Day: March 13, 2018

The cash payment app Square that has been allowing users to buy and sell bitcoin since the start of 2018 is looking to jump a high hurdle and bring that service to New Yorkers.

Square Brought Speed to Bitcoin Buying

Square was started as a payment system to serve small businesses traditionally priced out of traditional banking services. Originally conceived of when an artisan glassblower friend of CEO Jack Dorsey needed a better way to process credit card payments.

Though early on the company saw no place for cryptocurrency in their model ultimately the lure of digital cash was too much and they added the ability to buy and sell Bitcoin to a limited number of customers in November 2017.

They made it incredibly simple to buy, sell and move Bitcoin into offline wallets. While exchanges were slowing down Square was promising faster processing times with no additional fees outside of what exchanges charged. By the end of January 2018, the service was available to all customers where it was legal.  The move was a success for Square. It’s stock moved up 5% the first day it launched the compete service.

From the start though Georgia, Hawaii, Wyoming and New York have been exempt from their Bitcoin service due to state laws generally regulating the movement of funds to prevent money laundering. Since then in a bid to win over future business opportunities with blockchain based companies Wyoming has passed legislation which exempts some cryptocurrency trading from its money transmitter laws and property tax.

The law known as HB70 was among 5 crypto friendly laws presented to the governor’s desk aimed at bringing in or at least allowing cryptocurrency based companies to do business in the state. Square was quick to take advantage of Wyoming’s change in legislation making their Bitcoin services available to residents.

Square Sets Sights on New York

With Wyoming in the fold, Square has decided to take on the highest crypto hurdle in the US, obtaining a New York Bitlicense.

New York passed it’s Bitlicense cryptocurrency regulatory framework in 2015 under mounting pressure from Banking lobbies, the SEC and the New York District Attorneys office. Since then only a handful of the licenses have been granted.

A spokesperson for Square has confirmed their bid to obtain the license following a tweet that indicated they may soon be doing business in the Empire State. Though whether or not they have filed an application is still under speculation. Square has made its announcement as legislators in New York are seemingly in the process of making changes to the 2015 legislation which would allow more flexibility to cryptocurrency based businesses in the state. As for Georgia and Hawaii, Square and everyone else will have to wait for them to catch up.

The post Square Sets Sights on Bringing Bitcoin Service to New York appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Points

• Bitcoin cash price is holding ground and is currently trading above the $1,040 support against the US Dollar.
• The BCH/USD pair is currently attempting an upside break above a bearish trend line with resistance at $1,068 on the hourly chart (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair may rise in the near term and it could break the $1,100 resistance.

Bitcoin cash price is showing positive signs above $1,040 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD may perhaps start a decent upside move above $1,100 or $1,140.

Bitcoin Cash Price Support

There was no major downside push below $1,000 in bitcoin cash price against the US Dollar. The price managed to hold the ground above the $1,000 level and it is currently trading above $1,040. The current price action is positive since the price is above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $1,159 high to $992 low. It is also positioned above the $1,050 level, which is a positive sign.

At the moment, the BCH/USD pair is currently attempting an upside break above a bearish trend line with resistance at $1,068 on the hourly chart. Moreover, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $1,159 high to $992 low is at $1,072. Therefore, if the price succeeds in breaking the $1,065-75 resistance area, there could be more gains. In the mentioned case, the price may break the $1,100 level and it could even test the $1,150 level.

On the downside, an initial support is at $1,050 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is also a bullish trend line on the same chart with support at $1,010, which is a decent buy zone.

Looking at the technical indicators:

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

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

Major Support Level – $1,020

Major Resistance Level – $1,075

Charts courtesy – Trading View

The post Bitcoin Cash Price Technical Analysis – BCH/USD to Break Higher? appeared first on NewsBTC.

In an era in which there’s a blockchain for everything and everyone is launching a blockchain, it’s not surprising that a cryptocurrency exchange should get in on the act. It’s even less surprising that Binance should be the platform to do so. The ambitious exchange, buoyed by record profits and substantial goodwill within the crypto community, is planning to launch a proprietary blockchain that will perform a number of roles.

