Day: May 30, 2018

A report conducted by independent think tank Charity Futures concluded that charities have yet to engage with blockchain with the kind of urgency required to keep up with technological advances, writes Live Bitcoin News.

The study, ‘Nothing to Lose (But Your Chains)’, was clear in pointing out that the charity sector had as yet failed to tap significantly into available blockchain technologies.

Asheem Singh, former interim chief executive of the charity’s lead body Acevo, who commissioned the report, said that blockchain held great potential for charity organizations. “Blockchain could herald the sort of seismic changes in the charity sector as the digital revolution before it,” he wrote.

The report suggests that there is one area of significance where blockchain could make the most impact should it be employed. Foreign aid was singled out, noting that aid distributed by the UK government currently stands at 0.7% of GDP, which in 2016 was GBP 12.7 billion. International aid has been susceptible to corruption and bureaucracy in many receiving countries, which are exactly the kinds of problems that blockchain’s accountability can address.

Many charity organizations are dragging their heels regarding the new technology according to the report. “Despite the potential benefits, the charity sector is currently behind the curve on blockchain technology,” the study said.

The report recommends the use of DLT by creating a transparent, end-to-end supply chain for each project. This means that all those involved – government departments, NGOs, funders, charities, local offices, delivery partners, and the individuals receiving the benefit have access up to the moment information regarding the funds or supplies donated.

Some charities and NGOs are getting it right, however. Along with IBM, both the UN and the World Food Programme (WFP) are now proactively using blockchain to record transactions.

As previously covered by Bitcoin News, WFP has been employing the blockchain in a number of its projects and making a significant impact in the field as a result. In just one of its recent programs, the organization has distributed cryptocurrency-based food vouchers to more than 100,000 Syrian refugees living in Jordan, bypassing bureaucracy and getting aid to where it’s needed.

Singh feels that it is time charities came together with those actually creating the technology, in order to fully draw on its potential across the whole sector.

“It may be time for the sector to convene a high-level task force that brings together charity leaders and technologists… to articulate the contribution blockchain can and should make to the charity sector and the problems it is trying to address.”

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The post Charities Must Embrace Blockchain to Make Genuine Impact, Report Says appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

After what appeared to become a tough afternoon of trading yesterday, the markets have responded in a positive manner. Although there is still a feeling of unease to contend with, most of the top 15 currencies are in the green over the past 24 hours. Things look especially good for the Cardano price as of right now.

A Solid Cardano Price Nudge

With everything that been going on in the world of cryptocurrency since early 2018, the current gains should be treasured first and foremost. Any sort of positive momentum is usually pushed down immediately, and that trend was apparently forming yesterday afternoon. Even so, the crisis has been averted successfully, at least for the time being.

Looking at the current Cardano price, things may remain in the green, at least until the weekend comes around. Over the past 234 hours, the Cardano price has noted a strong 4.9% increase, pushing its value above $0.217 once again. This is still a long way removed from the all-time high of late 2017, but it’s also better compared to the prices two months ago.

It is also interesting to note how the Cardano price has climbed to this value thanks to solid gains over Bitcoin. With a 3.86% increase in the ADA/BTC ratio, the current situation looks a lot more promising than most speculators had hoped. That doesn’t mean the markets are out of the woods yet, but it is a somewhat promising sign regardless.

With $179.31m in 24-hour trading volume, there is still some work to be done when it comes to getting traders more excited about ADA. In its current form, the trading volume is sufficient to keep the momentum going for some time to come, albeit there needs to be more volume across all markets sooner rather than later. Fewer traders means there will be more volatility when someone puts in a big buy or sell order out of the blue.

The way things are shaping up right now seems to hint at how Upbit will remain the biggest exchange for Cardano trading volume. Binance has its BTC and USDT pairs in the top three as well, which is rather interesting. Huobi’s USDT pair and Bittrex’s BTC market complete the top five. Just one fiat currency pair in the top five isn’t promising, but things could be a lot worse at this stage.

For the time being, it will be interesting to see how the cryptocurrency markets evolve in the days to come. For now, there’s still positive momentum in place, but this situation can turn around at any given time. If the Cardano price holds its own above $0.215, the upcoming weekend may prove to be rather interesting.

Key Highlights

• Ripple price started a downside correction after trading above the $0.6200 level against the US dollar.
• There is a key contracting triangle forming with resistance at $0.6050 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair may soon make the next move either above $0.6100 or below $0.5800 in the near term.

Ripple price is preparing for the next move against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. XRP/USD must stay above the $0.5800 level to remain in a positive zone.

Ripple Price Support

After trading above the $0.6200 level, Ripple price faced selling interest against the US Dollar. The price formed a high at $0.6265 and later started a downside correction. It declined below the $0.6100 and $0.6000 support levels. Moreover, there was a break below the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $0.5460 low to $0.6265 high.

