Day: January 8, 2018

CNBC’s latest apparent plug of Ripple echoes its strong pro-Bitcoin Cash material late last year. #BRIEF

Bitcoin is looking weak today after prices failed to hold above $17,000 levels at the weekend.

Today’s online advertising industry deals with challenges of all sorts and kinds, particularly when it comes to dealing with fake data or handling user privacy. After a class-action lawsuit against Facebook which was accused of storing people’s images and using them to breach user privacy, the social media was recently fined $1.4 mln by a Spanish data protection regulator for its data harvesting activities.

Consumer credit reporting agency Equifax prides with its 800 mln consumers worldwide. A cyber-security breach that happened in September 2017 exposed the personal data of 145.5 mln customers. Social Security numbers, home addresses, birth dates and even driver license numbers were stolen, putting the people at risk and unveiling the mere fact that the information people share online can’t be controlled and secured.

The same thing happens on social media, where fake news and clickbait articles are everywhere on Facebook, Twitter, and other social platforms. Some strive to maintain their neutrality; however, opinions vary on the best methods to tackle the issue. Others don’t think there’s even an issue. Regardless, third parties won’t hesitate to use consumers’ intellectual property to make a profit. Those that pay for a service (e.g., advertisers) don’t know how their money is being spent, whereas consumers remain in the dark and are completely unaware that their digital footprint is constantly monitored and tracked.

Profile-based economy powered by Blockchain

Because profile users are diverse, and there’s no online transparency for publishers, consumers, and advertisers, controlling a flawed social media economy become extremely challenging. Current trends are oriented towards an oligopoly where Internet companies like Facebook, WeChat, and Google are in control of most consumer profiles. They’re in control of online marketing budgets, meaning that publishers are unable to control their spending budgets and revenues.

A transparent model provided by Blockchain could be the solution to a controlled and insecure social media economy. Highly-secure, transparent and scalable, the perks of Blockchain span beyond advertising. Consumers want to know for sure that what they share online is maintained privately. With companies like Facebook and Equifax adhering to traditional methods, and not caring enough for the privacy of their customers, the best solution is a profile-based economy that Blockchain can provide.

Robin8 PUT builds a bridge between consumers and social media sharing

A new wave of social media rises above the surface. With social channels like Facebook still accepting the fake news, Robin8 steps in to protect user profiles in the social media scenario. Empowering consumers to monetize their data could make the advertising industry more transparent, scalable and secure to the people using it.

Robin8 uses an artificial intelligence engine to rank and profile users based on reach. Facebook and Google are well-known for monetizing people as products through targeted ads and marketing campaigns. Within the Robin8 Blockchain marketplace, buyers that want to access consumer data will have to buy PUT tokens to reward the data owner (e.g., influencer, consumer, content creator). Similarly, if advertisers want people to share/view their content, they will also have to buy Robin8 tokens and pay person viewing or sharing. Token recipients will be able to redeem their coins for cash or used them for future appreciation on the Robin8 platform.

In this stage of the project, Robin8 applies the technology in the digital advertising and marketing space, matching, profiling and ranking influencers using AI and Big Data. The platform provides a seamless, scalable advertising channel that focuses on people as the media.

Tokenize your crypto life with Robin8 PUT

On the Robin8 platform consumer data and personal information is encrypted by Blockchain technology. The ID is available for the public to see, but the identity of all users is concealed. Unlike Twitter, Instagram, Weibo and Facebook, with Robin8 PUT users decide if they want to share their social media engagement with brands and advertisers on the platform.

PUT is the official Robin8 token. Developed to work as a solution to a problem, PUT is the reward users get for creating a profile, reading/sharing content, inviting friends or promoting products. The scope of the project is to develop a new kind of social media platform that rewards users for using social media.

Trusted, anonymous and secure, Robin8 is developed on the QTUM Blockchain. Miranda Tan, CEO and founder of the project, highlights that Robin8 is a game-changer that aims to disrupt an industry with a transparent business model that gives trust to advertisers and protects the private information and data of the consumer.

