Day: January 18, 2018

The bulls are back?

The European Central Bank is soliciting questions for president Mario Draghi, specifying that cryptocurrency-related questions should be a topic.

The demand for secure crypto storage is almost as high as the demand for the assets themselves. Only a few companies at the moment are offering solid secure offline storage devices for cryptocurrencies and they are selling out like hot cakes. Ledger is one such company and it has just secured its second round of investments which will go into research and development and up-scaling operations.

In a press release on the company blog yesterday Paris based Ledger announced that Series B of funding has now been completed with 75 million USD secured in investments. The first round of investments was held in March 2017 where $7 million was raised. Leading the way was London based capital markets firm Draper Esprit whose CEO Simon Cook said;

“Blockchain, as evidenced by crypto assets, is a truly revolutionary technology. Security will be paramount to its success and we believe that Ledger has built the world’s best security platform to manage private keys for all blockchain and crypto asset applications. This is a global company for a global industry and we have built an international syndicate through the Draper Network to support the team in their huge ambition.”

A number of other venture capitalist partners added to the stash which included Draper Associates, Draper Dragon and Boost VC, as well as FirstMark Capital, Cathay Innovation, and Korelya Capital.

Eric Larchevêque, Ledger CEO, was pleased with the outcome;

“We initially designed our Ledger hardware wallet as an enabler for the blockchain revolution. Three years later and with this Series B, we are reaching a significant milestone in our path to build a technological giant in the promising space of cryptocurrencies. These funds will be used to keep investing significantly in R&D while scaling our operations and deploying our teams globally. I am delighted to bring on board Draper Esprit and a truly global group of investors who will support the company as it grows rapidly.”

Further services are in the pipeline including the Ledger Vault which aims to enable banks, funds and offices to secure and manage their crypto assets. The company has sold over a million hardware wallets around the world and demand is at an all-time high. They have currently sold out and have a pre-order notice on the website for the next batch on March 26.

The post Ledger secures $75m for crypto security appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Highlights

• Ripple price managed to move further higher and it broke the $1.50 resistance against the US dollar.
• There is a short-term bullish trend line forming with support at $1.50 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair is placed nicely above the $1.45 and $1.50 levels, and is eyeing further gains.

Ripple price is back in the bullish zone against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. XRP/USD is gaining pace and it may soon attempt further upsides toward $1.80 and 2.00.

Ripple Price Support

There was a decent recovery initiated in Ripple price from the $0.8905 swing low against the US Dollar. The price traded above the $1.00 and $1.20 resistance levels to initiate a fresh upside move. There was even a break above the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the last major decline from the $1.91 high to $0.89 low. It opened the doors for more gains and the price was able to break the $1.45 and $1.50 resistance levels.

It traded as high as $1.7540 and is currently correcting lower. It is testing the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $0.8905 low to $1.7540 high. Moreover, there is a short-term bullish trend line forming with support at $1.50 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair. The trend line support at $1.50 is also around the 100 hourly simple moving average. Therefore, there is a major support forming at $1.50. As long as the pair is above the $1.50 level, there could be more gains toward $1.75 or above the mentioned level.

The overall price action remains positive with supports at $1.45 and $1.50.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is currently in the bearish zone, but with very less momentum.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is currently well above the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $1.50

Major Resistance Level – $1.75

Charts courtesy – Trading View, Kraken

The post Ripple Price Technical Analysis – XRP/USD Settles above $1.50 appeared first on NewsBTC.

Eticket4, the p2p-marketplace for tickets for sports, music and theater events for participants of the secondary market, announces the launch of Pre ICO on January 30, 2018, to attract investment for development and international scaling. For these purposes, the company will release tokens ET4.

Details of selling ET4 tokens

Initially, 30 million tokens will be released. Throughout the sale period, the price of one ET4 token is 1/1000 ETH. However, bonuses are provided. So, a private offer for investors, within which a preliminary closed sale will be held on January 30, provides bonuses of 40%. Many investors have already confirmed their participation in the private offer.