Also read: Binance Offers $10 Million Hacker Bounty

Binance Goes It Alone

Binance hasn’t had much use for blockchain to date. Like every centralized cryptocurrency exchange, all of its action takes place off-chain, with transactions settled simply by updating the order book stored on the company’s servers. Its own BNB token is an ERC20, but doesn’t have much use for the Ethereum blockchain it lives on since its only real use case is when using the Binance platform, where BNB transactions are again settled off-chain. The only exception is customer deposits and withdrawals. On March 13, however, the company broke the news of Binance Chain, a proprietary blockchain with a range of applications.

Three paragraphs in, the statement reads: “After extensively researching decentralized exchange frameworks and analyzing existing implementations, we believe significant improvements can be made in providing Binance users with a level of trading experience to which they are already accustomed.” This is confusingly worded, but seems to be implying that if Binance were to switch to a hybrid model, user experience would not be impacted, for the statement continues: “Centralized and Decentralized exchanges will co-exist in the near future, complementing each other, while also having interdependence.”

Buy Why Blockchain?

The reason for Binance launching its own blockchain is buried deep within the statement, but it arrives, eventually: “As a public blockchain, Binance Chain will mainly focus on the transfer and trading of blockchain assets, as well as provide new possibilities for the future flow of blockchain assets. Binance Chain will focus on performance, ease-of-use, and liquidity. Binance Coin (BNB) will be upgraded to exist on its own blockchain mainnet, becoming a native coin. At the same time, Binance will transition from being a company to a community.”

Reading between the lines, and going by a subsequent tweet from CEO Changpeng Zhao, it looks like Binance will launch a decentralized exchange that will operate alongside its existing exchange. In addition to facilitating the trade of digital assets, the DEX will likely operate as a launchpad for new coins and ICOs. Binance is a platform on the up right now, and it has earned praise for the way it has handled incidents such as the viacoin pump and dump and the unexpected downtime it was subjected to last month. It’s also got cash to splash, having already earmarked $10 million for hacker bounties this week.

12 months ago, Binance was a plucky contender that could only dream of taking on the likes of Coinbase and Bitfinex. It’s now on course to become crypto’s very own Google, a turnkey solution for a complete range of cryptocurrency services. Exchanges, perhaps in a bid to future-proof themselves and fend off the rise of DEXes and atomic swaps, are broadening their offerings, be it through custodial services, proprietary blockchains, or ICO incubators. Binance users have welcomed today’s news, but will be mindful of the risks of over-centralization and reliance on a single entity, even one whose platform may soon be partially decentralized.

How do you think Binance will use their blockchain? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Binance and Coinmarketcap

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.

The post Binance Is Launching Its Own Blockchain appeared first on Bitcoin News.

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) – or the central banks’ central bank – has warned global central banks they could endanger the stability of the financial system if they create their own digital currency in a bid to quash competition from established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Coinbase and Bitmain, each valued over $1 billion, are showing grander ambitions than many people in the cryptocurrency space might have expected.

A new opinion piece from European Central Bank officials discusses the important role a central bank-backed cryptocurrency could play in society.

Promoters of ICOs should avoid hyperbole when describing their solutions. #EXPERT_TAKE

Following major declines in global trading volume, cryptocurrency exchanges across the board have seen significant losses since the start of 2018. Coincidentally, the corresponding exchange tokens have also suffered. However, Binance Coin (BNB) looks poised to contend this trend with great reception to a recent major announcement.

Earlier today, the Binance team published an article regarding a new, major innovation they are working towards: Binance Chain. Binance Chain represents the leading altcoin exchange’s approach to cost and scalability issues, as well as a viable upgrade to help maintain the exchange’s edge over competitors.

What is Binance Chain?

