Month: June 2018

Most of the cryptocurrencies are already going in the red once again after strong gains on Saturday. While losses remain minimal for most coins, it is evident there is still room for improvements. Some coins even successfully buck this negative trend, as the IOTA price remains in the green, for now.

IOTA Price Trend Remains Positive

It was only to be expected a lot of currencies would face small setbacks after the positive trend yesterday. Massive gains of anywhere from 5% to 15% cannot go unpunished in the world of cryptocurrency, after all. Even so, several currencies still remain ahead of the curve in this regard, as it is evident there is still some positive momentum to contend with.

If the IOTA price is any indication, things will undoubtedly get very interesting. More specifically, there has been a positive uptrend even while the rest of the markets are slowly going down a  bit. That in itself is remarkable, yet it is also a telling sign of how cryptocurrency markets work these days. For the IOTA price, it results in another 3.39% increase, which is fairly impressive, all things considered.

There is also an ongoing battle in the MIOTA/BTC department to keep an eye on. Even though it seems Bitcoin is losing a bit of traction as of right now, the MIOTA/BTC ratio has improved by 3.7%. If this momentum can be maintained for another day, the IOTA price should have no real problem maintaining this current level of over $1.

Whereas yesterday resulted in some positive trading volume increases, it seems most of that momentum has also calmed down a bit. More specifically, the IOTA trading volume has dropped to $45m, which is still far from impressive. This is in line with how the overall cryptocurrency trading volume has evolved, as it has dropped to below $14bn once again as well.

Looking at the exchanges ranked by MIOTA trading volume, the situation is rather intriguing as of right now. Bitfinex is leading the pack with a small gap over OKEx’s USDT pair and Binance’s USDT market. Further down the line, there is Binance’s BTC pair and OKEx’s BTC market. Three exchanges represent over 73% of all MIOTA trading, yet there is only one fiat currency pair in the entire top five. That can be a hindrance moving forward.

All things considered, it is still possible there will be a fair bit of positive momentum for the ITOA price moving forward. Whether or not that can effectively materialize in any real gains, is a different matter altogether. It will mainly depend on how the Bitcoin price evolves later today, as it is not looking all that great as of right now.  Even so, the day is far from over, and a lot of interesting things can happen in the coming hours.

Key Points

• Bitcoin price made a short-term low near $5,800 and bounced back against the US Dollar.
• There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance at $6,280 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair is currently trading with a positive bias above the $6,000 support area.

Bitcoin price is showing positive signs against the US Dollar. BTC/USD may perhaps extend the current wave towards the $6,500 and $6,600 resistance levels.

Bitcoin Price Support

This past week, bitcoin price faced a lot of selling interest as it declined below the $6,000 level against the US Dollar. The BTC/USD pair traded below the $5,800 level and tested the $5,650 support. A low was formed at $5,654 and the price started an upward correction. It moved back above the $6,000 resistance and traded with a bullish bias.

It cleared the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $6,832 high to $5,654 low. More importantly, there was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance at $6,280 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair. At the moment, the price is consolidating gains near the $6,400 level and the 100 simple moving average (4-hours). A break above the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $6,832 high to $5,654 low is needed for buyers to gain traction. The next hurdles on the upside are at $6,500 and $6,600.

Looking at the chart, the price is showing a few positive signs above the $6,000 level. However, it must break the $6,500 resistance and settle above the 100 SMA. If not, there is a chance of a bearish reaction back towards $6,000. Below this, the price will most likely retest the $5,800 support area.

Looking at the technical indicators:

4-hours MACD – The MACD for BTC/USD is moving nicely in the bullish zone.

4-hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI is now well above the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $6,000

Major Resistance Level – $6,500

The post Bitcoin Price Weekly Analysis: BTC/USD Showing Recovery Signs appeared first on NewsBTC.

There is an obsession about Bitcoin’s price in the mainstream media, from reports about every single Bitcoin price fluctuation to predictions that Bitcoin’s price will go up by the tens of thousands of dollars or crash to zero in the future.

The common theme among these stories is that Bitcoin’s price is an important indicator of Bitcoin’s health and value when in reality this is untrue as these are derived from its intrinsic capabilities and integrity.

