Day: February 23, 2018

Bitcoin is witnessing a minor corrective rally today, but longer-term gains may be elusive, according to price chart analysis.

Even though most cryptocurrencies are still recovering from last night’s unexpected downtrend, there is some positive momentum forming as well. We see some currency note interesting gains already over the past 24 hours, although no currency notes impressive gains on the same level of Nano. After yesterday’s positive trend, the Nano price is still up by 18.14% and has surpassed the $10 mark with relative ease.

Nano Price Continues to Impress Speculators

It is evident all cryptocurrencies will remain rather volatile for quite some time to come. Yesterday’s surprising downtrend has taken a lot of people by surprise, and it caused major losses across virtually all markets as we speak. Surprisingly, the Nano price did not suffer from this negative momentum whatsoever, as the altcoin simply continues its uptrend which started forming two days ago.

More specifically, the Nano price hit $9 yesterday without too much resistance. With such solid gains noted yesterday, most users expected some form of a temporary retrace to occur As is usually the case with cryptocurrencies, things often work out in an illogical manner. The Nano price did not retrace whatsoever, even though there was a small push-back to $8.5 at some point. Ever since that time, the price has continued to surge and now sits above $10.5.

With this most recent 18.14% gain, the Nano price is leading the way for other altcoins to follow in the future. Whether or not we will see some big improvements in this regard, has yet to be determined at this point, though. Some of the cryptocurrency markets are in the green already, even though most of them still try to recover some recent losses. The Nano price seemingly doesn’t care about the overall momentum as of right now, though, as it continues to push for higher highs as we speak.

With $135m in 24-hour trading volume, not much has changed for nano in the past 24 hours. It is still a semi-liquid altcoin market as of right now, even though the volume could be a lot higher if there was sufficient interest in this altcoin as of right now. At the same time, Nano is not traded on most of the major exchanges right now, even though it has made a name for itself on platforms such as Binance, among others.

Speaking of which, Binance is the largest Nano exchange ranked by trading volume as of right now. Its BTC and ETH trading pairs represent over 92.5% of all Nano trading volume right now, which is pretty impressive. KuCoin completes the top three with their XRB/BTC market. With no fiat currency markets in the entire top five, things may not look all that impressive, but this has not hindered the altcoin’s chances on the market whatsoever. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the Nano price in this regard.

For the time being, it seems the Nano price will remain above $10 with relative ease. Especially with its gain over Bitcoin over the past 24 hours, things look rather impressive for this altcoin as of right now. Nano gained 21.51% over Bitcoin in the past 24 hours, which further confirms the solid momentum in place for this altcoin. Whether or not this trend will continue, is a different matter altogether. Anything is possible in the world of cryptocurrency right now, and we may very well see the Nano price continue to push to $12.5 in the coming hours.

Japan’s police agency has said hundreds of cases of suspected money laundering were reported from domestic cryptocurrency exchanges in 2017.

Cryptocurrency markets are not off to a good start in 2018. Most markets have lost nearly half of their value during the first few weeks. This most recent dip has pushed the momentum back as well. Even so, analysts are convinced this year will be very bullish for all cryptocurrency markets in the long run. Especially Bitcoin may see some big gains.

Bitcoin Scalability Improvements?

All cryptocurrency markets have seen major declines throughout the first seven weeks of 2018. Although Bitcoin showed some good momentum this week, most gains have been lost once again. Whether or not this is a bubble effectively bursting, remains to be determined. However, there are still a few solid reasons as to why things may turn out for the better. Julian Hosp remains bullish on cryptocurrency for quite some time to come.

Especially where Bitcoin is concerned, things can still improve quite a bit. With new scaling solutions coming to the ecosystem, a lot of progress will be made. Segregated Witness is now enabled by default through the Core client. It has also become more convenient to use altogether. If this adoption rate improves, the Lightning Network has a fair chance of succeeding as well. For now, there is no official release date for the Lightning Network as of yet.

