Day: March 19, 2018

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

• Bitcoin price is showing early bullish signals as it moved past a short-term descending trend line.
• The uptrend could gain traction as bitcoin clears the next upside hurdles from here.
• The areas of interest at $10,000 and $12,000 could contain some take-profit orders so bounces could be seen right there.

Bitcoin price is starting to get back on its feet but would need more bullish energy to bust through the next upside barriers.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is still below the longer-term 200 SMA to signal that the path of least resistance is to the downside. This means that the selloff still has a pretty good chance of resuming, especially if bitcoin price falls back to the latest lows close to $7,000.

In addition, these moving averages line up with the nearby support turned resistance area around $9,000-10,000. If bulls aren’t strong enough to charge past this level, sellers could return and push bitcoin price back to the lows earlier this month.

Stochastic is also indicating overbought conditions, which means that buyers are tired. RSI has some room to climb so a test of the next roadblocks could take place, but this oscillator is also approaching overbought levels.

If buying momentum keeps up, bitcoin price could make its way up to the next area of interest at $12,000. A move past this area could confirm that the longer-term uptrend is still intact as it would place bitcoin back above the ascending trend line on the daily time frame.

Market Factors

Risk appetite appears to have picked up in the financial markets after the Brexit deal was announced. This would mean less uncertainty for businesses, at least during the transition period that would last for 21 months.

The FOMC decision is coming up and this could mean volatility for the dollar, including the BTC/USD pair. A rate hike is widely expected and this might weigh on sentiment, although the scenario has been priced in for quite some time and profit-taking is more likely.

The post Bitcoin Price Technical Analysis for 03/20/2018 – Next Hurdles to Clear appeared first on NewsBTC.

Ethereum (ETH) began to recover yesterday, after tumbling almost 35%. The market cap now stands at US$53.31 billion, on exchange-traded volume of US$1.5 billion in the past 24 hours. The ETH/BTC and ETH/LTC ratios have also dropped sharply, signaling a narrow selloff in ETH alone.

While cryptocurrencies aren’t companies, the Elizabeth Holmes case serves as a reminder you should ignore the charisma of founders.

Google, Facebook and now Twitter are banning cryptocurrency advertisements from their sites. Twitter most recently announced that they would be rolling out a new policy that prohibits advertisements for initial coin offerings (ICOs), cryptocurrency wallets and token sales with exchanges not entirely being off the list yet.

Google, announced on Wednesday that they would be banning adverts relating to cryptocurrencies, trading pairs, ICOs, exchanges etc. and Facebook, who are following suit, are doing so in respect to users of their platforms, concerned that there are far too many illegitimate and deceptive ads that are a threat to users.

The scamming side of the ICO world has had its fair share of controversies and as all this bubbling new technology attempts to break into the mainstream, it finds itself wrapped tighter in red tape. Governments, institutions and the world wide web are beginning to take to cryptocurrencies with a heightened sense of scrutiny and, well, perhaps it’s not the worst thing in the world.

Meeting Compliant Standards

Regulation is the big word on the agenda; most ICOs aren’t regulated around the world and therefore aren’t subject to the same standards that regulated companies do. Far too many scam ICO funding rounds, binary trading options and the like have managed to fall through the cracks and so governments are almost forced to crack down.

But again, this isn’t a terrible problem. We can all agree that the blockchain industry could benefit from universal acceptance, one where blockchain companies provide the most basic level of trust we’d expect to have with any service or product in the modern world.

At the recent G20 Summit, cryptocurrency was up for discussion and there is a notable takeaway to consider. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, stated in a letter that:

“The FSB’s initial assessment is that crypto-assets do not pose risks to global financial stability at this time… the market continues to evolve rapidly, however, and this initial assessment could change if crypto-assets were to become significantly more widely used or interconnected with the core of the regulated financial system.”

In a speech on 2 March, Carney also stated:

“Whatever the merits of cryptocurrencies as money, authorities should be careful not to stifle innovations which could in the future improve financial stability; support more innovative, efficient and reliable payment services as well as have wider applications.”

While the present infantile stage of Blockchain technologies is stifled somewhat by its ‘Wild West’ reputation, the discussion of regulation is finally on the table and is a telling moment. Facebook, Google and Twitter will change their tunes when cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies begin to prove themselves to be compatible with laws and regulations. Let’s begin to look at regulation as a means to be a welcomed part of the world, consider it a necessary evil if you are so cynically inclined.

But whatever your inclination, the industry is bursting into brilliance. For that to be hindered by such matters would be regrettable for all, especially considering there is a solution to the issue.

The post Twitter, Google and Facebook Are Banning Cryptocurrency Advertising, Here Is the Upside appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

The newly appointed governor of the People’s Bank of China could bring a softer policy toward crypto in the country, having once called Bitcoin “inspiring”. #NEWS

Of all the industries that blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt, education seems like one of the least obvious. However, current education systems are not keeping pace with technological developments, leaving students out in the cold.