There was even a spike below the $0.5850-00 support zone and the 100 hourly simple moving average. However, buyers defended losses below the $0.5800 level and the price recovered. More importantly, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $0.5460 low to $0.6265 high acted as a decent support. At the moment, the price is trading in a tiny range near $0.6000 and is preparing for the next move. There is a key contracting triangle forming with resistance at $0.6050 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair.

Looking at the chart, the price seems to be heading towards a key break either above $0.6100 or below $0.5800 in the near term. A push above the $0.6100 level could clear the path for more gains above the $0.6200 level. On the downside, a break below the $0.5800 level may perhaps clear the path for more losses towards $0.5500.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is flat in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is moving higher towards the 55 level.

Major Support Level – $0.5800

Major Resistance Level – $0.6100

The post Ripple Price Analysis: XRP/USD Approaching Key Break appeared first on NewsBTC.

Hong Kong’s de facto central bank has no plan to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), a government official said on Wednesday.

As we approach and pass the halfway point of 2018 a look back shows a year that unfolded differently than many had anticipated. ICO’s and several top Cryptocurrencies are under the spotlight of regulators and central banks and the whole world is trying to figure out how Cryptocurrency will fit into finance and technology in today’s global economy. By the time we passed March the ¼ mark of the calendar year the count on ICO’s already reached and began surpassing 50% of the total of number of ICO’s in 2017. A lot of these projects looking like cheap replicants of projects past or extravagant perhaps unachievable propositions doomed to be marked as vaporware when no major progress takes hold according to the typical ICO project timelines you can usually find nestled into a well crafted shiny website ending in “IO.” Everyone’s “sharding” but how many will be successful, and even if many are, how many of those will gain heavy adoption realistically? Another hot topic ICO is Real Estate of which the typical Real Estate project one may find shilled on their favorite forums first or second page daily is really nothing more than. Low interest, no equity vesting Wall Street REIT packaged as a coin or token and stamped with the term “Blockchain”  as if somehow that makes it a more credible investment. Next we have the big player ICO’s which are nearly impossible for average people to invest in now. What was once a decentralized studio of creation is now beginning to look like a typical Silicon Valley exclusive VC only investment vehicle with huge minimum purchases and invitation only whitelists. This is a far cry from how we thought ICO’s May continue to grow back in the day of Ethereums ICO when anyone could buy a piece of the technology via its token for under a dollar back then. We thought we’d take a minute and give a shout out and spread the word a bit about 2 projects that are simple and attainable, unique and available to people at no minimum purchase amount.

Disclosure: This is a Sponsored Article

OptiToken

One of the most interesting projects in terms of possible ROI versus complexity, is Optitoken, which has just recently come into the spotlight. It is the first ever actual hyper-deflationary currency, whose value is supported by an automated portfolio that uses professional trading techniques, AI and machine learning. The portfolio will be bought with funds from their ICO, giving it serious value early on.

The gains made by the algorithmic trading will be used in part to buy back their own tokens on exchanges, creating constant upward price pressure and nurturing a market that has very strong buy support this is the function that seeks to massively drive the currencies value upwards continually. The rest of profits from buy cycles is reinvested to grow the initial holdings. OptiToken Interestingly also solves a common problem of new ICO’s, that can’t find any volume early on and have serious long term trouble with market making from the very start. You can participate quite easily through their website here at OptiToken.io It’s not open to US or China investors. The project does have KYC and was one of the first approved companies to utilize CivicApps ICO KYC BETA service.

The second project we want to plug is Chronicled. One of the few things that experts can completely agree on in crypto is that one of the next disrupted industries will be supply chain management. Blockchain technology is simply perfectly fit for tracking and managing, in a secure transparent way.

Until now, projects like Wanchain or Wabi, have taken a lead in the space and are building their own solutions, however, none of them have focused on the secure exchange of physical assets. This first mover status makes Chronicled a very appealing investment. It will be the first company to use artificial intelligence, IoT and blockchain to create smart supply chains. All of this working with innovative identity solution, data management and smart contract automation.
Very interestingly, Chronicled is blockchain agnostic and can currently plug-into several blockchains, making it very flexible for a future industry that might look a lot different than today.
Chronicled is open for qualified investors only via BnkToTheFuture. If they reach their lofty goal of creating the most trusted, largest IoT and supply chain ecosystems, getting in on the ICO could be incredibly profitable.

President of China, Xi Jinping, expressed his admiration and hopes for blockchain technology at a meeting with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Xi pointed out that blockchain technology, which underpins Bitcoin, has been accelerating the rate of “breakthrough applications.”