Binance Chain will be a custom, public blockchain tailored specifically for the trade and transfer of blockchain assets. This will provide an environment capable of an intuitive and reliable integration of a decentralized exchange infrastructure. Binance plans to create an ecosystem in which their existing, centralized exchange services will cooperate seamlessly with this new, decentralized development. The team explains that this move will allow the exchange to grow “from being a company to a community”.

How is this relevant to BNB?

Binance Coin will be the currency used as the fuel of the custom Binance Chain ecosystem. Currently, BNB is only an ERC20 token. However, when Binance Chain launches, BNB will be transferred over to this highly specialized network. As a result, it is likely that BNB will see an increase in demand as the primary vehicle for the decentralized exchange unparalleled by any existing exchange tokens.

Instantly following this announcement, BNB saw a surge of almost 38% from US$8.00 to $11.00. As was expected, there was a minor retrace following the immediate pump, but the coin is still trading at US$10.15, more than 25% more than the going rate 24 hours prior.

As is the case with any major development, it is highly unlikely that we will see the public launch of Binance Chain in coming weeks. However, given Binance’s impressive track record of efficient development, this project presents one that is likely to come to fruition sooner, rather than later. While it is unsure what exact privileges will be associated with owning BNB on Binance Chain, this pump suggests that speculators have faith in Binance to put forth cutting edge solutions. After all, Binance even expressed that their focus is on “creating history”. If such a goal is achieved, even BNB sold today above US$10.00 may seem like a massive bargain in the near future.

More companies seem to be embracing one of Bitcoin’s most useful properties – its border-less functionality. The world’s most popular cryptocurrency can save those wishing to send remittance payments from one country to another a lot of time and money.

Bitcoin Disrupts Cross-Border Payments Industry

Companies like Bloom, Bitspark, Payphil, and Rebit in the Philippines are working towards providing Bitcoin-based, global remittance payment services to more people. Bitspark CEO, George Harrap, explained to Reuters:

“Bitcoin is so much better as a mechanism to send money around the world. There’s a lot less overhead that you need to do.”

Most of these emerging companies do not deal directly with customers. Instead, they are seeking to facilitate transfers for the remittance shops using cryptocurrency. Bitspark are already performing transfers for shops in parts of Africa and South East Asia.

The current business model of such companies does not rely on speculation. Bitcoin is sent from one part of the world to another, and cashed in immediately. This protects the companies involved from dramatic swings in the price of Bitcoin. Miguel Cuneta of Satoshi Citadel Industries spoke of the model:

“We are merely using it as a transfer mechanism. We convert it as soon as possible.”

When using Bitcoin for remittances, the customer receives their cash in less than an hour, rather than the days it would previously take. In addition, they save massively on the fees associated with existing remittance services like Western Union. This saving can be as much as 75 percent.

One Filipino worker living in South Korea told Reuters that she had already saved herself “huge” amounts of cash using Rebit. Kate Corporal continued:

“One thing I can guarantee is that the money I intended to send and the money that my family received was exactly the same… Using bitcoin is really helpful for many Filipinos… as every single cent that we send can be very significant.”

One stumbling block these remittance companies are discovering is that of liquidity. The current value of all Bitcoin is around $160 bn. This is around one-third of the entire planet’s remittance market. This makes it incredibly difficult for local cryptocurrency exchanges to cope with the potential demand for Bitcoin remittance payments. If the entire market suddenly switched to using the services of Bitspark and their peers, the existing exchange infrastructure would be totally overwhelmed. Prajit Nanu of traditional remittance company InstaREM explained:

“As soon as you’re doing $10-15 million a day, liquidity becomes an issue and you’re wondering,‘how am I going to do this.’”

However, despite these futures problems, people like Kate Corporal are enjoying the benefits. If you need to send a cross-border payment, we previously reported on comparison site CompareRemit. They currently list services that use Bitcoin as part of their business model.

The post Bitcoin Proving Useful for Asian Remittance Companies appeared first on NewsBTC.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is planning to launch a new decentralized exchange on its own Blockchain. #NEWS

Square is in the process of applying for a BitLicense in a bid to expand its Cash App’s bitcoin option to New York residents.