Day: February 6, 2018

Once again we awake to a sea of red in crypto land. It has become quite a familiar sight this year with only a few days showing the potential for a rebound. It hasn’t happened and Bitcoin continues to tumble pulling all of its brethren down with it.

Crypto space isn’t the only place in pain though; stock markets across the world have taken a beating this week also so how do we really define a ‘crash’?

According to Fortune the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over a thousand points for the first time ever yesterday. Only two stocks in the S&P 500 were up for the day, while all of the Dow’s 30 members fell. Both indexes have erased all of their gains for the year. Sound familiar?

Bitcoin battered but not as badly

Monday was a bleak day for Bitcoin also which, at the time of writing, has lost over 20% in the past 24 hours according to Coinmarketcap. BTC has fallen from around $8,300 yesterday morning to $6,500 during today’s Asian trading session. This equates to a loss of around $30 billion from its market capacity.

Compare this to Dow stocks which lost $300 billion over the weekend and on Monday and it puts things into perspective somewhat. Just one stock, Google’s parent company Alphabet, lost $40 billion for the second day in a row so the mainstream media constantly sticking it to Bitcoin time and time again is quite unjustified when you look at the bigger picture.

Crashing the party

A market crash is generally defined by an abrupt and rapid decline of 20% or more. The 2008 Lehmann Brothers crash is a prime example. There have been others such incidents on stock markets such as the infamous 1929 Black Tuesday event, 1987’s Black Monday, and the dot com collapse in 2000. A market correction however is when the decline is at least 10% from its highs.

From its high of 26,600 on January 26 the Dow has corrected to 24,300 at the time of writing. This is only a change of 8.6%, so not quite crash material … yet.

Bitcoin has crashed, there is no doubting that. But when something goes up by 200% in one month alone it is totally unsustainable. In mid-November Bitcoin was trading at around $6,750 which is pretty close to its price today. All that has happened is that it has lost the gains it made in the past two months.

This is nothing new for Bitcoin, one of the biggest crashes it had was in spring 2013 when it fell over 70% from $233 to $67 virtually overnight. Then there was the Mt Gox hack in 2014 which caused another fall of 50% and took a year to recover, so Bitcoin is no stranger to volatility and crashes.

Those that usually lose out in these situations are the inexperienced traders that are in it for a quick buck and panic sell when too much mainstream media FUD overwhelms them. The crypto market cap is currently at $290 billion, this time last year it was under $20 billion so looking at the bigger picture the crypto industry is still up over 1350% year on year. Relax, it is all part of the nature of things in crypto land.

The post Op-Ed: When is a Crash a Crash? appeared first on NewsBTC.

As markets continue to fall across the board today many are left wondering where the bottom will be. What is guaranteed is that there will be a bottom and things will rebound. Bitcoin is no stranger to crashes, it has had several worse than the current one during its nine year lifespan.

According to Business Insider many institutional investors are still wondering whether Bitcoin can bounce back. A lot of people newer to the crypto scene have taken to social media to share tales of woe and post images of smashed up Lamborghinis.

Despite the recent tsunami of MSM (mainstream media) fueled fear, crypto professionals hold a much longer term view of the entire ecosystem. Only those that jumped in at the end of 2017 trying to make a quick buck without understanding what they were investing in will be smarting now, and licking their wounds, especially if they have just sold in a panic.

Hodling with the pros

Patience and a lot of resolve is required from the hardcore hodlers that truly believe in Bitcoin and the philosophy of cryptocurrency.  Since Satoshi Nakamoto birthed Bitcoin in 2009 it has yet to fail to bounce back from a hard fall. Some industry professionals are still betting big on cryptocurrencies.

Former product manager at Facebook, Anthony Pompliano, is currently managing an early stage investment firm that intends to put its next $25 million in investments into crypto startups. He views Bitcoin’s crash as a natural part of the market cycle and stands by his prediction that BTC will reach $50,000 in 2018.

“I don’t know if it’s for four hours, or a day, or forever. I don’t know if anyone can call that. If you ask most institutional investors, one of the most valuable aspects of bitcoin is that every time something has occurred that should kill it, it doesn’t die and it comes back stronger. I think that element of bitcoin is incredibly powerful and highly underrated.”