Backed up by Blockchain technology experts, former CEOs, and skilled engineers, Robin8’s proven business model prides on more than 5,000 completed marketing campaigns and 250,000 micro influencers and content creators. The token scale is scheduled to go live on Jan. 8, 2018.

Image: Shutterstock

The post A Profile-Based Social Economy Breaks Barriers With Blockchain appeared first on NewsBTC.

Online fantasy league fanatics could win Bitcoin during the NFL playoffs. #ADOPTION

Blockchain Capital, a cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund and venture capital firm, has revealed in survey that 30 percent of millennials would rather invest in bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market than government bonds or stocks.

Millennials Prefer Bitcoin Over Stocks

In an interview with Forbes, Timothy Tam, the founder of CoinFi and former hedge fund trader, emphasized that millennials and investors from the traditional finance industry have become more intrigued by bitcoin due to its fixed supply and its exponential growth rate.

“There’s limited supply because, aside the fact that there will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins in circulation, most of the holders of Bitcoin are long terms holders. The demand on the other hand keeps soaring,” said Tam.

In December 2017, billionaire investor Mike Novogratz described bitcoin as a speculator’s dream, because of its fixed supply and rising demand for the asset class.

But, for millennials and the vast majority of investors, bitcoin’s presence is more significant than a speculator’s asset. It is a robust store of value and a decentralized currency, which is unalterable and consequently, resistant to censorship. It serves the $40 trillion offshore banking industry better than the banks that dominate the space, as BlockTower’s Ari Paul previously noted.

Hence, given that bitcoin is still in its early stage in development and adoption, the fact that the relatively large portion of millennials are willing to and prefer to invest in the cryptocurrency market instead of the traditional finance sector is noteworthy. Bitcoin has already begun to evolve into a major asset class, as JPMorgan global markets strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said:

“In all, the prospective introduction of bitcoin futures has the potential to elevate cryptocurrencies to an emerging asset class. The value of this new asset class is a function of the breadth of its acceptance as a store of wealth and as a means of payment and simply judging by other stores of wealth such as gold, cryptocurrencies have the potential to grow further from here.”

Where Does Bitcoin Go in 2018?

Panigirtzoglou explained that bitcoin has started to evolve into a major asset class with the listing of bitcoin futures by leading markets like the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) and CME Group.

But, the truth is, the global cryptocurrency market and exchanges within it have become multi-billion dollar companies of their own, and have started to process more volumes that stock markets. Bithumb for instance, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange based in South Korea, has started to process more volumes on a daily basis than the KOSDAQ, the country’s main stock market.

In 2018, with the entrance of millennials and young investors, analysts expect the price of bitcoin to reach the $50,000 mark, and become the first cryptocurrency to reach a $1 trillion market cap. The introduction of bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Cboe could bring the price of bitcoin to $50,000 much quicker than the expectations of investors.

The post 30% of Millenials Prefer to Invest in Bitcoin, Key to Multi-Trillion Dollar Market Cap appeared first on NewsBTC.

It’s ­Monday morning and it’s time to get things kicked off for a fresh week of trading in the bitcoin price space. Things were particularly volatile over the weekend (which, of course, isn’t a problem for us) and we had a number of opportunities to jump in and out of the markets according to the rules of our intraday strategy on the volatility question. The hope is, that this volatility will continue as we move into the session out of Europe this morning and, beyond, into the US session later on this afternoon.

If it does, we should have plenty more opportunities to pull a profit from the market before the day draws to a close.

Whatever happens, we will ensure that we have some solid risk management parameters in place just in case things turn against us and we have to bail out of a position that we entered on a predefined signal.

So, with all this said, let’s get some levels in place that we can use for the session today. As ever, take a quick look at the chart below before we get started so as to get an idea where things stand and where we are looking to jump in and out of the markets according to the rules of our strategy.

The chart is a one-minute candlestick chart and it has our primary range overlaid in green.

As the chart shows, the range we are looking at for the session today comes in as defined by support to the downside at 15216 and resistance to the upside at 15350.

If we see price close above resistance, we will enter long towards an immediate upside target of 15450. A stop loss on the trade at 15325 will ensure we are taken out of the position if things turn against us.

