Day: March 19, 2018

These high liquid alt-coins- Lumens, NEO, LTC, Monero, IOTA and LTC continue to edge higher.

As per our expectation and as history shows, often strong surges are followed by periods of lower lows or consolidation before trend resumes.

That’s what we saw yesterday and it is for this reason that we should wait for better entries before trading.

Let’s have a look at these charts:

XLM/USD (Lumens)

Most cryptocurrencies got a short in the arm after March 18 G20 revelation that cryptocurrencies don’t actually pose a threat to the establishment.

Going by that, all high liquid coins are edging higher with Lumens gaining 24.74% according to data from CoinMarketCap.

It is a relief for buyers after Lumens recent slump before finding support yesterday and today, I expect prices to build up on March 18 impressive gains to complete a 3-bar reversal pattern in the daily chart.

After all, there is a stochastic buy signal and since March 19 is positive, buyers can look for entries in the 4HR chart where they can buy on pullbacks towards the 20-period MA.

IOT/USD (IOTA)

Even before yesterday’s higher highs, IOTA was-and is still bullish. For better reference, you can check out the daily chart and price action between March 15 and 17.

There you can see that a 3-bar reversal pattern was panning out and with the bullish follow through, prices might actually get past $1.45 the middle BB or the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement line.

Now that there is change in sentiment and a stochastic buy signal turning from deep the oversold territory, we can as well pick buy opportunities in lower time frames and aim for $1.45 in the short term.

If there is a bullish break out and a fade of the recent bullish break out then $2.2 or the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level is the next bull target.

EOS/USD (EOS)

After March 19, we are now seeing a nice and classic morning star pattern.

Besides, there is a buy signal forming right within our previous support zones between December 22 lows of $3 and the Fibonacci retracement level at $4.2.

It is from this technical development that there is a high chance that buyers might push higher and close above the middle BB at around $7.

Remember from our analysis, the middle BB continues to be our immediate resistance line.

As such, EOS supporters should fine tune long entries in lower time frames-read 1HR or 4HR chart and aim for $7 and $9.5 in the short term especially if there is a bullish break out above the 20 period MA.

LTC/USD (LTC)

Price action hints of possible gains of LTC even though buyers are only $7 up after yesterday’s G20 news. In my view, our forecast is still the same and buyers should be looking for long entries in lower time frames.

Conservatives can wait for a breach of the resistance trend line visible in the 4HR chart and go long on pull backs.

By my own projection, those entries should be between $170 and $150 assuming LTC edge higher in the next few days. Before then though, patience before committing should be an asset.

NEO/USD (NEO)

The last time NEO prices were trending above the middle BB was in late February. Since then the liquidation of the middle BB has been visible and its only yesterday did prices edge past this level.

Because of that, we can be comfortable with trading a bullish break out pattern happening at key support line at $55. That’s the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement level and spiced up by a stochastic buy signal.

Note this though. Even if we can rave about bullish potentials, let’s not enter blindly. Enter at every stochastic buy in the 1HR or 4HR chart assuming you didn’t get in yesterday.

All BitFinex, Bittrex and CoinBase charts courtesy of Trading View

The post NEO, EOS, LTC, IOTA, Lumens: Technical Analysis March 20, 2018 appeared first on NewsBTC.

At the beginning of 2018, I wrote an article outlining a New Year’s resolution that I thought could help boost cryptocurrency adoption and awareness in 2018, as long as enough people were doing it. I took a break last week due to some prior engagements I had, but two weeks ago was the ninth installment of my year of cryptocurrency challenge. Between conferences, work, and time spent with friends, this has been a busy two weeks for the 2018 year of cryptocurrency challenge.

TRY TO SPEAK TO AS MANY PEOPLE ABOUT CRYPTOCURRENCY AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN

Recently, the cryptocurrency market has been nothing short of a bloodbath. At the time of writing, ETH was hovering around US$460, and BTC around US$7,500. This is something that crypto veterans are used to (I heard someone at TokenFest say, “Talk to me when it gets to Mt. Gox levels – then you’ll know it’s a crash”), but it has captured the attention of late show hosts and daytime television. Because of this, I chose to gear as many conversations as I could toward the technology, not the price.