The BitDegree Concept

BitDegree’s concept is simple. Technology is outpacing the development of educational courses in traditional educational institutions. Therefore, the company seeks to provide the highest quality courses available to bridge an identified gap between employers’ needs and the current offerings of universities and higher education institutions. BitDegree likes to think of their platform as a merged version of Coursera and HackerRank.

How does BitDegree work?

BitDegree is designed to not only educate those people wishing to pursue a degree in IT who are barred by an inadequate traditional education system, but also act as a matchmaker of sorts between students and prospective employers. Goal and course completion is incentivized with smart contract-based payments in their native token (BDG). Yes, you get paid to learn.

BitDegree’s Token Ecosystem

BDG tokens are used as payment for courses as well as incentives. Not only that, potential employers can sponsor prospective employees, thereby paying course costs for the student rather than the student having to pay themselves. This option can make education a reachable goal for many who would be excluded on financial or geolocational grounds.

BDG is the token on which the whole BitDegree ecosystem runs and acts as the catalyst for reward-based, gamified learning and the matching of IT employers with candidates.

What types of courses can you take on BitDegree?

Although their ultimate aim is to provide complete IT degree programs on their platform, that might take some time. However, their course list is growing very quickly indeed, and for a limited time, all their courses are free, including their Solidity programming course.

In addition to their standard Solidity programming course, Space Doggos teaches you how to program a game in the Solidity language. It is a gamified way of showing you the necessary skills to program smart contracts. Right now, their other offerings are limited to tutorials such as “Blockchain Explained: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding How Blockchain Works” and “Ethereum Mining: The Ultimate Guide on How to Mine Ethereum.” Overall, these tutorials are perfect for anyone exploring blockchain technology.

BitDegree and Privacy

BitDegree exists to democratize education and match potential IT candidates with suitable employers. As mentioned earlier, the company sees itself as being like Coursera. However, the core difference lies in the use of smart contracts to incentivize learning.

Matching potential employers and candidates obviously involves data sharing, and anyone who is concerned about the way their data is protected can rest assured that only the information that a user wants to share will be shared.

The future of BitDegree

Looking ahead at BitDegree’s future roadmap, it’s clear that the team is dedicated to developing within the edutech field. According to their roadmap, in Q1 of 2019, they will be launching the first 100 courses to the public and will finalize their course material repository.

Although e-learning and gamified learning aren’t original concepts, democratizing education with incentivization and sponsorship programs could see the old guard of musty private educational institutions begin to crumble.

Fourteen Thai banks will cooperate in the Thailand Blockchain Community Initiative, which will digitize letters of guarantee on a shared blockchain.

PwC enters the scene, but is Blockchain supposed to be audited? #FOLLOW_UP

Knowledge-sharing Blockchain startup could impact digital advertising and education markets #SPONSORED

The cryptocurrency ecosystem has been expanding exponentially, bringing together a simple world of currencies with a modern-day blockchain philosophy. A spin-off from the late 1980’s initial public offering (IPO) instrument for the stock market, the initial coin offering (ICO) has taken the space by storm.

Already a prolific means of investment, the ICO spectrum has marked a new wave of asset classes such as the ERC-20 token, utility tokens built on the Ethereum blockchain that offer a purpose, not a monetary value asset. These often represent a business or an organization or project.

During an ICO, a business will create a specific token that can be bought with other cryptocurrencies, enabling the user to capitalize straight away on whichever new project they choose, and from that, the capital is then spread back into the project.

Using an ICO eliminates the need for venture capital investments and establishes a direct relationship between the user and the project. In the case of most serious projects, they even hold a private sale and receive traditional seed funding prior to the ICO.

What is tokenomics?

Tokenomics is defined as the first and most straightforward self-funding ecosystem for projects within the blockchain space.

The ICO frenzy has been catching the attention of the mainstream media and the general public and has taken a giant leap in the scale of obtaining the funding for a project in the blockchain space. The most significant token event to date is the Telegram Open Network (TON) ICO, aiming to raise an enormous USD 2.5 billion over the course of three fundraising rounds.

Goldman Sachs issued a report that token sales have blacked out venture capital as the primary source of funding for early-stage tech companies.

Functionality of Tokens

Financial regulators have been relatively permissive. They have opted for a less restrictive form of self-governance, watching out for fraudulent behavior and flagrant violations securities laws.

The SEC is set to crack down, looking at the spectrum as a whole. For now, if it is a security, a token will have to register with the SEC; if it is a utility token, then the SEC won’t touch it.

If a token does not qualify as a security and operates under the full compliance of SEC regulations, a token has a tendency to be looked at as a utility token, a token designed through function. A token understood as a security is a financial instrument that mirrors the traditional securities found within the economy.

The tokenomics model is to correlate a monetary share in a company based on a digital token, where the investor hopes to gain capital based on the company’s performance. Adopting the best standards from the relevant regulatory body, it is not uncommon for ICOs to ignore them.

Token Economy

The ERC-20 token has been the industry standard for ICOs to use, although this does not mean it is the only token to provide these kinds of functions. The ethos in the market space is that cryptocurrencies symbolize programmable money, the ability for a token to do whatever is programmed to do while continuing to do it without fail for as long as the network is active.