Looking the other way, a close below support will have us in short towards a downside target of 15116. A stop loss at 15240 works well.

Charts courtesy of Trading View

The post Bitcoin Price Watch; Trading A Fresh Week appeared first on NewsBTC.

An Indian lawyer has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to force action on the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the country.

There appears to be a genuine demand for cryptocurrency-related hedge fund investment opportunities. We have seen quite a few of these investment vehicles come to market in 2017. Blocktower Capital is one of these ventures, which is spearheaded by former Goldman Sachs VP Matthew Goetz. So far, the project has raised $140m in backing, which is rather impressive. Silicon Valley and Wall Street have not given up yet on their cryptocurrency dreams.

It is always good to see more cryptocurrency hedge funds come to market. These investment vehicles provide institutional investors with a new outlet to generate profits. With Blocktower Capital, it is evident there is a growing demand for services such as this one. After raising $140m since August 2017, things are certainly off to a good start. Among the investors are Andreessen Horowitz, other VR firms, and family offices. A healthy mix of different types of investors, to say the very least.

Blocktower Capital is off to a Good Start

As one would expect, this money will be put to good use. A portion of the funds is used to increase company staff. Although there are still “only” eight executives, it’s a step in the right direction. Their latest hired hand is Michael Bucella, another former Goldman Sachs employee. Traditional financial experts are slowly flocking to cryptocurrency, which is a remarkable trend. It is evident there is a bright future ahead for hedge funds such as this one.

For the time being, it remains unclear which currencies Blocktower Capital intends to focus on. Other hedge funds usually stick with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and perhaps Bitcoin Cash. There’s also one particular fund which focuses solely on Ripple’s XRP. It is impossible to tell which is the best strategy right now. After all, most cryptocurrencies have soared in value over the past twelve months. There are hardly any wrong pickings, except for the obvious pump-and-dump coins.

Whether or not this new capital market will be the holy grail for hedge fund managers, remains to be seen. Blocktower Capital CEO Goetz is convinced this market needs to be tapped as quickly as possible. At the same time, everyone focusing on the same two or three cryptocurrencies will yield negative results in the long run. Bitcoin is far from perfect in its current state, to say the very least. Moreover, there are quite a few undervalued currencies in the top 50 as we speak. An interesting future lies ahead, that much is rather evident.

The post Blocktower Capital Cryptocurrency Hedge Fund Raises $140m in Five Months appeared first on NewsBTC.

The advent of blockchain in asset and wealth management industry has generated a lot of investment opportunities for the investors seeking for transparent, low-cost and secure ways to invest their money in exchange for impressive ROIs. However, the industry is still faced with the challenges like lack of investors’ trust, fear of cyber crimes and unexpected market risks. To overcome these challenges and disrupt the investment and wealth management worldwide, Profitable Morrows appears as the next rising investment platform globally.

The Background

Profitable Morrows, an Australia-based private investment and wealth management company, offers unique and profitable investment opportunities across Australia, Europe, China and the U.S.A. Profitable Morrows invites individual and institutional investors to be a part of global investment scenario, assuring lucrative returns on investments and highest standards of online security, account privacy, and customer service.

At Profitable Morrows, the financial portfolio is strongly backed by an active pool of profits, leveraged on the strategic assortment of high-performance assets placed in key position all across the world.

The Benefits

Profitable Morrows offers investors with high flexibility, limited regulations and accelerated transaction speed. Most of the investors tend to avoid the risks, while many investors remain doubtful of their investments throughout their investment cycle. Profitable Morrows minimizes its risk exposure by exclusively investing in those businesses that are operating in the biggest and most profitable industries in the world. Interest is added to investor’s balance every 24 hours after the deposit is made, till the expiry of the investment plan. Upon expiry of the investment plan, Profitable Morrows allows the investor to invest further. Moreover, the use of blockchain technology enables portfolio managers to identify, interpret and act on even the most minor, meaningful market happening, in real-time.

Aaron Cooper, the CEO of Profitable Morrows, says:

“It’s not about how many eggs you have in your basket, that’s just an old, outdated cliché that no longer works for todays savvy investor. Your financial future lies in how those eggs are nurtured so they may hatch into their full grown potential. Financial success is not about watching over your basket, its about taking vested action.”