1. A family member of mine enjoys watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and his show last week attempted to explain the current cryptocurrency climate. While he did preface the segment by saying news reports on new technology often look foolish with hindsight, he spent a fair amount of time engendering FUD without providing an unbiased look at the technology and motivations of cryptocurrency. To Oliver, we are all Bitcoin bros and scammers. I had to explain to my family member how the blockchain worked, and that I did not work for a scam. After unpacking what blockchain was and acknowledging that there are some glaring issues with the young technology, we were able to move on to how useful it can be and why a currency not backed by any third party is actually a good thing. Overall, I’d like to think that I did my part in clawing back some respect for crypto for her, though I realize I’m not as influential as John Oliver.
2. I was in San Francisco this week and was able to speak a bit more with a colleague of mine about the non-profit Chicago Blockchain Center. I am convinced now more than ever that we need more initiatives like this. Coupling the public and private sectors to explore and challenge new technology is the surest way to help encourage the adoption of blockchain technology and educate a seemingly skeptical public. From helping organize and support local meetups to facilitating meaningful conversations about the technology, the Chicago Blockchain Center and organizations like it are helping make 2018 the year of cryptocurrency as well.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT CRYPTO

Something I suspected before but have increasingly better anecdotal evidence for is that many people currently “investing” in the crypto space do not take the time to do their own research. This is deeply saddening to me, because it only leads to people getting burned and then blaming the technology/project instead of taking responsibility for themselves. While whitepapers can be deeply descriptive in their technical detail, it is important that you actually try to understand something. Again, this space shouldn’t be about turning a buck, but about advancing the technology of an already revolutionary platform. Read. Learn. Contribute.

BE GENEROUS – GIVE AND USE YOUR COINS

I feel that a bet between friends satisfies the “use” part of this challenge. Recently, a few friends of mine and I played some poker. It was a 10 dollar buy-in, and the main reason we were even doing it was to catch up (we’ve all been really busy with work). My friends let me pay for my buy-in with ether. Since we were only five people, we played second-to-last “winner” gets their buy-in back and the winner gets the pot. Dear readers, I am a horrible card player. I was the first one out!

*

Are you also participating in this challenge? How has the challenge been going for you? Do you find yourself talking mostly about price or technology? Tell us in the comments or via Twitter! Let’s make 2018 the year of cryptocurrency!

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

Crypto markets: slight rebound after hitting lows. See what orders to place. #PRICE_ANALYSIS

Black Cell’s ICO for the Krops agricultural mobile marketplace has been ordered by Hong Kong securities regulators to halt activities and issue refunds. #NEWS

The Israel Securities Authority also proposed an ICO sandbox in a recent report now in the hands of the agency’s chair, who will decide how to proceed

Overstock business shares have taken a beating, plummetting 16% because of a disclosed U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe in its initial coin offering (ICO).

Overstock.com Inc. may be concerned at the drop but this was a golden opportunity for short sellers to capitalize, having bet against the online retailer prior to its earnings reports.

Nearly 45% of the online retailer’s shares available to trade are currently held by short sellers. Overstock attracted an increasing number of this type of investor after releasing detailed plans focused on a digital token exchange. According to financial analytics firm S3 partners, that is up from 13% at the beginning of September.

According to advisors at tZero, the blockchain subsidiary heading Overstock’s ICO:

“The investigation could result in a delay of the tZero security token offering, negative publicity for tZero or us, and may have a material adverse effect on us or on the current and future business ventures of tZero.”

On 1 March, the SEC probe was initially disclosed as a response to a request the information to be given voluntarily. This involved anything related to the plan to offer tZero tokens. Since then the stocks plummeted and lost a quarter of its value.

CEO Patrick Byrne made a statement referring to the company’s competitors: “We have already turned on the jets, and will demonstrate this year that our growth engine is far more efficient.”