Trust in the technology

Unlike traditional stock markets, Bitcoin and crypto is traded globally and can be influenced by companies or countries across the world deciding to support it or crack down on it. This results in both upwards and downwards cycles happening a lot faster.

Robin O’Connell, chief revenue officer at the currency exchange Uphold, is confident that cryptos were here to stay;

“If you as an individual believe that crypto is here to stay — and obviously at Uphold we believe that — then [you believe] at some point this is going to correct itself.”

Investing in the technology and the concept that digital currencies and blockchain will provide a better way to move money around the world, and alleviate major limitations with current systems through smart contracts, then it appears clearer that short term market crashes do not really matter in the long run.

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It has been another very wild ride for the Bitcoin price over the past 24 hours. With even more losses on the charts globally, it is evident Bitcoin is in a traditional bear market right now. The year 2018 has been incredibly difficult for Bitcoin users altogether, as things have only gone from bad to worse. Rest assured the Bitcoin price trend will reverse at some point, though, as this market will not be kept down indefinitely.

Bitcoin Price Tries to Bounce Back

A lot of people assumed the Bitcoin price floor was somewhere close to $11,000. A few weeks ago, that seemed like a plausible outcome, but things have a habit of working themselves out in a different manner in the cryptocurrency world. More specifically, Bitcoin has dipped a slow as $6,000 in the past 24 hours, indicating the downtrend is far from over. As we usually see in this market, there is a slight bounce forming on the charts as of right now.

More specifically, the Bitcoin price attempts to mount a comeback to $6,600 as we speak While this sudden 10% jump is positive, most people will already know this momentum probably will not last for long. We have seen several of these small reversals in the past week or so, yet none of them could be sustained for more than an hour or two. It is unclear if this current Bitcoin price bounce will be different, although there is no indication that will effectively be the case.

With a 15.74% Bitcoin price net loss on the charts right now, it has become evident buying Bitcoin is the same as catching a falling knife. It is much easier said than done, and something people should not even attempt whatsoever. At the same time, this is perhaps the lowest Bitcoin price we will see in quite some time, even though people said that at $12,000. $12,000, and $8,500 as well. This bleeding will have to stop at some point, though, but no one knows for sure when that will be the case.

With $11.874bn in 24-hour trading volume, it is safe to say the demand to both buy and sell Bitcoin is still present. The sell orders vastly outweigh any buy attempts, though, but that is only to be expected when we enter such a bearish market.  Rest assured there will be plenty of people looking to buy into Bitcoin at this time, even though others will hope to catch an even cheaper price in the next few days. Whether or not that opportunity will arise is a different matter altogether.

Unsurprisingly, OKEx is still the largest exchange ranked by Bitcoin trading volume. While they are only marginally ahead of Bitfinex, both platforms generated over $1.2bn in trades respectively. Binance is a surprising third entrant on the list, although it’s not shocking to see another USDT pair rank so high. With GDAX not too far behind, it will be interesting to see how things evolve in the coming hours. It is evident the fiat currency-denominated markets are still leading the charge right now, although we do see four USDT pairs in the top 14 as well. An interesting trend well worth keeping an eye on.

For the time being, this temporary bounce is positive for the Bitcoin price as a whole. The big question is whether or not this is a new level of support being built or just a dead cat bounce. Some people think the Bitcoin price will go back to $1,000 before too long, but it remains highly doubtful that will be the case. Then again, people doubted the price would hit $7,500 or lower in early 2018, and they were all proven wrong as well.  The Bitcoin price will always remain unpredictable first and foremost.

The US Senate shows a great interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies all of a sudden. With the Bitcoin price tanking, the government feels the need to intervene. More specifically, top market watchdogs will be questioned regarding the futures market. Additionally, there will be a strong focus on potentially introducing additional regulation. It will be impossible to curb Bitcoin’s volatility, though. Right now, all markets are bleeding value and the end is not in sight just yet.