Some of the core features of Profitable Morrows include:

• Secure Control Panel

The platform of Profitable Morrows is leveraged upon secure control panel that monitors the account in real-time, keeping investors updated of the activities.

• Deposits & Withdrawals

The platform instantly processes deposits and withdrawals using the most popular and widely used e-currencies. Profitable Morrows has set only 0.005 BTC (Bitcoin) or 25 USD as the minimum amount of investment, while offering unlimited number of deposits.

The minimum limit of funds that a user can withdraw from his or her account is $1 or BTC 0.005 and there is no maximum limit.

• Affiliate program

Unlike other similar wealth management companies, Profitable Morrows offers 15 % exclusive reward for referral investment. Investors can register themselves for different levels of Affiliate Program and earn 15% commission for each investment made.

• Customer Service

Profitable Morrows is a customer-oriented company with a prime focus on serving its investors through excellent customer service that is always ready to answer queries and resolve issues.

The Plans offered

At present, the company offers two investment plans:

• Fixed Plan

• Daily Plan

To know more about the platform and invest to gain profitable returns, please visit https://profitablemorrows.com/

The post Profitable Morrows to Disrupt Investment & Wealth Management Industry appeared first on NewsBTC.

Most cryptocurrency enthusiasts are well aware of how the prices on Coinmarketcap look skewed. This is mainly because they continue to factor in the Korean prices for the global average. Although that is only normal, it also makes the markets look a lot healthier than they really are. As a result, the platform is now no longer including the Korean prices for all currencies. The trading volume still counts though, which is only normal.

Coinmarketcap Makes a Much Needed Change

For the past few months, all cryptocurrencies have seen their market caps go up quite spectacularly. In a lot of cases, the individual prices per currency or token were nowhere even near what people can fetch for it on the exchanges. That is mainly due to the involvement of South Korean exchanges. Mainly Bithumb, but also Korbit, Coinone, and a few others. All of these trading platforms artificially inflate prices and market caps as they trade at a very steep premium over the rest of the world.

As a result, we saw Bitcoin’s price reported at over $18,000 for quite some time, even though the Western world only came close to that level on one occasion. Right now, the same Bitcoin price is listed on Coinmarketcap at a value of $15,464 which is slightly more realistic. It does represent a massive 5% decline compared to 24 hours, but that’s just the adjustment due to Korean prices being excluded on CMC.

For those unaware, one Bitcoin is valued at over $23,000 in South Korea right now. That same Bitcoin, when exchanged for US Dollars, will get you $15,774 at best. It is evident this discrepancy between exchanges has been a problem for quite some time now. There is no solution other than to exclude the Korean exchange prices for the foreseeable future. It is not the first time we see Asian trading platforms trade major cryptocurrencies at a much higher value compared to the rest of the world either, mind you.

About a year ago, the Chinese cryptocurrencies dominated the trading volume for Bitcoin and most altcoins. At that time, Chinese traders were also paying a premium for every coin, although it rarely exceeded 10%. In South Korea, that premium is now close to 50%, which is absolutely unacceptable. No one can take advantage of these arbitrage opportunities either, thus the prices will not be driven down in the near future. Using Korean exchanges is subject to very strict rules and requirements, which makes it unattractive to Western users.

As a result, all cryptocurrencies that rely on Korean exchanges for their prices have taken a big hit in terms of price and market cap. This change was to be expected though, as Coinmarketcap now shows the “proper” averages for all currencies again. Although there will always be some discrepancies when looking at altcoin trading markets and Bitcoin, the average price should now be much closer to the real value one could buy or sell said currencies for. Since no one can take advantage of the Korean premium anyway, this change doesn’t matter all that much when looking at the bigger picture.

The big question is how this will affect cryptocurrencies moving forward. More specifically, things are not looking all that great on the charts less than 24 hours after this change was introduced. Nearly everything is in the red, except for a few unicorns. Moreover, the overall cryptocurrency market cap saw nearly $50bn removed from its total, which is quite a lot of money. Things can only get better from here on out, though, that much is rather evident.