He also gained attention on Thursday when he announced a “classic internet” model of growth he pledged to pursue. Overstock reported revenues of $456 million in the past fourth quarter, a drop of 13% to the same period last year.

The post Overstock shares drop and doubts deepen due to SEC crypto probe appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

While peer-to-peer systems offer users a high level of encryption and privacy, these networks have been found to not be feasible for use within production storage systems. As a result, Storj proposes a functional model that addresses performance concerns while implementing a set of federated nodes which promote transparency and overall system usability.

At its core, Storj is a cloud storage service which makes use of native tokens to facilitate all internal transactions. These tokens are appropriately called STORJ, and can be used to purchase cloud-based storage space within the platform ecosystem.

According to the official whitepaper, the goal of this platform is to foster an environment that promotes faster cloud storage capabilities as well as lowers the utility prices for such digital services. This is mainly achieved through the use of a decentralized cloud server instead of a localized data center such as those used by many large companies today.

It should also be mentioned that this project started out with a different name, and that its currency was initially called SJCX. These coins, when first introduced, made use of the Counterparty protocol, but were then migrated onto the Ethereum blockchain so as to reduce processing fees as well as increase overall transaction efficiency.

Overview

• Since the platform is open source-based, it supports the development of various dApps.
• Instead of simply facilitating internal transactions, Storj tokens are actually used for buying and selling cloud storage space.
• Storj serves as a cloud storage provider whose services are not dependent on a single, localized server.
• Users have the ability to sell their cloud space as well as their bandwidth in exchange for native tokens.
• The platform is highly accessible and can be used by experienced and novice users alike.

Key Features

First and foremost, Storj comes with a market-ready ecosystem that has already been validated by some of the top digital players in the world today. For example, the company has partnered with Microsoft Azure and Heroku to integrate STORJ tokens with various third-party platforms, primarily through the use of a PaaS protocol.

Visual representation of the “sharding mechanism” employed by Storj

Also, Storj has made its source code available on GitHub, so third-party developers have the option to create their own dApps which can then be implemented within the company’s ecosystem.

Since established cryptos like Bitcoin and Ethereum are not granular, they cannot be used to execute microtransactions for everyday purposes. However, owing to the framework of Storj coins, they can be implemented for daily payments while providing users with an added layer of security and safety. Not only that, the fees charged per transaction are extremely small, especially when compared to conventional credit and debit card transactions.

The pricing structure of services offered 

Lastly, the scalable nature of this platform makes it extremely attractive for future technological use. Since the ecosystem can accommodate a large number of users, it is easily one of the better propositions within the crypto market today in terms of long-term stability and functionality.

How Storj works

While it is clear by now that Storj is a cloud storage platform, it is still not clear how this system actually works.

Storj makes use of a P2P framework that is made up of farmers and renters. Farmers are those entities that allow other users to rent or lease their spare hard drive space and bandwidth, while renters, as the name suggests, are those individuals who are looking to purchase cloud space and machine bandwidth.

Overview of the audit protocol used by Storj (courtesy of the whitepaper)

Owing to the deployment of a completely decentralized service module, Storj claims to provide users with system speeds that are nearly ten times faster than regular cloud computing companies. Not only that, Storj is also quite affordable and economical when compared to some of its established market counterparts such as Apple and DropBox.

Lastly, apart from its utility as a data center, this platform can be seen as a foundational base where developers from all over the world can come together and develop unique app suites.

About Storj

Established in 2013, Storj was initially conceived with the aim of developing a cloud storage platform that was not only scalable but also completely decentralized.

The current CEO and executive chairman of this venture is Ben Golub. Apart from his work at Storj, he has headed business operations for various high-profile companies such as Docker, Gluster (Red Hat), and Plaxo (Comcast).

Shawn Wilkinson is the CSO and founder of this project. He has been in the blockchain domain from the very start and has extensive experience with tech development and cryptography.

Lastly, John Quinn is the co-founder and financial head of this company. John previously served as a founding partner at a company called Digital Ventures. In addition, he was Director of Global Markets at Deutsche Bank from 2010 to 2012. According to his LinkedIn profile, Quinn is also currently the managing director at a private equity firm.

