Day: January 4, 2018

The post Bitcoin Price Analysis: Bitcoin Poised for a Potentially Large Market Move appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Cryptocurrency’s market cap top 10 has a newest addition – Tron.  The Chinese-based multimedia/entertainment platform jumped to record highs between the night of January 3rd and the morning of January 4th, cementing itself among crypto’s most valuable assets.

Out With the Old, In With the New

Come the morning of Thursday January 4th, Tron had supplanted Dash in cryptocurrency’s top ten rankings.  At time of writing, the asset is up 137% from its price 24 hours ago. This puts its coast at $0.19 per coin and a $12.8bln market cap.

This impressive rise contributes to what had already been incredible growth throughout the holiday season.  Tron entered December 2017 trading for fractions of a penny at $0.002.  By the end of the month, a single coin was worth $0.04, a staggering 1,900% increase in only a month.  

Going into the New Year, Tron’s market cap was a respectable $3bln after the explosive growth, cooling down from an all time high of $4.3bln at the peak of its December run.  

This cool down obviously didn’t last long, and after heating up again, Tron is up 375% from its position just a few days ago.  On December 31st, it was still ranked at #19 on Coin Market Cap even after its December bull run.  With this additional growth, it now sits proudly as the #9 overall asset in the market.

Why All the Fuss?

Recently, Justin Sun, Tron’s founder and CEO, has taken to Twitter to hype up his maturing brainchild.

On the last day of 2017, Sun prophesied that “#TRON will be Top 10 in 2018.”  His foresight was impressive, as even Sun likely wouldn’t have guessed that his prediction would come true a mere 5 days later.

Days into the new year, Sun also has teased about the potential of game-changing partnership, noting in a January 4th tweet that Tron plans to announce a “partnership with a very prestigious public listed company next week.”

More partnerships are coming! Even #NASDAQ listed companies and the giant companies with more than 100 million users started to contact us for partnership. We will be huge soon! #TRON #TRX $TRX

— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) January 2, 2018

In the world of cryptocurrency hardware wallets, there are a few products which everyone seems to love. Both the Ledger Nano S and the TREZOR are two great examples of powerful and popular products. When it comes to KeepKey, however, it seems there are a lot of concerns these days. Its subreddit is filled with various complaints on the overall stagnation of the software side of things. It’s not a positive sign by any means, but the company can still turn things around.

KeepKey Lacks Sufficient Altcoin Support

It is evident that cryptocurrency hardware wallets must evolve and improve over time. Whereas most products were initially designed to support Bitcoin only, that is no longer an acceptable situation. There are a growing number of altcoins and ERC20 tokens which all deserve to be supported as well. Integrating this functionality is not easy, although companies such as KeepKey should have no real trouble doing so over time.

Unfortunately, that is not happening right now. In fact, people are growing concerned over KeepKey’s lack of support for more currencies. Given the success of Bitcoin Cash, one would expect to have seen that hard fork supported by now. Sadly, that is not in the plans for KeepKey, nor is the company (seemingly) looking into supporting other currencies in the future. It is a very disappointing turn of events, especially from a company which has the hardware to rival both Ledger and SatoshiLabs in the long run.

Cryptocurrency investors and speculators began to diversify their portfolios quite some time ago. As a result, they expect their hardware wallets to accommodate most – if not all – of these currencies at some point. Support for Bitcoin Cash, XRP, and even a few other top 10 currencies would be of great value to KeepKey users. While the company has developed a beta client to support BCH, it is unclear if it will ever be turned into a proper client for this wallet.

For its part, the KeepKey firmware works just fine, and has no bugs or issues to speak of. At the same time, there have been no updates since January 31, 2017. This means this hardware wallet’s software has not undergone any changes for almost a full year. It is a clear sign of stagnation, which is something a hardware wallet manufacturer cannot afford in this day and age.

While the current software has no real issues, it is evident that users wouldn’t mind seeing some changes. In particular, Bitcoin’s “locked” transaction fees have become a major problem as of late. Given Bitcoin’s recent surge, there is no reason to set a fixed amount of BTC as the transaction fee right now. It will only force more users to look for alternative solutions at some point, which is never a good thing for such a prominent company.

In fact, it seems a lot of users are already moving to alternative hardware wallet solutions. In particular, the Ledger Nano S appears to be in high demand right now. Its support for prominent altcoins has done the company a lot of favors in recent months, and there is no reason why the KeepKey wallet shouldn’t be on the same level by now. Ever since the company was acquired by ShapeShift, things have not progressed positively for KeepKey by any means.

Whether or not we will see any major software updates for KeepKey remains to be determined. Anyone who wants a hardware wallet solely for Bitcoin may want to look into other options as well, at least until KeepKey fixes its high transaction fees. It’s unfortunate to see such a prominent company derail pretty quickly, as we can always use more competitors in the world of cryptocurrency hardware wallets.

