them a fraud. A huge threat to the business model would probably be more accurate.

Some of those on Bloomberg’s list of top billionaires are also being picked off by Bitcoin as it exceeds their personal wealth. Both Bill Gates and Warren Buffet could not afford to buy all 16.7 million Bitcoins with their combined capital. It is estimated that Gates is worth $90 billion and Buffet has $83 billion.

Bitcoin is currently level with Coca-Cola Co which has a market capacity of $197 billion and has already beaten that of McDonald’s at $138 billion. It still has a way to go to catch the likes of Amazon and Apple which are both over $500 billion but if the trend continues it will not belong. The total cryptocurrency market is worth an estimated $355 billion at the time of writing.

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A group of well-known musicians including Mariah Carey, Marilyn Manson and others has begun accepting the privacy-oriented cryptocurrency monero.

The week is now well and truly underway and it’s time to take a look at how things are moving in the bitcoin price and where we expect things to go from here near term. Overnight action brought pretty much a continuation of the sort of stuff we were seeing during the session on Monday, with a bout of upside momentum followed by some short-term corrective activity and, subsequently, a return to the overarching upside trend subsequent to the correction completing.

When price is running as part of an overarching uptrend, the importance of this sort of action can’t really be understated. It’s representative of markets repeatedly rebalancing so as to shake out the shorter-term operators and to ensure that the trend remains in place.

With this in mind, it’s safe to say that, so long as we see a continuation of this same sort of action during the session today, we are looking at some strength heading into the middle of the week.

So, with all that said, let’s get some levels in place we can use right now.

As ever, take a quick look at the chart below before we get started so as to get an idea where things stand. It is a one-minute candlestick chart and it has our range overlaid in green.

As the chart shows, the range we’re looking at for the session today comes in as defined by support to the downside at 11386 and resistant to the upside at 11611.

Standard breakout rules apply for the session, so we will look to enter long towards an immediate upside target of 11680 on a close above resistance and, conversely, a short entry towards a downside target of 11300 on a close below support.

Stop losses on both positions somewhere in the region of $10 or $20 above or below the key entry levels will ensure we are taken out the trades if things turn against us.

Let’s see what happens.

Charts courtesy of Trading View

The post Bitcoin Price Watch; Heading Into Some Midweek Strength? appeared first on NEWSBTC.

Oil and gas supply chain management platform PetroBLOQ has joined the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.

3.79 million bitcoin is estimated to be lost permanently on the public blockchain. Given that nearly 20% of its supply is unspendable, bitcoin is currently undervalued.

At the time of reporting, the market valuation of bitcoin is at around $196 billion. The price of bitcoin is calculated by dividing the market cap with its circulating supply of 16.72 million.

But, according to a study conducted by bitcoin blockchain-focused digital forensics firm Chainalysis, approximately 3.79 million, or $43.5 billion worth of bitcoin are permanently lost on the public blockchain of bitcoin. Thus, while the official circulating supply of bitcoin is 16.72 million, the actual supply of bitcoin is closer to 13 million.

Given that the real supply of bitcoin considering the bitcoin that are not spendable or accessible on the bitcoin blockchain is 13 million, the price of bitcoin should be in the range of $15,000. As of current, bitcoin is being traded in the $11,500 region across many exchanges.

On whether the market has priced the unspendable coins to provide the market valuation of bitcoin, Chainalysis senior economist Kim Gauer stated:

“That is a very complex question. On the one hand, direct calculations about market cap do not take lost coins into consideration. Considering how highly speculative this field is, those market cap calculations may make it into economic models of the market that impact spending activity. Yet the market has adapted to the actual demand and supply available – just look at exchange behavior. Furthermore, it is well known monetary policy procedure to lower or increase fiat reserves to impact exchange rates. So the answer is yes and no.”

Unlike fiat currencies, bitcoin is a decentralized and a deflationary currency. Bitcoin that is lost on its public blockchain cannot be recovered, as there exists no central authority and entity. Although some may consider the lack of a central entity to be a disadvantage, the decentralized nature of bitcoin ultimately benefits its users by providing financial privacy, freedom, and most importantly, independence.

As seen in the arrest and seizure of assets of Saudi prince Miteb bin Abdullah, financial independence is crucial for any investor as it eliminates the power of governments and authorities to unlawfully and wrongfully confiscate assets and seize wealth.

Investors such as major US-based electronics retailer Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne believe that bitcoin is better than gold and fiat currencies like the US dollar, because users have absolute control over their money and wealth.

“You think that’s a bubble? What do you think that fiat currency you carry around in your purse is?” Byrne told Maria Bartiromo. “This dollar stuff, it’s just some fiat currency based on … the surplus taxing authority of the U.S. Treasury of which I assert there is zero … It’s about time the world switches to real money. Either gold or bitcoin,” said Byrne.