He also noted that he holds interest in other upcoming technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things and mobile communications.

These technologies singled out by the Chinese president are coincidentally the technologies which IBM has also shown interest towards. Just last week, IBM’s CEO, Virginia Rometty, announced that IBM is focusing on AI, Blockchain and IOT technologies and is hoping that these technologies will be transformative in today’s society.

No Cryptocurrencies?

China has historically been a popular place for cryptocurrency use and blockchain development. However, reports released last year have shown that China’s government is trying to stem the flow of cryptocurrencies in the country.  

Last year in September, China banned the participation and creation of so-called ‘Initial Coin Offerings’, or ICOs as they are more well-known by the cryptocurrency community.

However reports show that China has and is continually trying to stop the trading of cryptocurrencies in the country altogether, especially transactions which facilitate the transfer of Chinese Yuan to cryptocurrencies.

Many market analysts and critics find it rather odd that China heavily supports blockchain technology, but is hesitant to allow cryptocurrencies to take hold in the Chinese market. Some speculate that this is due to the fact that China’s handle on the economy would falter, as cryptocurrencies are decentralized and global technologies by nature.

Earlier this month, Huobi, one of the most Asian based exchanges, announced that they would be developing a blockchain ‘incubator’ program in Hainan Province in China. Huobi’s press release noted that this $1 billion project garnered support from the highest levels of  Chinese government, with the release specifically stating:

“It is a national-level strategy that President Xi Jinping, personally planned, personally deployed, and personally promoted.”

Huobi plans to help bolster blockchain development by providing funding, advice, resources and manpower to promising cryptocurrency startups based in China. However, Huobi also noted that this move is also being made to help strengthen China’s economy and involvement in cryptocurrency related industries.

Chinese blockchain consulting and incubator firm, Liaoyuan, was one of the first Chinese companies to hold a blockchain conference, citing that over 100 people flew from China to New York to attend Liaoyuan’s ‘Blockchain Without Borders’ conference.

Despite China’s aforementioned negative attitude towards the topic of cryptocurrencies, it has become apparent that China is planning on becoming a mainstay in growing technology-related industries.

The growth of blockchain development and interest in China shows no signs of slowing, with many analysts expecting an even larger ‘Blockchain boom’ to arrive in China in the upcoming years.

The post Chinese President Says Blockchain is a Breakthrough Technology, Expresses Optimism appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Highlights

• ETH price is slowly moving higher and is holding the $545 support area against the US Dollar.
• There is a key bullish trend line forming with support at $550 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair must clear the $575 and $580 resistance levels to gain upside momentum in the near term.

Ethereum price is moving nicely in a positive zone against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD must stay above the $545 and $540 support levels to hold the bullish bias.

Ethereum Price Trend

After a decent upside move, ETH price faced sellers near the $575 and $580 levels against the US Dollar. The price topped at the $586.87 level and started a downside correction. It declined and moved below the $575 and $560 levels. Moreover, there was a break below the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last leg from the $503 low to $586 high.

There was also a close below the $550 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. However, the decline was protected by the $545 support area. More importantly, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last leg from the $503 low to $586 high acted as a strong support. Later, the price started an upside recovery and moved above the $550 level and the 100 hourly SMA. The current momentum is positive and there is a key bullish trend line forming with support at $550 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. On the upside, the price seems to be facing a major hurdle near $575 and $580.

Looking at the chart, the price may rise further and it could retest the $580 resistance. However, a break above the stated $580 hurdle is required for further gains. On the downside, the price must stay above $545 to avoid a bearish wave towards $520.

Hourly MACD – The MACD is slowly moving in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI is rising towards the 60 level.

Major Support Level – $545

Major Resistance Level – $580

The post Ethereum Price Analysis: Can ETH/USD Break $575? appeared first on NewsBTC.

A recent hack on two Canadian banks that compromised almost a million customers is yet another reason everyone should be using cryptocurrency.

Two Canadian Banks Hacked on the Same Day

CIBC owned Simplii Financial was the first to announce on Monday that hackers had accessed and stolen the personal information of 40,000 customers.  Later the same day the Bank of Montreal announced it also had had its security breached by hackers who had gotten the personal information of 50,000 customers. In both cases, it seems that the hackers were also the tipsters that let the banks know about the crime. In each tip, proof of the hack was given in the form of names with account numbers plus dates of birth and SIN numbers.

The motivation, in this case, was blackmail as the hackers wanted a million dollars worth of the digital currency XRP. Country manager for Canada at cyber defence firm Darktrace David Masson said that the blackhats responsible were probably the same in both cases. He suspects the hackers used what is known as a “spear phising” attack.