The crypto economy has been built on the industry backbone of Bitcoin as a means of cutting out the third party, transferring value, creating and implementing the decentralization revolution. As an instrument of self-funding, the final definition of tokenomics is open; it is a set of all economic activity that has gradually gained traction through the creation of tokens using the ICO model to raise funds.

The post The Three Pillars of Tokenomics appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Europe

13 March 2018

The European Central Bank (ECB) executive board member Benoit Coeure and Bank of International Settlements Markets Committee chair Jacqueline Loh wrote that “Bitcoin has put the spotlight on an old failing of our current system: cross-border retail payments.”, urging current banking and financial systems to improve as the best way to “rise to the Bitcoin challenge”.

14 March 2018

Bloomberg reported that Allianz Global Investors, Europe’s biggest insurer’s investment arm, has dismissed Bitcoin as worthless. It does concede that blockchain technology harbours massive potential for investors.

Kranj, Slovenia

13 March 2018

The Slovenian city of Kranj have built what it claims to be the “first blockchain monument” in the world. Placed at a roundabout in the city center, it features the familiar Bitcoin logo which can be viewed overhead.

The Hague, Netherlands

13 March 2018

Dutch finance minister Wopke Hoekstra called upon the parliament to warn that current supervision and regulatory frameworks in the Netherlands were still insufficiently equipped. The minister revealed that he would actively work in a European context, but that the approach would require a European and international approach.

London, UK

14 March 2018

Coinbase UK received an e-money license from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), effective from 21 March 2018. Essentially, Coinbase customers are now allowed to store their e-money on Coinbase UK accounts, enabling more payment options for them in the UK. The license, however, would not cover cryptocurrency activities.

Paris, France

15 March 2018

French regulators Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) published a blacklist of 15 crypto-related France-based companies soliciting investments from the public. These companies contravened the new “Sapin II” Law No. 2016-1691 of 9 December 2016 on “transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of economic life”.

16 March 2018

The same AMF will be working together with its government as France aims to create its first guidelines through which enterprises could legally raise venture capital through so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs). Among some of the proposals include a visa issued to companies wishing to conduct ICOs, giving them official government approval.

Vilnius, Lithuania

16 March 2018

The Bank of Lithuania put out a call for tender for a proposal for software developers from around the world to assist it with developing its LBChain blockchain platform. It aims to help businesses to trial and implement sophisticated financial tech innovations.

The post Weekly Bitcoin and Blockchain News Roundup: Europe, 12 to 18 March 2018 appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Northern Trust asset management company now offers auditors access to private equity data via Blockchain in real time. #NEWS

It can be difficult to explain cryptocurrency to some people. You get the inevitable question: “Yeah, but what is Bitcoin actually backed by?” When you answer “code and mathematics” you’re almost certainly met with a blank expression. Perhaps if you could answer “the world’s best whisky” instead, you’d get a more favourable response.

CaskCoin: The Crypto Backed by Single Malt

CaskCoin is hoping to provide exactly that – a cryptocurrency backed by some of the planet’s finest single malts. Using the blockchain, the project seeks to keep track of the ownership of high end casks of whisky. The company have built up an impressive portfolio featuring drops from some the most popular distilleries in Scotland. Big names like Macallan, Dalmore, Bowmore, and Glenlivet currently comprise the collection.

The £40 million portfolio isn’t complete yet though. The current casks will eventually be sold off for a profit. The revenue generated will then be used to buy other whiskies, thus further increasing the value of an investment in CaskCoin. Founder Ricky Christie explained:

“CaskCoin’s foundation will be self-perpetuating when casks will be bottled and sold, the proceeds will be invested in more exciting Scotch whiskies, growing the value and volume of the fund – which will also be reflected in the future value of CaskCoin. Further acquisitions and distilling are also very much on the radar.”

Each CaskCoin owned, represents a share of the entire CaskCoin collection. There are 5.2 million tokens that have been created on the Ethereum blockchain. At present, they cost £8.15 each.

Unfortunately, this investment opportunity is reserved for serious buyers only. The minimum purchase is £30,000 paid in either Bitcoin or Ether. To pay for the initial casks, the company are running an ICO. They hope to raise all £40 million through it.

CaskCoin was launched on March 12th. The team behind it told Forbes that subscriptions were coming in “thick and fast”. The company hope to have a truly global reach and have press release documents available in both Russian and Chinese already. However, they’re holding off on a US launch as apparently they have large plans for that market coming later in 2018.

The idea behind CaskCoin is to make the act of investing in fine whisky easier, no matter where in the world you’re based. It allows speculators the chance to own fine Scotch without the need of moving large casks and bottles around the planet. It also removes the temptation of sneaking into the whisky cellar late at night and quaffing a seriously expensive bottle!

The diminishing supply of great, aged Scotch whisky and the growing demand for it means that the price of each cask should continue to increase over time. This makes it a worthy and growing investment vehicle.

The post Introducing CaskCoin: The Cryptocurrency Backed by Whisky appeared first on NewsBTC.