Token Performance

Since its introduction on the market, this currency has been faring relatively well within the cryptoverse.

STORJ token lifetime performance data (courtesy of CoinMarketCap)

STORJ was initially priced at US$0.52 on July 2, 2017, but quickly scaled up to an impressive US$2.20 within a month of its release. The currency hit its peak on January 10, 2018 when the price of a single token reached an impressive US$2.66.

Since then, token prices have stabilized to a large extent, and the value of a single STORJ is hovering around US$0.71 as of March 19, 2018.

Final Thoughts

Up until now, cloud storage companies have dictated the terms of service to their users, and as a result, there has been little to no competition within this digital sector. However, with the introduction of Storj, all of that may change.

Since this technology offers users a scalable solution that is not only efficient but also highly transparent, it seems that Storj is destined for big things this year.

If you would like to start investing in STORJ, trading pairs are being offered on various online exchanges including Huobi, Binance, UpBit, and Bittrex.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People’s Congress, Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), made it clear that the country does not recognize Bitcoin and other digital currencies like it does traditional banking tools such as paper money, coins, and credit cards: “The banking system does not accept it.”

Xiaochuan added that direct trading between Bitcoin and yuan is not supported by the central bank, and also made comments that represent a sort of philosophical or cultural view regarding money, saying:

“We don’t like speculative cryptocurrency products since it is not a good thing to give people an illusion of getting rich overnight.”

Xiaochuan’s statement comes after months of negative sentiments from Chinese authorities, including the PBoC, who have taken a series of steps to clamp down on the cryptocurrency market both domestically and internationally.

In another interesting turn, and in sharp contrast to the attitudes of many other governments and large corporations across the globe, Xiaochuan warned that even an expansion of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies may have a negative impact on consumers — adding that it could also bring some unpredictable effects on financial stability and monetary policy transmission.

Digital Currency For Electronic Payment

That said, the country is developing some crypto-related plans: a few weeks ago Xiaochuan announced that the PBoC is planning to launch a digital currency called DCEP, or Digital Currency For Electronic Payment. The digital currency is expected to go through initial test phases in 2019. As of now, it’s not certain whether this digital currency will take the form of a cryptocurrency or perhaps just utilize blockchain-technology.

Any potential development of a digital currency must suit the needs of the country, Xiaochaun declared. These being a digital currency that focuses on “convenience, rapidity, and low cost in a retail payment system, while taking into account security and protection of privacy.” They should also not conflict with the current financial order, Xiaochuan added.

Mixed Signals?

The governor pointed out that PBoC had organized digital currency related seminars more than three years ago. That was followed by the establishment of a research institute for blockchain technology. Just a year ago, PBoC executives had spoken in favor of digital currencies.

And just last week a delegation of Chinese technology leaders visited Australia to explore the implementation of blockchain into the fintech industry. The delegation was comprised of top-level Chinese companies, including Ant Financial, WeBank, JD.com, ZhongAn, Wanxiang, and OnChain. 

As of now it’s hard to pinpoint hardline truths regarding the country’s real attitudes towards cryptocurrencies considering the mixed signals that the Chinese government and central bank has been sending the crypto and blockchain communities. It look as though the country will continue to shy away from cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, though they may be interested in further applying blockchain-based technologies, perhaps even using them to underpin a state-sponsored digital currency in the future.

The post Mixed Signals: China’s PBoC Doesn’t Recognize Digital Currencies Like Bitcoin, But Are They Looking to Create Their Own? appeared first on NewsBTC.

Bitcoin has enjoyed a small jump following yesterday’s monthly low. At press time, the coin is trading for just over $8,300 following a rough stint that saw it meandering at the $7,600 mark during the early hours of March 18.

For every factor contributing to bitcoin’s rise, there seems to be one knocking it back. Originally hovering at around $8,500 during the morning of March 19, bitcoin’s price fell to its current spot after President Donald Trump announced that he was banning American residents from purchasing or trading Venezuela’s cryptocurrency the “petro.”