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on cryptocurrency later today. During this meeting, they will speak with the chairmen of the CFTC and SEC. There are growing global concerns over the risks Bitcoin and similar currencies pose to investors. Especially during these volatile periods, a lot of money can be lost in the blink of an eye. Finding some way to curb the exposure of consumers seems to be the top priority in the US right now. How this will all go down, is anybody’s guess at this point.

Bitcoin’s Volatility Remains a big Problem

One of the possibilities is regulating exchanges even further. It is not easy to sign up for an account and get your identity verified these days. Adding more hurdles for users to overcome seems like a plausible solution. A federal framework in the US would also help move things along accordingly. So far, individual states have their own requirements, whereas some don’t even have any specific restrictions. If there were to be one guideline for the entire United States, things may look different. Such legislation would also legalize cryptocurrencies, which isn’t necessarily what the government wants.

No one should expect any major decisions to be made later today. This hearing focuses on collecting facts and ideas to move forward. Neither the SEC nor CFTC can effectively oversee cryptocurrency exchanges. It is very likely that situation will come to change sooner rather than later. It’s unclear if that is a positive development or not. None of these decisions will help reduce the volatility of Bitcoin and other assets on the market.

It is evident the cryptocurrency market causes a lot of concerns right now. With so many markets crashing in quick succession, a global panic ensues. Regulation will not bring volatility to an end by any means. It is unlikely anything can effectively curb these wild price swings right now. Putting someone in charge of overseeing decentralized markets is an interesting idea. Whether or not it will work in the US, is a different matter altogether. Rest assured there will be lots of eyeballs on this meeting later today.

The post Bitcoin’s Volatility Triggers More Regulatory Attempts in the US appeared first on NewsBTC.

Crypto tokens are making some companies, especially those with existing virtual currency businesses, rethink the way they make a profit.

A few new regulatory guidelines were introduced in South Korea recently. These decisions are all positive for cryptocurrency as a whole. Unfortunately, some exchanges will struggle to cope with these new demands as of right now. Coinpia, one of the smaller trading platforms, has suspended its services for the time being. Their KRW deposits have been suspended indefinitely as well. It seems the company is the first victim of the new KYC guidelines.

Performing KYC verification is now mandatory in South Korea. For most exchanges, that is not a big problem, as it requires few to no changes whatsoever. Other companies, on the other hand, may need to undertake additional action in this regard. Coinpia appears to be one of the first “victims” in this regard. More specifically, the company has decided to suspend its transactions for now. This decision comes as a big surprise to a lot of people, for obvious reasons.

Lots of Work Ahead for Coinpia

According to a message on their website, the KRW deposits have been interrupted. Coinpia is in the process of upgrading their internal infrastructure to accommodate the new KYC guidelines. They have been working on various methods to step up their game in this regard. Customers will need to verify their bank account through deposits, similar to how Coinbase operates. 

Korean Won deposits are unavailable at the time of writing. There is no indication if and when this service will return. Coinpia wants to integrate user identities in a convenient manner. Coming up with a solution that works for everyone has proven to be virtually impossible so far. It appears they were one of the few exchanges who had no KYC verification whatsoever. With anonymous Bitcoin trading no longer being allowed in South Korea, other companies will need to upgrade their infrastructure as well.

It is an unfortunate development for the Coinpia exchange. Running such a trading platform in South Korea is now subject to very strict regulations. The company already faces a hefty fine due to user privacy protection issues now that long ago. While this new KYC requirement will not be the end of the company, it’s evident they face a lot of changes in quick succession. The company will hopefully come out stronger in the coming weeks. Building a new customer identity verification system from scratch isn’t easy.

The post South Korea’s Coinpia Struggles to Integrate KYC Verification appeared first on NewsBTC.

Coinbase has confirmed that users from four banks in the U.S. are now barred from buying cryptocurrencies using credit cards.

Bitcoin prices plunged to a 12-week low below $6,000 this morning, reporting double-digit percentage losses amid a continued crypto market sell-off.

Bloomberg

Bitcoin Miners Fried in Game of Chicken Bloomberg Had Bitcoin stayed at its 50-day moving average of $13,200, then the average miner could expect to print $80 per week in profit at current levels of computation (hash rate) and difficulty. This is based on the very generous assumption that a miner is ... and more »