Pre ICO also starts on January 30 and will last until February 21. Totally planned to sell 3 million tokens during the pre-ICO.

The ICO start is scheduled for February 27 and will last four weeks. Under the terms of the smart contract, unsold tokens will be burned. Based on the results of private and public proposals, the maximum amount to the collection is the amount of 13,800 ETH. Tokens can be purchased using the currencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Discounts on tickets: why ET4 tokens are needed

ETicket4 already shows an average monthly growth rate of 2-3%, so the tokens are provided with real, rather than speculative liquidity.

The function of the tokens in the ecosystem of Eticket4 depends on the role of the token-holder. It can be an event organizer, a ticket broker or an ordinary ticket buyer. Thus, with the balance of more than 10,000 ET4 tokens, the event organizer is given the opportunity through the smart contracts to regulate the secondary ticket market for its activities issued on the blockchain platform: to limit resale or to set the ticket’s limit price, and to receive a fee from secondary transactions.

Ticket brokers balance of 1000 tokens ET4 allows, among other things, to gain access to advanced analytics and ticket price forecasts.

Ordinary customers can buy a ticket for any event on the ETicket4 platform for tokens – in this case, the fee will be up to 2%, whereas when paying with fiat money, the fee today can reach 30%.

Finally, ET4 tokens allow to pay up to 20% of the cost of any ticket and up to 30% of the ticket price for international major events, such as the World Cup.

About Eticket4 company

Eticket4 was founded in 2015 by Russian-Israeli businessmen Daniil Kruchinin and Dmitry Fedorovich. In September 2016, the platform was launched in all cities of Russia – the company was the first p2p-marketplace in Russia, which sells tickets on the secondary market. In 2017, the main event for ETicket4 was FIFA Confederation Cup, which was held in Russia: then the platform was successfully launched in the CIS and Eastern Europe. Over 60 thousand tickets were sold through the platform during this period.

At the end of 2017, ETicket4 registered more than 3,500 ticket brokers, and the annual turnover of the company was more than $ 2 million. In parallel, the company developed and launched analytical tools for ticket brokers, as well as an open two-way API for integration with partner companies. Now the project team plans to implement blockchain technology, which will expand the functionality of the platform and increase its transparency.

Contacts:

Official site: https://eticket4.com/
Official project’s ICO:  http://et4.io/
Contacts for investors: [email protected]
Contacts for press: [email protected]

The post Internet-Platform for Ticket Sales for Events Eticket4 Goes to ICO appeared first on NewsBTC.

Safe from stagnation at key resistance levels, most alt coins are inching higher. From price action, DASH recovery looks to be on course as buyers push prices higher.

This was likely to happen. Relative to other coins, DASH bore the wrath of sellers after that serious dip to as low as $600. Despite the rosy view, we cannot rule out possibilities of alt coin sellers angling for better entries with every higher high.

This is why we should especially watch out and wait for reactions at $210 for LTC and $3 for IOTA. Any break above and buyers might have a field day.

NEM IS BACK AT $1.14 AS BUYERS WAIT FOR A CONFIRMATION ABOVE $1.50

As a typical break out, NEM prices are back towards $1.14, a reprieve for buyers? Yes, maybe.

But first, it will mean nothing if the last couple of bullish soldiers which resisted lower lows with a double bar reversal pattern failed to follow through and push above this minor resistance line.

Of course there are hints of such but we need a strong close above $1.50 to be certain of bull pressure.

Otherwise, it can quickly turn out to be another retest of break out level and a possible resumption of bear pressure.

It’s mainly because of this reason why I don’t recommend longs or shorts unless there is confirmation of bear/bull moves in either direction.

LUMENS SNAP BACK TO TREND AFTER TESTING $0.30

I have no doubt that XLM buyers are back in this trade.

If you need evidence then just look at yesterday’s chart and analysis and note that prices were reversing from previous significance support. The double bar reversals and that close above $0.30 was a bummer for sellers.

If you are late then you may consider waiting for a reaction at the minor resistance trend line.