A VR penny stock saw 200 percent surge in stock price after announcing a shift in corporate focus to cryptocurrencies.

When people discuss cryptocurrencies, there are a few key factors which should always be taken into account. Judging currencies on the basis of their market caps alone is no longer a viable option, even though it is still the most popular indicator. There are other factors to take into account in order to get the complete picture. Below are some basic metrics for (novice) cryptocurrency traders to be aware of at all times.

5. Market Cap

Although the market cap itself only tells part of the story, people will always keep a close eye on it first and foremost. It is the reason why Bitcoin is considered to be the “largest” cryptocurrency, even though its “dominance” within the cryptocurrency market is less than 37%. Especially when it comes to altcoins and ERC20 tokens, looking at just the market cap is no longer enough. 

4. Maximum Supply

Most cryptocurrency enthusiasts are well aware that most currencies have a maximum supply. In the case of ICO tokens, that limit is known well in advance. However, there are some currencies which do not have a maximum supply, such as Ethereum. This is important to keep in mind, as it means a lot of value will be added to its market cap as long as people are able to generate Ether. Right now, for every new coin, a whopping US$898 is added to Ethereum’s market cap. This paints a somewhat skewed picture of the value of this altcoin, to say the very least.

3. Total Supply

Contrary to what most people would expect, the total supply and maximum supply are not the same thing. In the case of Stellar Lumens, for example, the total supply is 103.5 billion XLM. Even though that is not necessarily the maximum supply, it is unlikely we will see more tokens issued over time. XLM is one of those currencies which cannot be mined and is largely controlled by a centralized entity.

Furthermore, the total supply and circulating supply for such currencies are usually very different, which is another factor to take into account. A cryptocurrency’s market cap is equal to the current price per coin times its circulating supply, rather than the total supply. If the latter figure were used, a lot of currencies would not maintain their current valuations for very long due to an overwhelming supply of coins.

2. Can it be Mined?

When looking at sites such as CoinMarketCap.com, one notices that a lot of currencies have asterisks next to them. This usually indicates that such currencies cannot be mined any longer. In some cases, this has been the case from day one, which often raises concerns among investors. At the time of writing, five non-minable currencies are among the top 10 ranked by market cap. That produces a very skewed representation of their value, which is why ranking currencies by their market cap is not the best course of action right now.

1. Does it Have a Native Exchange?

Although this is an often-overlooked fact, there are currencies out there which are mainly traded on an exchange controlled by the developers. One such example is BitConnect, which sees over 95% of its volume originate from the native BCC exchange. This is quite problematic, as it often leads to price manipulation. Thankfully, such coins are very difficult to come by, but it’s always worth checking to see whether or not any exchange shenanigans are taking place. After all, price manipulation will result in a skewed market cap, further invalidating this metric altogether.

Altcoins vs. Bitcoin. Who’ll win the dominance battle? #PRICE ANALYSIS

Alternative cryptocurrencies have seen a notably boost, though those that are grabbing the most news don’t necessarily have the largest recent gains.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued its second warning in a month to those investing in cryptocurrencies. In a statement earlier today, the governmental body advised those involved in the space to “exercise caution” with Bitcoin and other digital currencies. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, along with Commissioners Kara Stein and Michael Piwowar, said many companies hosting initial coin offerings were not doing so within compliance of federal and state securities regulations.

They went on to state that whilst legislators were attempting to keep pace with the rapidly evolving markets, policing them is difficult and thus investors must use their due diligence when deciding whether to get involved with crypto investments.

According to a report by Reuters, the Commissioners’ statement read:

 “The SEC and state securities regulators are pursuing violations, but we again caution you that, if you lose money, there is a substantial risk that our efforts will not result in a recovery of your investment.”

As mentioned, today’s warning is the second from the SEC in less than a month. On Monday 11 December, Jay Clayton advised caution to those wishing to partake in initial coin offerings. The SEC Chairman’s statement came just hours after the Commission were forced to intervene in an ICO being held by a restaurant review application. The issue arose due to the company not registering as a security:

“A number of concerns have been raised regarding the cryptocurrency and ICO markets, including that … there is substantially less investor protection than in our traditional securities markets, with correspondingly greater opportunities for fraud and manipulation… If an opportunity sounds too good to be true, or if you are pressured to act quickly, please exercise extreme caution and be aware of the risk that your investment may be lost.”

Despite the frequency with which the SEC are issuing warnings surrounding the cryptocurrency space, the Commission seems much more concerned with initial coin offerings than it does with Bitcoin and existing digital currencies for now. The cautionary words should go without saying to anyone hoping to invest in anything.