While allegedly created to assist in the country’s ailing economy by President Nicolas Maduro, the coin has no doubt caused its fair share of controversy following its official introduction last February. The currency was the object of several private auctions, which according to a Tweet later posted by Maduro, resulted in over $730 million in profits. That number, however, has yet to be confirmed.

In addition, the coin was alleged to be backed by the nation’s oil reserves, yet investors would not own any stakes in Venezuelan oil. This led to more raised eyebrows.

The country is currently plagued by high crime and poverty rates, and inflation is expected to exceed 13,000 by the end of the year. Trump may be working to prevent the country from gaining necessary access to capital granted its socialist ideals take further precedent. In the past, Trump has even threatened military action against Venezuela if it was unwilling to play by the rules.

On the other hand, some sources say bitcoin’s price is incurring steady rises thanks to comments made by Mark Carney at the recent G20 meeting. As chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the governor of the Bank of England, Carney – a regular instigator of digital asset regulation – spoke in favor of virtual coins, saying they do not pose serious risks to the global economy.

His comments were also published in a letter to the FSB on March 18. The document states:

“The FSB’s initial assessment is that crypto-assets do not pose risks to global financial stability. Even at their recent peak, their combined global market value was less than one percent of global GDP… The technologies underlying them have the potential to improve the efficiency and inclusiveness of both the financial system and the economy.”

This newfound sentiment suggests that cryptocurrencies are not something to ban or shun, but rather something to “nurture.” Still considered birthing technologies, virtual coins continue to be subjects of widespread debate, with some claiming they give rise to security issues and criminal organizations, and others claiming they can cancel out problems like money laundering and stabilize the current financial system.

Furthermore, the letter goes against Carney’s previous statements, who prior to the G20 meeting and the document’s publication, warned that there were “many problems with cryptocurrencies,” which he felt were small for the time being, but would undoubtedly get bigger. Though he discussed concerns ranging from price fixing to terrorist financing, Carney also spoke of numerous incidents of theft from individual wallets, particularly in his native U.K.

Bitcoin’s price rose nearly $1,000 after the change in Carney’s ideals, only to endure a slight drop following Trump’s order.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

Sports betting market, in general, is massive. According to different reports, there are over a trillion USD worth of bets placed annually. In 2016 alone, legal sports betting profits are estimated to be at over 70 billion dollars and this figure is set to reach 90 billion dollars this year. Different kinds of ICO’s (Initial Coin Offerings) are bringing worldwide competition to the betting market, leaving regular gambling organizations in a fear of losing clients. Having all of this in mind, one question still remains – how could blockchain and cryptocurrencies help these regular betting platforms and increase the overall stability for bettors?

Illegal betting – a huge loss for the betting market

According to an NBA commissioner Adam Silver, around 400 billion dollars in bets are placed illegally in the USA alone. More than $3.6 billion was wagered on sports at Nevada sports books in 2013. The American Gaming Association, citing the National Gambling Impact Study, estimates that as much as $380 billion is wagered illegally in the U.S. annually.

Silver once wrote a 2014 New York Times op-ed piece titled “Legalize and Regulate Sports Betting,” in which he argued for the eradication of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which limited the vast majority of government-regulated sports gambling to Nevada. “I believe that sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated.” – says Adam Silver.

Also, while betting illegally, the bettor might lose his money even while winning. Though most bookies do end up giving the payouts – they have to do so to remain in business – but there is always the chance of someone refusing to pay up if a bet goes drastically wrong. There is no channel of appeal for a gambler who has lost the money as the bookie is their only contact and they cannot go to the police for obvious reasons.

Finally, given the spread of match-fixing, the gamblers never know if they are being enticed into a making a bet, the outcome of which has already been decided to be against them. Because of this, bettors might lose money not because they lost, but because of an arrangement between two facing teams.

Cryptocurrency – faster and safer betting experience

With the use of blockchain, cryptocurrency provides the speed and anonymity that has made it ideal for people looking to wager safely and has given sports gamblers an alternative to traditional online books. The speed of cryptocurrency transactions makes using cryptocurrency sportsbooks a much safer option to everyone than traditional sportsbooks. You can deposit, wager, withdraw, and have your money back in an immediate control.

