Day: February 8, 2018

Yesterday proved to be a rather interesting day for cryptocurrency markets in general. After several weeks of losses, things have certainly taken a turn for the better. Even the Bitcoin Cash price is looking up again thanks to a solid 16.65% gain over the past 24 hours. With a Bitcoin Cash price of $1,144.6 again, things are looking pretty interesting.  Whether or not this current trend can be kept in place for another few days – or weeks – remains to be determined.

Bitcoin Cash Price Mounts a Strong Comeback

Even though not everyone is convinced Bitcoin Cash is here to stay, one cannot argue the altcoin made a positive impact throughout 2017. More specifically, it shows how a different mindset can elevate Bitcoin to a whole new level. As such, the Bitcoin Cash price has made some interesting movements throughout 2017 and early 2018. While the all-time high of nearly $3,000 is quite a long way away, the current Bitcoin Cash price is not looking all that bad either.

Thanks to the solid 16.65% gain over the past 24 hours, the Bitcoin Cash price has rebounded back to over $1,125. This is quite a welcome change of pace for BCH supporters, as the Bitcoin Cash price dipped all the way to $774.12  not that long ago. With so many markets suffering from negative pressure in the past few weeks, that dip was not all that surprising whatsoever. Thankfully, the market is following the general uptrend in cryptocurrency by appreciating in value once again.

It is evident these gains are quite spectacular, considering most currencies are only up by single-digit percentages right now. Bitcoin Cash also notes strong gains against Bitcoin, as the BCH/BTC ratio improved by 10.07% over the past 24 hours. That in itself is quite interesting, considering how the Bitcoin price itself has gone up by over 5.5% in the same time period. When altcoins gain in both USD and BTC value at the same time, interesting things are bound to happen sooner or later.

With $1.631bn in 24-hour trading volume, the demand for Bitcoin Cash appears to be rather genuine. All markets see a nice influx of trading volume again after a few weeks of declining volume and prices. Whether or not this is a major turn of events for the Bitcoin Cash price in general, has yet to be determined. If this trend can be maintained for a few more days, we will see a nice appreciation in value for all currencies before the month of February is over.

Unsurprisingly, OKEx is the largest trading platform for Bitcoin Cash as of right now. They generate an astonishing 732% of all trades with their BTC pair, and another 3.12% of trades with their USDT market. HitBTC is the only other exchange in the top three, which is rather surprising. One would expect Bitfinex to make a bigger impact on this market right now, but their volume is confined to $36.834m in 24 hours. Not overly impressive, but it is not all that bad either.

For the time being, we will have to wait and see what the future holds for Bitcoin Cash and other cryptocurrencies. More specifically, this current uptrend will eventually result in some form of a retrace. After all, that is the cycle we have seen in the past few days, and it is unlikely that situation will change in the near future. For now, the Bitcoin Cash price gain is pretty interesting, but there is still a lot of work to be done in the next few days and weeks. For now, one should take profits before things turn sour again, as this trend will not go on forever.

Bitcoin has proven to be one of the oddest forms of money to date. Largely ignored by banks at first, the situation today looks very different. Even the European Central Bank has to acknowledge cryptocurrency will not go away. At the same time, they are well aware of the risks associated with this digital money. With financial stability on the line, now is not the time to cut any corners. The recent cryptocurrency market “crash” impacts the real world economy as well.

Everyone will agree Bitcoin can effectively impact the financial stability of any region. Especially in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, external influences can shake things up dramatically. While most of the world is finally recovering from that crisis, it may not last all that long. Especially now that Bitcoin’s losses are impacting the European economy. These “bridges” between the virtual and real world are becoming more apparent every month. As such, a faltering Bitcoin price can drain liquidity from the real world. Situations like that one are of great concern to the European Central Bank.

European Central Bank Wants More Cryptocurrency Research

Until now, policymakers have not paid too much attention to Bitcoin and similar currencies. This is especially true in the European Union. A few countries introduced their own taxation guidelines, such as The Netherlands. On a European level, however, the ECB has no plans to regulate Bitcoin. Nor do they have the power to do so effectively. However, with the cryptocurrency markets exploding in late 2017 and collapsing this year, a worrisome situation is created. Controlling this new asset class will bring forth many challenges.

The European Central Bank is aware of the cryptocurrency world. While they may not see Bitcoin as a threat just yet, things can change very quickly. Preventing Bitcoin and consorts from draining the real world economy is a different matter, though. For now, the European Central bank will study the risks of digital currencies in the future. Especially Bitcoin futures are considered to be a major risk to financial stability. Whether or not these trading vehicles will ever come to European investors, remains unclear at this point.

It is evident more research is needed before any conclusions can be made. Tackling cryptocurrency regulation is a very touchy subject. This is mainly because no one can control the currencies themselves. Not even the European Central bank would be able to do so. They can introduce more guidelines to help mitigate any impact on local economies. For now, no one knows for sure if and how such a solution will come to market.

The post European Central Bank Worries About Bitcoin Threatening Financial Stability appeared first on NewsBTC.

Bitcoin could today extend the recent recovery from recent three-month lows, as the bullish indicators appear to strengthen.

Key Highlights

• Ethereum was up 10.79% to $830.99 against the U.S Dollar in the early part of this morning, as market sentiment towards the market improved through Wednesday.
• A bullish trend has been formed, with Ethereum looking to test the first major resistance level of $831.04 for a third time today, having moved through to an intraday high $835.87 in the early hours.
• Resistance will be on the stronger side with investors ready to lock in profits early.