With a lack of scaling, Bitcoin made a lot of headlines due to mounting fees. At one point, a Bitcoin transaction cost over $20. It is far from ideal, yet solving the problem is not all that easy. With SegWit and LN, those fees should eventually come down over time. Only time will tell if this works as people expect it to. Moreover, the addition of smart contracts to Bitcoin through Rootstock is something to look forward to.

Other Cryptocurrencies and ICOs

Cryptocurrency is about so much more than just Bitcoin, though. More regulation of this entire industry can be a good thing in many different ways. If an industry is regulated, it is “validated” in the eyes of the general public. For now, we see dozens of countries looking into regulating Bitcoin and other currencies. Not everyone is a big fan of regulation, as it imposes severe restrictions in some cases. For now, it seems further regulation will help legitimize cryptocurrencies and digital tokens moving forward.

Most people expected institutional investors to make a big impact on cryptocurrency. Through the Bitcoin futures, that should have happened some time ago. So far, the initial interest in such futures has been rather limited. Even though the volume is picking up, it remains to be seen if institutional investors effectively show a real interest in cryptocurrency. Depending on how this trend evolves, we may see some big progress in overall prices moving forward.

Last but not least, the elephant in the room is the ICO industry. To many people, it seems initial coin offerings are the downfall of cryptocurrency. With the SEC cracking down on illicit projects, things will improve moving forward. It all comes down to more legitimate coin offerings in the future, and which companies will embrace this model. Especially with Telegram turning their ICO into an IPO of sorts, it is evident the business model itself may see some big changes.

The post Despite Slow Start, Analysts Believe 2018 Could be the Best Year for Bitcoin appeared first on NewsBTC.

Artificial intelligence is both a blessing and a curse rolled into one. Some people are convinced AI will improve our society, whereas others remain fearful. Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin donated $763,000 to the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. With this money, the organization can further study potential hazards or artificial intelligence, among other things.

MIRI is Popular Among Cryptocurrency Users

Cryptocurrency can be used for many different purposes. Using it to fund other projects or even scientific research is one example. Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin is doing exactly that. Last year, he contributed nearly 764,000 in Ethereum to the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. This nonprofit wants to address hazards associated with artificial intelligence now and in the future.

It is not uncommon for cryptocurrency users to contribute to scientific research. MIRI received nearly two-thirds of all donations in cryptocurrency. That shows people are more than willing to spread the wealth around and help improve our society. The donation by Vitalik Buterin is the largest of 2017. It’s also the third-largest donation in history.

Scientific research initiatives can benefit from cryptocurrencies. Although these markets are very volatile, it’s also a new source of donations for research. In the case of Bitcoin and Ethereum, there’s a good chance their value will go up in the future. For now, MIRI hasn’t confirmed if they converted the donation to fiat currency already. The nonprofit received twice the expected amount in donations during December 2017. This shows there are some real concerns associated with artificial intelligence.

Vitalik Buterin and AI

To some people, it may seem odd Vitalik Buterin is funding this research. Ethereum is known for its smart contract technology, among other things. These contracts are, according to some individuals, somewhat similar to AI. They automate processes and require no real maintenance by its creator once created. That is, assuming the contract is built properly and its code has been audited at some point.

Additionally, Ethereum supported the concept of a decentralized autonomous organization. This is another solution which is not all that different from how most people perceive artificial intelligence. At the same time, Ethereum is not using a coding language which “learns” automatically either. Developers make some vast improvements over time, but automation and AI are not the same by default.

For now, Vitalik Buterin is doing his good deed by donating to MIRI. It would be interesting to see who else donated to this particular nonprofit in December of 2017. Given the interest in what this group is doing, their research appears to be quite valuable. Whether or not Vitalik Buterin will make other similar donations, remains to be seen. Initiatives like these bring some positive momentum to the cryptocurrency industry as well.

The post Ethereum Creator Vitalik Buterin Donates $763,000 to Machine Intelligence Institute appeared first on NewsBTC.

While a lot is still unclear about Venezuela’s state-backed “petro” token, what is apparent is that many feel it’s potentially harmful for its people.

