Day: January 31, 2018

None of the cryptocurrency markets look exceptionally good right now. With losses ranging anywhere from 7% to 15% depending on which market you look at, things are not looking all that great whatsoever. The XRP price is a clear example of how tough things are in the market right now.More specifically, we have seen the XRP price decline by as much as 10.06% over the past 24 hours, pushing the value back down to $1.13.

XRP Price is on the Decline Again

Every cryptocurrency or digital asset is currently suffering from a massive amount of bearish pressure. This is not just affecting Bitcoin and Ethereum, but any currency in the top 10 is currently suffering from massive losses over the past 24 hours. The XRP price is no exception in this regard, as the current 10.06% price decline pushes the value back down to $1.13. This straight decline in USD value is not entirely surprising, as the year 2018 has been off to a bad start for all currencies and digital assets as of right now.

With the XRP price taking another big hit, it is evident things are not looking all that great. Until this bearish momentum lifts, all cryptocurrencies will continue to suffer for quite some time to come. Just three days ago, it seemed as if the total cryptocurrency market cap was heading back to $600bn. At the time of writing, we are looking at a market cap of $508bn, and that number may effectively continue to decline for quite some time to come.

It is also worth mentioning the XRP price has lost 2.25% in value against Bitcoin itself. In fact, this loss is a lot smaller than most people would expect, even though it does show Bitcoin is dragging everything down once again. With the Bitcoin value tanking, we see the XRP price suffering in both USD and BTC value, which is always somewhat worrisome. Again, this applies to all other cryptocurrencies and digital assets on the market as of right now. It will be interesting to see how low the XRP price will go in the coming hours.

There is one shining beacon in this current market onslaught, though. More specifically, the overall cryptocurrency trading volume is on the rise once again, and the XRP trading volume is no exception in this regard either. With $1.585bn in 24-hour trading volume, it is evident there is a lot of negative pressure on the market. The XRP price even dipped to $1.04 at one point, but that was quickly followed by a push to $1.19. Expect a lot of volatility due to this increasing trading volume, though.

Most of the XRP trading volume comes from the Bithumb and Upbit exchanges as of right now. Both platforms combine for over 46% of all trades, indicating the rest of the world is not necessarily interested in either buying or selling Ripple’s native asset. The first non-Korean exchange on the list is Bitfinex, which generates $109.841m in the past 24 hours. With five fiat currency-related trading pairs in the top five for XRP, things are not looking bad whatsoever.  

For the time being, we have to wait and see what the future will bring for the XRP price. So far, things are not looking all that impressive, but this situation can always turn around rather quickly. It is evident all markets will continue to suffer from the current negative pressure for quite some to come. Bitcoin is still undergoing a massive correction as we speak, but it remains to be seen how low the value can go in the coming days and weeks. More specifically, there’s a good chance it will hit $9,000 in the coming weeks. At some point, the prices will go up again, but for now, the situation remains an uneasy one.

Charlie Lee imposters on Twitter are posting about a fake Litecoin giveaway, no takers so far. #NEWS

Samsung is manufacturing bitcoin mining chips in partnership with an unidentified Chinese firm, according to an Asian news report.

A lot of things are happening in South Korea as of right now. The government is doing everything they can to crack down on illegal activity. Especially activity related to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. That is a lot easier said than done, for obvious reasons.

A recent report shows how close to $600m worth of illegal cryptocurrency FX trading has been discovered. This is an interesting development, although one that won’t have much of a negative impact overall. Any crimes involving cryptocurrencies need to be brought to light.

Foreign currency crimes are nothing new in the world of finance. When this activity gets linked to cryptocurrency, things are very different. The South Korean customs service discovered nearly $600m worth of foreign exchange crimes. Especially illegal trading using cryptocurrencies has proven to be rather popular.  This information came to light during the government’s crackdown on illegal trade. It is evident cryptocurrencies play a big role in this particular ‘industry’.  It is an unfortunate byproduct of the popularity that comes with Bitcoin.

Illegal Cryptocurrency Trading Crimes in South Korea

For the time being, it remains to be seen how this information will be used. There is no official course of action against the “culprits” so far. It is also worth noting these are not the only cryptocurrency-related crimes the agency discovered. Illegal foreign currency trading makes up a big part of this trend, though. It is unclear what other “crimes” have been discovered regarding cryptocurrency. The customs agency did not share much information on that particular front.

With South Korea cracking down on this activity, things can only evolve in a positive manner. After all, cryptocurrency was never designed for criminal activities in the first place. This is especially true when it comes to Bitcoin. The world’s leading cryptocurrency lacks privacy and anonymity features first and foremost.  Other currencies are ‘better suited’  for this type of activity. However, these cannot be properly traced, which makes the life of government agencies a lot more difficult.

It is evident the South Korean government will continue to focus on cryptocurrency. For now, it seems unlikely trading platforms will effectively be shut down anytime soon. That option is still on the table, though. A lot of changes will come to cryptocurrency moving forward. How all of this will play, has yet to be determined.  With the South Korean government trying to make a positive impact, we can hopefully expect bigger and better things.

The post South Korean Officials Discover $600m Worth of Cryptocurrency Crimes appeared first on NewsBTC.

South Korea does not intend to “ban or suppress” cryptocurrency trading, the country’s finance minister said today.

With ICO burnout coming, investors at the Blockchain Connect conference last week discussed what projects really pique their interest.

Key Highlights

• ADA price struggled a lot recently and it moved below the $0.5000 support area against the US Dollar (tethered).
• There are two bearish trend lines forming with resistance at $0.5000 and $0.52000 on the hourly chart of ADA/USD (data feed via Bittrex).
• The pair remains at a risk of more losses toward the $0.4500 and $0.4000 support levels in the near term.

Cardano price is currently under a lot of pressure against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ADA/USD is struggling to move higher with a strong resistance near $0.5200.

Cardano Price Resistance

There was no major recovery in ADA price above the $0.6200 resistance against the US Dollar. The price started a fresh downside wave and broke many important supports on the way down such as $0.5500 and $0.5000. It traded as low as $0.4631 and is currently consolidating losses. It recently tested the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $0.6700 high to $0.4631 low.

However, the upside move was capped by the $0.5000 resistance. There are two bearish trend lines forming with resistance at $0.5000 and $0.52000 on the hourly chart of ADA/USD. These trend lines are important and a break above $0.5200 won’t be easy. Above $0.5200, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $0.6700 high to $0.4631 low is likely to prevent upsides. Therefore, it seems like there are many hurdles forming around $0.5200 and $0.5500.

On the downside, there is a major support around $0.4500-0.4600. A break below $0.4500 could trigger further declines in the near term. The next major support for buyers is around the $0.4000. Overall, the market is bearish and ADA is at a risk of more declines toward $0.4500.

Hourly MACD – The MACD is mostly placed in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI is heading lower and it is moving into the oversold levels.

Major Support Level – $0.4500

Major Resistance Level – $0.5200

Charts courtesy – Cryptowat, Bittrex

The post Cardano Price Technical Analysis – ADA/USD Remains in Downtrend appeared first on NewsBTC.

The South Korea government is investigating the use of cryptocurrency in illegal foreign currency exchange, according to a statement.