In the long-term, as the supply of bitcoin max out to 21 million, the large number of bitcoins that are out of circulation and unspendable will add value to the current exchange rate of bitcoin.

The post Bitcoin May be Significantly Undervalued, as 3.79 Million of Supply is Not Spendable appeared first on NEWSBTC.

The traditional financial system was swept by the concept of crowdfunding. The Internet of Things has come up with the alternative crowdfunding known as the Initial Coin Offerings. This all new funding method has aided several new startups to raise funds and expand their businesses. Businesses have raised over 5.1 billion USD in 2013, which had grown to 16 billion in 2014, and got further momentum in 2015 with over 34 billion raised in that fiscal.

The ICO, also known as the Initial Coin Offerings, is the new buzz in the crypto arena and is the part of the cryptocurrencies. It provides an efficient and a simple way to raise funds for developers whereas, it provides an excellent opportunity for the investors to invest in something where they see the value. The ICO is usually lasted for a week and sometimes for a longer duration, wherein, individuals are allowed to exchange the Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH) with tokens.

There are basically two kinds of fundraising happens with the ICO, one with the fixed coin – fixed price, and another with the fixed coin but floating prices. Meaning, in the fixed coin – fixed price fundraising, the investors are offered coins at pre-determined prices and with designated number of coins, whereas, in the fixed coin – floating price event, the investors are offered fixed number of coin through market-driven prices (i.e. if the project receives more funds then the prices offered per token are raised).

Recently, there is a new method has been developed wherein the prices of the tokens are fixed but the number of tokens is dynamic. In this concept, fundraisers, generally, keep the limit in terms of the amount being raised or the duration for which it is offered.

Successful Initial Coin Offerings

Now, as we know what is Initial Coin Offerings, let’s see some of the most successful ICO’s which has given whopping returns to the investors.

The Nxt ICO: The Nxt exchange provides a complete solution for users to issue assets/cryptocurrencies in a decentralized manner. It is also available through API allowing users to have the flexibility to connect. The Initial Coin Offering for Nxt platform commenced on 28/09/2013 and remained open till 18/11/2013. During the ICO period, it received only 21 BTC from 73 investors and had raised about $14K. The ICO was offered through unknown bitcoin talk forum and the funds were transferred to raiser’s personnel BTC account. The ICO has given a profit percentage of whopping 199900 percent to the investors.

The Ethereum ICO: The software provides decentralized contract application platform and has gained popularity since its launch. The Ethereum’s native token known as the Ether can be mined through the proof of work protocol which is set to change to the proof of stake protocol. The Initial Coin Offering for the Ethereum commenced on 20/07/2017 and remained open till 2/09/2014. During the offering period of 42 days, it had collected about 31.5K BTC having a value of over $18 million. Making it the second most successful ICO and 6^th largest crowdfunded project so far. The developers kept their funds in the BTC which during that time went through a very high volatility and ultimately affected the funds. Since its launch, the Ethereum platform has gained popularity and value. The platform is being utilized by several projects like DigixDAO, Ardor, Singular-DTV, and Iconomi.

The Lisk ICO: The Lisk is a smart contract and Dapp platform. It aims to make their deployment accessible to all developers as it allows to code in the Javascript – one of the most popular programming language in the world. The Lisk token utilizes the delegated proof of stake consensus mechanism. The Initial Coin Offering for the Lisk commenced on 22/02/2016 and lasted till 21/03/2016. It allowed the investors to invest through any cryptocurrency which is allowed by the Shapeshift exchange. During the ICO, it raised over $5.7 million by distributing 85 million tokens.

These are some of the successful Initial Coin Offerings. Besides, there are other offerings which took the world by storm, like, Stratis ICO, Waves ICO, DAO, and more.

Points to remember

The Initial Coin Offerings have given returns ranging from 100% to whopping 199900% and has emerged as one of the most lucrative investment avenues in the recent times. If you are interested in investing in the ICO then please continue reading. There are some key points which one must remember before jumping onto the bandwagon. First and foremost, you must select the right ICO service provider. Also, you must understand the product development cycle of the raiser and how he/she intend to utilize the funds raised. Sometimes, the fundraiser raises the funds for no specific reasons. So, it is of utmost importance to understand the fundraising offerings and intentions to utilize the funds.

You should also make an effort to evaluate the management team behind the offering. It will help you assess whether the team is trustworthy or not. Also, you should check whether the offering is within the regulatory framework or not, are tokens backed by security, and whether it is offered through a dealer or not. The answers to the above questions will make your decision-making process simple and streamlined. It will also help you make the optimum decision, after all, your hard-earned money is at the stake! So it is of utmost importance to have a complete due diligence before investing.

Helping Hands!