This is made possible by the blockchain. Since the network handles transactions at such low cost, operators are saved the headache of managing players’ cash.

In conclusion, betting market can become much more stable and faster with the help of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

eSports – an extremely popular betting niche with no regulation

In recent years and months, more and more attention has been focused on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. eSports has also seen a surge with 40% growth in 2017, making the industry a perfect fit for blockchain technologies.

Blockchain and cryptocurrency offer a number of opportunities to revolutionize the eSports industry. Transactions on blockchain are safe and transparent, fees are decreased, and payment processes are faster. The popularity of cryptocurrency attracts greater user base and funds into digital gaming platforms, as well. And of course, cryptocurrencies were first traded on an exchange built for trading gaming cards, called “Mt. Gox”. Gaming was the first place for the widespread use of cryptocurrencies through micro-transactions.

eSports betting got popular because of betting sites allowing people to bet on matches using virtual items (skins). This kind of betting could be done by anyone, with no regulations. Two years ago, Mohamad “m0E” Assad admitted the practice of rigged bets on stream in an effort to promote the dice gambling platform. Basically, Assad bets on a dice result which has been given to him prior to the “roll.”

The scandal didn’t directly concern the Counter-Strike competitive environment. No competition of Counter-Strike was involved, but it still shows the two main problems in the eSports betting scene – the whole betting process is not regulated, which means that anyone at any age could bet using these virtual items and, at any point, sell them for real money.

Marginless – a new way of betting

There are a lot of problems in the betting world right now – high fees, limitations for winning players, long payouts and limited options for people who want to bet on different niches other than regular  sports. Because of all the upsides that cryptocurrency and the Blockchain could bring to the betting market, more and more start-ups are using cryptocurrency instead of regular fiat money to allow users a faster and safer way of wagering. This year, a new ICO (Initial Coin Offering), named Marginless, is creating a new platform for users who are tired of these mentioned problems.

Marginless is a fast, safe and reliable platform where anyone can create their own bets, post and follow regular betting analysis and receive industry-leading, lowest fees.

“Marginless will bring the good old times where individuals will have an opportunity to place a wager against other people directly on almost any sport or other activity. Friends, colleagues and many other sports lovers will be able to get back the control of their bets and place them against a real person. Cleverly developed algorithms seem to rule today’s betting industry, however, the decentralized approach of newly forming blockchain technology-based solutions will change the way we live – making financial transactions, buying products and… betting. At Marginless you can not only bet on sports but create your own bets in different kind of niches.” – says Marginless CEO Lukas Jonaitis.

Marginless betting platform is driven by MGS tokens, which means that in the whole betting process, Fiat currency is not used at all. The use of Tokens and AltCoins as a reward for betting gives you a complete, secure and lightning fast reward payment in Tokens or AltCoins. Blockchain lets you confirm payouts immediately and payouts will be processed in a couple of minutes depending on what kind of AltCoin as a payout option is chosen. Our wallet lets you keep your betting assets in more than 30 different AltCoins. You will have a possibility to deposit or withdraw AltCoins as well. Marginless partners will integrate a possibility to purchase AltCoins or Tokens directly from our Marginless platform in a safe and quick environment.

Also, Marginless is hosting a raffle for a brand-new BMW X6 vehicle. For more info, visit Marginless website – http://www.marginless.io.

Bright future for betting…

Although there are problems in the betting world right now, like illegal wagering, long winning payouts, and insanely high fees, because of cryptocurrency and the blockchain the future of betting seems to be fairly bright.

Because of betting exchange projects like Marginless, the potential of cryptocurrency and blockchain is being used at its maximum, allowing users the ability to bet fast, safe and with almost no fees in whole the process. Cryptocurrency and blockchain is the future of betting and the faster we will start using it, the better.

The post Betting Market Opportunity – a Perfect Niche for Blockchain and Cryptocurrency appeared first on NewsBTC.