Ethereum Price Support

Following Tuesday’s intraday low $555.56, support levels kicked in, with ETH/USD moving to an intraday high $851.20 before easing back to a $757.07 close on Wednesday.

Market sentiment has seen a vast improvement from Tuesday’s lows on expectations that regulatory action in the U.S at least will be more moderate than initially thought.

Ethereum hit a swing hi $835.87 this morning, breaking through the $831.04 resistance level for the 2nd time, before pulling back to $830.99 (+10.79%). A move through to $840 levels will be needed for a more sustained rally, with the next major resistance level sitting at $905, as ETH/USD looks to break back to $1,000 levels.

The trend continues to be bullish, though a failure to make a sustained break through $831.04 resistance levels could see ETH/USD fall back to the 23.6% FIB retracement of $791.73 before buying appetite returns.

The good news for Ethereum buyers is the fact that the threat of the PBoC banning the trading of cryptocurrencies domestically and overseas turned out to be fake news, with the cryptomarket bulls coming out in support, with calls of the cryptomarket cap hitting $1tn by the end of the year providing support.

We will expect resistance to be strong, however, holding back a move through to $1,000 in the near-term, as uncertainty continues to plague the market, with investors quick to lock in profits through the day.

Looking at the Technical Indicators

• Major Support Level: $703.27
• Major Resistance Level: $831.04
• Fib 23.6% Retracement Level: $791.73
• Fib 38% Retracement Level: $746.6
• Fib 62% Retracement Level: $673.64

The post Ethereum Technical Analysis – Looking to Break Free Amidst Fierce Resistance 08/02/2018 appeared first on NewsBTC.

New bills on the floor of Arizona’s house of representatives are expected to both legitimize cryptocurrency and allow residents to pay their taxes with it.

Pay your taxes while you’re watching TV

As digital currency becomes more and more integrated into the marketplace most news out of the US is about regulation. Arizona though is taking steps to become the first state to both recognize Bitcoin and it’s like as currency, instead of a commodity, and allow people to pay their taxes with it.

“It’s one of a litany of bills that we’re running that is sending a signal to everyone in the United States, and possibly throughout the world, that Arizona is going to be the place to be for blockchain and digital currency technology in the future,”

Arizona State Rep. Jeff Weninger said.

The bill Weninger co-sponsored passed through the state finance committee with a vote of 4-3 putting it on it’s way to becoming law.

“The ease of use, being able to do it in the middle of the night, being able to do it at home while you’re watching TV … I think in a few years this isn’t even going to be a question.”

The U.S. dollar should suffice

The bill has faced opposition from those who cite the volatility of the cryptocurrency market as potentially disastrous to the tax base. Arizona State Senate Minority Leader Steve Farley has said that all taxpayers would be at risk if Bitcoin was to experience a serious crash.

“If we had a bill that allowed people to pay their taxes in bitcoin directly, that puts the volatility burden on all other taxpayers because it would mean that that money goes to the state and then the state has to take the responsibility of how to exchange it … These are American dollars. They’re good enough for me, they should be good enough for anybody else who pays taxes in this country.”

Farley said.

The American tax system is notoriously bloated and difficult to negotiate.  Representative Weninger hopes that a move towards integrating a cryptocurrency pay option is a step towards simplifying the process. Noting that the entry point for getting into Bitcoin is low most of the resources dedicated to the program would be earmarked for educating users.

Previously the world economic forum estimated that taxes would be collected by governments using Blockchain ledger technology by 2023 if this bill passes Arizonians will be paying in Bitcoin in two years.

The post Arizona May Become First State to Accept Bitcoin for Tax Bill appeared first on NewsBTC.

One of the architects of U.S. monetary policy discusses the risks of blockchain adoption to what he sees as a delicate geo-political balance.

Billionaire and former Wall Street fund trader Mike Novogratz has raised $250 million for his cryptocurrency venture Galaxy Digital.

Key Highlights

• Ethereum classic price formed a major low at $13.54 and is currently moving higher against the US dollar.
• There was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance at $17.80 on the hourly chart of the ETC/USD pair (Data feed via Simple FX).
• The pair is currently grinding higher and it could move above the $20.00 level in the near term.

Ethereum classic price is slowly and steadily moving higher against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETC/USD may soon gain traction for more upsides above $20.00.

Ethereum Classic Price Trend

Recently, we saw a major decline in ETC price below the $20.00 support against the US dollar. The price traded below the $18.00 and $16.00 support levels. It even traded below the $15.00 support, but found bids near the $13.50 level. A low was formed at $13.54 from where an upside correction was initiated. It moved above the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $24.30 high to $13.54 low.

Moreover, there was a break above a major bearish trend line with resistance at $17.80 on the hourly chart of the ETC/USD pair. The pair traded above the $18.50 resistance and tested the 100 hourly simple moving average. It seems like the $20.00 resistance and the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $24.30 high to $13.54 low is acting as a hurdle for more gains. The pair has to move above the $20.00 level and close above the 100 hourly SMA to rise further higher.

On the downside, an initial support is around the $18.50 level. It seems like there is an ascending channel forming on the same chart and the pair could rise slowly higher above the $20.00 level.

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETC/USD is slightly placed in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETC/USD is currently just around the 50 level with a minor bearish angle.

Major Support Level – $18.00

Major Resistance Level – $20.00

Charts courtesy – SimpleFX

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