Any lower lows may cause prices to reverse to the middle BB or $0.43. If not, a blast above this line and buyers may as well hitch the ride towards $0.76 and $1.0 with buy stops above $0.65.

AT $3, IOTA TRADERS ARE LEFT TO MAKE KEY DECISIONS

Like Lumens, IOTA reversal from around $2.1 is noteworthy. What is important though is the reaction at current levels.

Will buyers find reason to push prices into the previous range or will sellers take advantage and confirm the second phase of a break out patter?

A trader can do two things here: Either wait short and assume it’s a break out or wait until prices close above the middle BB convincingly before entering long positions with immediate targets at the upper limit of the previous consolidation at $4.2.

As it is, it’s all dependent on time and price.

DASH RECOVERY ON-COURSE

From our yesterday’s two cents, close above $800 was significant and telling of buy pressure. Now is this another DASH recovery or a bluff?

From yesterday’s price action, it was evident that DASH buyers kept on pressing higher and eventually closing above the middle BB and $800.

The thing here is this, December 3, 2017 highs at around $800 is now our immediate support and DASH traders can initiate their longs while placing their stops below it. It’s as simple as that.

$210 IS IMPORTANT FOR LTC

Even after incessant buy pressure, LTC prices is yet to breach $210 and at current prices, it’s a make or break opportunity for both buyers and sellers.

See, LTC is at a point of inflection and we are aware of how strong $210 is. It is a previous support line which is very clear on the 4HT chart-check the highlights.

If LTC sync with other alt coin recovery, then we may see prices back in the range today otherwise, any bearish confirmation below the 20 Period MA and $150 is only but $50 away.

All charts courtesy of Trading View

The post IS DASH RECOVERY ON-COURSE OR SELLERS ARE ANGLING FOR ENTRIES? appeared first on NewsBTC.

A handful of platforms have launched to support token issuers with their sales. Which one an issuer uses may say something about the token itself.

Key Highlights

• ETH price started a decent upside recovery after trading as low as $753 against the US Dollar.
• There is a major bearish trend line with resistance at $1065 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via SimpleFX).
• The pair is struggling to break the $1070 and $1085 resistance levels and is slowly moving down.

Ethereum price is facing an uphill task against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD needs to clear the $1070 and $1085 resistance levels to gain upside momentum.

Ethereum Price Resistance

Yesterday, we saw the start a decent upside recovery from the $753 swing low in ETH price against the US Dollar. The price succeeded in moving past the $800 and $1000 resistance levels. There was also a break above the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last major decline from the $1375 high to $753 low. It cleared the path for more gains, but the price seems to be struggling to move above the $1070 and $1085 resistance levels.

There is also a major bearish trend line with resistance at $1065 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The trend line resistance is also around the 50% Fib retracement level of the last major decline from the $1375 high to $753 low. Therefore, the $1065 resistance level is very crucial for further upsides. More importantly, the 100 hourly simple moving average is positioned near $1085 to act as a key barriers for buyers. Once there is a proper close above the $1085 level and the 100 hourly SMA, the price may gain bids.

On the downside, an initial support is at $900. However, the current price is slightly bearish below $1065. If the pair fails to move above $1065, it could decline back toward $800.

Hourly MACD – The MACD is once again attempting to move into the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI is now below the 50 level and is heading lower.

Major Support Level – $900

Major Resistance Level – $1065

Charts courtesy – SimpleFX

The post Ethereum Price Technical Analysis – ETH/USD Facing Crucial Resistance appeared first on NewsBTC.

Morgan Stanley becomes the second major Wall Street firm to begin clearing Bitcoin futures contracts, possibly opening the floodgates. #NEWS

Key Points

• Bitcoin cash price recovered well from the $1340 low to well above $1700 against the US Dollar.
• However, this week’s highlighted crucial bearish trend line with current resistance at $1900 is preventing gains on the hourly chart of BCH/USD (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair needs to overcome selling pressure around the $1900 and $2000 levels to gain momentum.

Bitcoin cash price has moved into the positive zone above $1700 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD now has to move past $2000 for more gains.