The post SEC Issues Warning to Crypto Investors appeared first on NewsBTC.

In the world of cryptocurrency, centralized exchanges still play a big role. That may seem strange for decentralized forms of money, but it is the situation we find ourselves in these days. There are many different cryptocurrency exchanges out there which are worth checking out. Bitstamp is one of those platforms which has built up a solid reputation over the years. That doesn’t mean the company is without flaws, though, as there’s always room for improvement.

Bitstamp’s Report Card is Positive Overall 

As is always the case with exchange reviews, your mileage may vary. We have personally used Bitstamp for quite some time now and never encountered any major issues with the platform. Signing up was pretty simple, and getting an account verified took a full day. Given the recent influx of new cryptocurrency traders, Bitstamp’s verification times may have since increased, and it is always difficult to predict how long the process will take. In our case, it was smooth and quick.

At the same time, we’ve seen some new users complain about the signup process. A temporary ID and password is seemingly the new normal when users sign up for the first time, which is a measure people will either like or hate. Issuing a random user ID consisting only of numbers is not necessarily the best approach, but Bitstamp has maintained this approach for several years now. Some users prefer the ability to create their own usernames, but you simply can’t please everyone in this day and age.

When it comes to support, we never had to get in touch with the Bitstamp team. Some users may experience longer wait times. After all, we saw tens of thousands of people register exchange accounts in 2017, and it’s doubtful things will change much in 2018. With more people creating accounts, there will be additional support tickets which will need to be resolved as well. Bitstamp is usually quick in this regard, but once again, your mileage may vary.

On the services front, Bitstamp has gradually begun adding support for additional cryptocurrencies. At the time of writing, the exchange supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash. There is also an EUR/USD market, which is something other exchanges do not provide. All of the supported currencies have their own USD and EUR markets, and altcoins can be traded against Bitcoin as well. It will be good to see more currencies added to this list in the future, though.

As one has come to expect in 2017, Bitstamp has mobile applications for both iOS and Android users alike. This is a smart choice, as a lot of cryptocurrency enthusiasts rely on phones and tablets to manage their portfolios these days. Moreover, the company has an API which can be integrated with third-party portfolio and trading applications such as Tabtrader and Blockfolio. The company has been working hard on the technical side of things, and it has not suffered from too many major outages in recent years. Scalability still remains an inherent problem for cryptocurrency exchanges in general, though.

Last but not least, the success of any cryptocurrency exchange hinges on the supported payment methods. In the case of Bitstamp, there is support for wires and SEPA transfers, as well as credit and debit cards. Do keep in mind that those options may heavily depend on one’s country of residence, though. All in all, Bitstamp offers something for all cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Its infrastructure is pretty solid, although support for more top cryptocurrencies and fiat currency markets would be well worth considering.

GI, Gibraltar, January 3, 2018. – STK has closed its Token Generation Event after successfully reaching its hard cap of $17MM more than a month prior to its scheduled public sale.

After adjusting private and pre-sale contribution allocations for the recent increase in ETH, the pool of remaining tokens was too small to host an equitable public sale, based on projected demand from the STK community now more than 20,000 strong.

Instead, STK completed the sale with private and pre-sale contributors, and will issue an airdrop of tokens to eligible community members in January, 2018.

“The overwhelming response to our Token Generation Event validates the demand for cryptocurrency payments at point of sale,” said Nicolas Dinh, spokesperson for STK. “We’ve built an incredible community of advocates who will be among the first to hold STK tokens through our airdrop as a show of gratitude for their ongoing support.”

The public sale launch, scheduled for January 31 will now serve as the airdrop date during which up to 1,250,000 STK tokens will be provided to eligible community members who were subscribed to any of STK’s social channels by 5:00 p.m. UTC on December 29, 2017.

Funds raised from the Token Generation Event will support an aggressive development and execution timeline, aiming for the first instance of cryptocurrency payments at point of sale in Canada later this year.

“STK token holders will benefit from an accelerated development timeline as we onboard new development resources more than a month ahead of schedule,” said Dinh. “We’re confident we’ll be the first mass-market solution for instant cryptocurrency payments in North America.”

About STK Global Payments

STK Global Payments is the cryptocurrency technology solution which enables real-time cryptocurrency payments at points of sale, and the issuer of the STK token. The STK token was designed to provide a method that can allow cryptocurrency to be used instantly at retail for seamless integration into everyday transactions and financial services. The STK token will be implemented on the public Ethereum blockchain as an ERC20 token. The STK token is part of a global solution to facilitate borderless transactions through a smart contract which facilitates a real-time exchange of cryptocurrency into fiat at the POS.

For more information on the STK token, visit www.stktoken.com.

For media inquires: Amanda Ashford, [email protected]

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.