Statements from both Iran and Turkey suggest that the two countries are about to launch a national cryptocurrency, stressing the need for strong regulation.

Following in the Wake of El Petro

As Venezuela’s El Petro raised over $700 million dollars in its first round of private funding, President Modoru took the podium the next day to announce the countries follow up, Petro Gold.

Instead of oil, this second currency’s value will be pegged to precious metals. This was about all the information given about the new token but it must have been convincing enough for Iran.

Despite overwhelming criticism and doubt cast on to the value and feasibility of the Petro, its sales figures were heard loud and clear as Iran announced that the framework for a cloud-based digital currency is being developed for submission to the national banking system.

The announcement was tweeted out by Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi who heads Iran’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology after a meeting with state-owned Post Bank of Iran.

Though no information was given as to what role the cryptocurrency would take in the economy–for instance if it would also somehow be pegged to oil as the Petro is–the government has given hints in the past that it was considering adopting digital currency into the financial system.

Both In and Out

In direct conflict with Jahromi’s announcement, the Central Bank of Iran released a statement the same day denying that the republic recognizes Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency as legal tender.

“The wild fluctuations of the digital currencies along with competitive business activities underway via network marketing and pyramid scheme have made the market of these currencies highly unreliable and risky,”

The central bank was quoted by the Iranian Front Page News.

The story went on to warn Iranian citizens that they “may lose their financial assets” due to the extreme volatility of the cryptocurrency marketplace.

Likewise, the Turkish Government which had previously taken a negative stance on cryptocurrency, even ruling Bitcoin to be un-Islamic, has now announced plans for a “national Bitcoin” called the Turkcoin.

“The world is advancing toward a new digital system. Turkey should create its own digital system and currency before it’s too late,”  Former minister Ahmet Kenan Tanrikulu one of the authors of a report detailing the issue told Al- monitor.

Fears that nationally backed cryptocurrency by countries like Venezuela, Iran, and Russia all of which are under US-backed economic sanctions may undermine financial restrictions meant to promote human rights or stem military aggression have been voiced internationally.

The US treasury department put out a statement following the launch of the Petro that anyone investing in the coin could be treated as a creditor to the restricted nation and face penalties accordingly.

The post Turkey Considers National Crytpocurrency in the wake of El Petro appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Highlights

• ADA price is struggling to recover and it recently declined below the $0.3200 level against the US Dollar (tethered).
• There is a major declining channel forming with resistance at $0.3205 on the hourly chart of the ADA/USD pair (data feed via Bittrex).
• The pair is currently correcting higher, but it may face a lot of resistance near $0.3250 and $0.3500 in the near term.

Cardano price declined further against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ADA/USD is currently trading well below the $0.3500 level and in a bearish zone.

Cardano Price Decline

There was no major recovery in ADA price above the $0.3600 level against the US Dollar. The price did not move above the $0.4000 resistance and declined once again. During the recent slide, it broke the $0.3500 and $0.3300 support levels. It even traded below $0.3200 to test the $0.3000 area. A low was formed at $0.2995, and the price is currently consolidating losses around the $0.3000 level.

It is testing the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $0.3866 high to $0.2995 low. It seems like the price may find it hard to break the $0.3200 and $0.3300 resistance levels in the short term. There is also a major declining channel forming with resistance at $0.3205 on the hourly chart of the ADA/USD pair. The channel resistance at $0.3205 is near the 23.6% Fib level. If there is a break above $0.3205, the price may correct further higher. The next major resistance is near $0.3430 and the 50% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $0.3866 high to $0.2995 low.

On the downside, the $0.3000 level is a major support. If the price fails to stay above $0.3000, it could even trade back towards the $0.2500 level in the near term.

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ADA/USD is slowly recovering and is showing positive signs.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ADA/USD is moving higher towards the 45-50 levels.

Major Support Level – $0.3000

Major Resistance Level – $0.3500

Charts courtesy – Cryptowat, Bittrex

The post Cardano Price Technical Analysis – ADA/USD Bearish Below $0.35 appeared first on NewsBTC.