Bitcoin Cash Price Upside Hurdle

Yesterday, we saw the start of a decent recovery in bitcoin cash price from the $1340 low against the US Dollar. The price moved higher and succeeded in breaking the $1700 resistance. There was also a break above the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last fall from the $2405.2 high to $1340.9 low. The current price action is positive above the $1700 level, but BCH is facing a major hurdle on the upside.

At the moment, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last fall from the $2405.2 high to $1340.9 low at $1870 is acting as a major hurdle. More importantly, this week’s highlighted crucial bearish trend line with current resistance at $1900 is preventing gains on the hourly chart of BCH/USD. Therefore, there are two major resistance for more gains – $1900 and $2000. The pair has to move past $1900 and close above $2000 to gain further upside momentum.

Around the mentioned $2000, the price faces the 100 hourly simple moving average. Moreover, the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the last fall from the $2405.2 high to $1340.9 low is at $1997. On the downside, an initial support is at $1700 followed by the $1500 level.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is slowly moving in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is just above the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $1500

Major Resistance Level – $2000

Charts courtesy – Trading View, Kraken

The post Bitcoin Cash Price Technical Analysis – BCH/USD Holding on to Gains appeared first on NewsBTC.

Litecoin was not immune from the cryptocurrency bloodbath this week. It dropped 50% from its all-time high and confirmed below the daily Ichimoku cloud. Here is a quick overview.

LTC/USD Price Action

After reaching the all-time high level of $420 in mid-December, LTC/USD started a brand new downtrend. It has been mainly supported by the 76% Fibonacci retracement level of $163, as it tested it once in December and twice in the past week.

It has also confirmed below the daily Ichimoku cloud, with the Tenkan line, Kijun line, and the future cloud in a bearish momentum. The Chiko span has yet to cross below the cloud though.

Unlike many of its major cryptocurrency counterparts, Litecoin has mainly been consolidating after the sharp plunge. It has formed a series of Doji candlestick patterns in the past few days, with no clear indication of its next direction.

How Are the Other Cryptos Doing?

Besides Ripple’s XRP which has shifted into a bullish momentum after the plunge, many other cryptocurrencies including Ethereum and Bitcoin are also in a consolidation mode.

Litecoin and Bitcoin are practically correlated because their use cases are very similar. If you consider Bitcoin as an asset like gold, Litecoin would be Silver.

Litecoin was created by former Coinbase engineer Charlie Lee in 2011 as a quicker alternative to Bitcoin.

What Was the Crash All About?

This week’s crash came after a global tide of regulation against the inchoate cryptocurrency industry. On one hand, these regulations may be scaring bitcoin investors into selling their coins now before the full impact of regulation makes itself felt. On the other, it may also be threatening suspect exchanges such as BitConnect, with its own token declining in value by 46 percent between December 17th and January 15th — the day before it announced its closure.

In the United States, regulation has reared its head in the form of the SEC.

But you can’t blame this all on the fundamentals. From a technical point of view, these drops were also noted as an inevitable flow of market sentiment. And the fact that the prices fell exactly to the key support levels, further strengthens our pullback theory.

Any Good News in the Cryptocurrency World?

Yes. First off, Japan’s biggest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. is hopping on the cryptocurrency train. It is planning to release its own cryptocurrency coin by March 2018.

In the US, the housing industry is starting to dip its toes into the Bitcoin water. One Miami condo seller is only accepting Bitcoin offers, while online real estate brokers say several other listings are willing to accept bitcoin as a payment option.

These are certainly good news for cryptocurrency bulls. However, there is no doubt that the crypto market can still be very easily manipulated by bots and big players due to lack of regulation.

The post LTC/USD Consolidating After Dropping to Key Fibonacci Level appeared first on NewsBTC.

Trading bots are computer programs that use various indicators to recognize trends and automatically execute trades. While algorithmic trading software has been used by hedge funds in the equity, commodity and currency markets, trading bots for private investors first appeared in the foreign exchange trading space. They have quickly made their way into the crypto asset market.