Netizens on Twitter responded to the news by Tweeting that Canadian banks are weak on security, requiring only 5 digit pins with no special characters and not offering two-layer authentication. As the use of digital currency becomes more prevalent all around the world instances of hackers and cybercriminals targeting week security points will continue to grow.

Users of digital money may be more security conscious due to the technology involved in trading but there has been an estimated $1.2 billion stolen in cryptocurrency since 2017.

As was demonstrated by the Coincheck hack in January when around a half a billion dollars worth of XEM tokens were stolen from the exchange financial institutions do not have the best security.

Digital Wallets Provide High-Level Security

There is no reason today to trust outside security systems as digital wallets that provide both “hot and cold” storage can be an integrated part of any smartphone. Digital wallets use authentication, monitoring, and data encryption to secure personal information and are considered by security experts even safer than online banking because a phones OS uses “sandboxing architecture” to isolate apps from malware.

Just as importantly using a digital wallet allows the user to create their own security protocols. By using smartphone’s built-in security functions like fingerprint authentification or pattern solving and adding two-factor authentification a phones cold wallet function can be more secure than an exchange where human error is always a factor. Adding common sense practices like never using public wifi for financial transactions and always protecting personal information online may help make the wallet hack proof.

As for the Canadian hackers, since they revealed the stolen information, both banks were able to recognize all the compromised accounts and shut them down leaving the cyber thieves with nothing left to leverage.

The post Two Canadian Banks Hacked, Cryptocurrency is the Better Store of Value appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Points

• Bitcoin cash price corrected lower and tested the $950 support area against the US Dollar.
• There is a new connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $965 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair has to stay above the $960 and $950 support levels to avoid a downside break in the near term.

Bitcoin cash price is holding an important support around $950 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD has to move past the $1,040 resistance to gain further.

Bitcoin Cash Price Support

After yesterday’s ride, bitcoin cash price faced sellers near the $1,030-1,040 resistances against the US Dollar. The price started a downside correction and declined below the $1,000 support. It also declined below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $971 low to $1,031 high. It opened the doors for a larger correction and the price dipped towards the $950 support area.

The $940-950 support area acted as a decent buy zone and protected further losses. Moreover, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $971 low to $1,031 high also prevented declines. BCH price moved back above the $960 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. More importantly, there is a new connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $965 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair. The pair remains well supported on the downside around the $950 and $960 levels.

Looking at the chart, the price is clearly facing a major hurdle on the upside near $1,040. A break and close above the stated $1,040 resistance is needed for buyers to take control. On the downside, a break and close below $950 will most likely push the price back in the bearish zone.

Looking at the technical indicators:

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

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is currently flat near the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $950

Major Resistance Level – $1,040

The post Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis: BCH/USD Holding Important Support appeared first on NewsBTC.

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

• Bitcoin price continues to trend lower as it bounced off the top of the channel on the 1-hour time frame.
• A continuation of the slide could take it down to the Fibonacci extension levels.
• There are some signs of bearish exhaustion from technical indicators, though.

Bitcoin price looks ready to resume the drop after bouncing off resistance, but there are signs of bearish exhaustion.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is below the longer-term 200 SMA to confirm that the path of least resistance is to the downside. This suggests that the selloff is more likely to resume than to reverse. The 200 SMA recently held as dynamic resistance since it lined up with the top of the channel near $7,600.

A continuation of the drop could send bitcoin price to the 38.2% extension near the swing low of $6,950. Stronger selling pressure could take it to the channel support at $6,750 or the 78.6% extension close to the $6,300 support. The full extension is located near $6,000.

RSI is pulling up from oversold conditions to show that buyers are getting the upper hand. Similarly, stochastic is heading north from oversold levels so bitcoin price could follow suit. In that case, there’s still a chance for an upside break of the channel top, especially since the gap between the moving averages is narrowing.

BTCUSD Chart from TradingView

Market Factors

Bitcoin price took another hit from negative remarks in the absence of any other industry updates. Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller remarked that bitcoin could be extinct by 2118, citing:

“The one scenario is that something like what happened after 2013 when bitcoin topped $1,000, and then lost 80 percent of its value. It looked like bitcoin was just fading away.”

He did mention that it could continue to exist but maybe under a different name or mechanism as there have been so many forks already. Also, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse mentioned that bitcoin price influence over other altcoins could be over soon.

The post Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch: Bears Defend Channel Resistance appeared first on NewsBTC.

Months ago, savvy coders were taking an any-means-necessary approach to keeping big miners off their blockchains. Now, reality is setting in.

For better or worse, economic and trade policies worldwide have begun to dramatically shift with multiple political uncertainties. Bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies broadly, have more recently represented a global futures market to price-in credit risk or lack of confidence in leadership. CNBC recently discussed Bitcoin as a fear gauge for the market, similar to the volatility index.