During our research, we have come across few very interesting, informative, and educative material about the Initial Coin Offerings. The first one is the Crypto Coin Judge website. It does the initial drilling of the ICO and provides information regarding the most profitable ICO offerings currently available in the market along with the past issuances. The other one is the ICO Token News which provides in-depth analysis of various offerings and helps you in taking your investment call. Let’s look at both of them in detail.

Crypto Coin Judge: This is one of the most popular cryptocurrency trading and ICO website which offers valuable information to the naïve as well as seasoned investors. The website provides ample information regarding the available cryptocurrency brokers and provides a detailed review to better understand and make the final call. The reviews on the website are detailed and follow a process making them consistent in their ratings about each and every available platform.

Their news section provides the latest and hottest happenings in the crypto world, while their process-driven reviews allow you to make the final decision. It also provides a trading guide for the beginners along with the list of platforms for bitcoin investing and trading. Each and every listed platform is thoroughly scanned and reviewed by their team. I would recommend you to add the Crypto Coin Judge https://www.cryptocoinjudge.com/  in your favorite list if you are interested in knowing about the best in the market.

ICO Token News: As discussed, this is another information source to know more about ICOs. It provides a detailed guide about how to invest into the ICO, what are the must-have information before investing, and most importantly provides you red flags for not investing. It provides end to end information regarding the latest and hottest topics around the ICO arena and the Crypto world. This website will be beneficial to both naïve as well as the seasoned professional in their journey to become a successful ICO investor.

It aids you to select the most successful ICO for the investors and most lucrative platforms for the traders. Their unbiased reviews provide detailed information regarding the various offerings and platforms. If you are keen on investing in ICO and Crypto then you must have their website www.icotokennews.com as your favorite source of information.

Finally,

The ICO world has just got the momentum and there is a plenty of scopes for it to explode. The Bitcoin is currently quoting at over $9,000 from just $10 in 2013. You can check the amount of return it has generated for its investors.  You can get the latest happening and investing opportunities at ICO Token News and Crypto Coin Judge. Happy Investing!

The post Initial Coin Offerings appeared first on NEWSBTC.

A lot of interesting things are happening in the world of cryptocurrency right now Although the Bitcoin price is still of great interest, IOTA is certainly making its mark on this ecosystem as well. More specifically, the IOTA price has surged to $3.15 after reaching an all-time high of $2.4 just yesterday. With another strong 30.86% gain overnight, the IOTA market cap is on track to surpass Ripple. An intriguing development, assuming this is not a pump-and-dump cycle.

IOTA Price Rally is far From Over

Ever since the IOTA cryptocurrency was released to the public, it cemented its place in the cryptocurrency top 10. Although very few people knew what was going on behind the scenes of this project, investors are flocking to this altcoin like there is no tomorrow. It would certainly explain the meteoric IOTA price rise over the past few weeks, as every individual coin is suddenly worth around $3.15. For a currency with a total supply of nearly three billion tokens, that is quite a steep gain.

There are still some legitimate concerns over whether or not the IOTA price gain is just a pump-and-dump scheme. Based on the gains over the past week alone, one would certainly be inclined to think along those lines. However, we see a growing demand for different cryptocurrencies which fit a specific market. In the world of the Internet of Things, Bitcoin, Ethereum, BCH, and even XRP are simply not usable in any meaningful capacity. IOTA is targeting this industry specifically, which means it may very well have a bright future ahead, for all we know.

Thanks to another 30.86% gain in USD value and a 27.75% gain over Bitcoin, the IOTA price is soaring to astronomical heights right now. Moreover, its market cap is quickly approaching the $9bn market, and it may very well surpass Ripple in the coming days. A thorough shakeup of the cryptocurrency top 10 can be a good thing, as the current rankings don’t necessarily make a lot of sense. A lot of things may still change before the year is over, that much is rather evident.

With over $1.11bn in 24-hour trading volume, the demand for IOTA seems to be pretty genuine. Although it is traded on fewer exchanges compared to most other cryptocurrencies, it has no problem reaching such a high trading volume in quick succession. It is one of the few times the IOTA trading volume has surpassed the $1bn mark, but at this rate, it won’t be the last time either.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of trading volume originates from the Bitfinex MIOTA/USD pair. With over 57.59% of all trades, it is evident this price rise would never have been possible without the Bitfinex exchange. Their other IOTA pairs attribute another 21.6% of all IOTA trades, which is pretty interesting. Binance is the only exchange trying to make a decent impact in this regard, but they only provide ETH, BNB, and BTC trading pairs. An interesting situation well worth keeping an eye on, that much is evident.

How high the IOTA price can go in the next few days and weeks, remains to be determined. Anything that rises in value beyond normal proportions will have to go through a correction eventually. When and if that will happen for IOTA, remains to be determined right now. With this much positive momentum pushing the IOTA price higher, reaching $5 may not even be an unrealistic target. Then again, cryptocurrency markets often evolve in illogical ways as well.