The source of intrinsic value of Bitcoin has not changed at all since it launched in 2009. No amount of price fluctuations will change Bitcoin’s protocol and usefulness. Bitcoin is the first blockchain-based currency, i.e. cryptocurrency. All transactions on the Bitcoin network are cryptographically secure and stored on a public immutable ledger, providing full transparency while at the same time making it impossible to alter the ledger with even the most powerful modern-day computers. Ultimately this makes Bitcoin transactions trustworthy, which has facilitated its spread as a medium of monetary exchange.

Although there are plenty of governments trying to regulate Bitcoin, the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network makes it impossible to truly regulate. A complete version of Bitcoin is operating on every computer that runs full-node clients, and at any given time there are roughly 10,000 nodes in the world. Every single one of these nodes would have to be destroyed to censor Bitcoin and even then, Bitcoin could be restored if someone saved a copy of the software and blockchain.

Since Bitcoin is decentralized and no government controls it, anyone can start a Bitcoin account. This essentially provides banking for the unbanked. Many people in the world are unbankable due to bad credit histories and past criminal charges, but Bitcoin doesn’t make this discernment and anyone can use it, giving Bitcoin more value.

Bitcoin can be used to send money anywhere in the world, in any amount, instantly and securely. This represents major intrinsic value that is independent of price. Even if Bitcoin’s price were a penny like in the early days after its launch in 2010, it would still be just as usable as a currency.

BitGo co-founder Ben Davenport calculated that a cryptocurrency that transacted as much money as Visa – USD 9 trillion per year – would only have a market cap of USD 3 billion at any given time. This illustrates how the market cap of Bitcoin has little to do with how much money is flowing through it. The volume of money transfer that Bitcoin facilitates could be a good measure of Bitcoin’s health and how much it is spreading, but like Davenport found, market cap has little to do with volume.

The constant obsession over Bitcoin’s price comes from treating it as an investment tool, like a stock or a commodity, when the reality is that Bitcoin’s real value stems from its usefulness as a currency. Price is irrelevant to Bitcoin’s real value, in the same way that the price of the USD is irrelevant to its real value. Bitcoin is built to be a cryptographically secure and decentralized medium of exchange, which is what gives it value, and this hasn’t changed since the genesis block.

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Key Highlights

• ETH price managed to recover higher after forming a low near the $404 level against the US Dollar.
• There is a monster bearish trend line formed with resistance near $456 on the 4-hours chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair has to move above the $456 and $480 resistance levels to gain upside momentum.

Ethereum price is facing a major resistance versus the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD must clear the $456 hurdle to test the next hurdle at $480.

Ethereum Price Upside Hurdles

This past week, there was a nasty decline from well above $450 in ETH price against the US Dollar. The ETH/USD pair tumbled and traded towards the $400 handle. A low was formed at $404.46 before the price started an upside correction. It bounced back above $430 and cleared the 23.6% fib retracement level of the last drop from the $549 high to $404 low.

However, the price faced a crucial resistance near the $456-460 zone. There is a monster bearish trend line formed with resistance near $456 on the 4-hours chart of ETH/USD. The same trend line is positioned near the previous support area at $460. Moreover, the 38.2% fib retracement level of the last drop from the $549 high to $404 low is also near $460. Therefore, a break above the trend line and $456 resistance is needed for more gains. Above this, the next hurdle is near the 100 simple moving average (4-hours) and $480. Above $480, the price will most likely clear the $500 resistance for more gains.

The above chart indicates that the price may find it very difficult to clear the $456-460 zone. If it fails to move higher, it could correct lower towards $440 and $430. Any further declines may perhaps put the price back in a bearish zone towards $410.

4-hours MACD – The MACD is back in the bullish zone.

4-hours RSI – The RSI is currently well above the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $430

Major Resistance Level – $456

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

Japanese authority orders reforms after security at six local exchanges found lacking across the board

Floods in China’s Sichuan province, caused by two days of heavy rains, have reportedly resulted in the destruction of “tens of thousands” of cryptocurrency mining devices

Bithumb is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Its status has attracted a lot of unwanted attention from criminals, culminating in a $31 million hack earlier this month. The company has been working on recovering the money and scored some initial success in this regard.

The Bithumb Recovery Process

For most cryptocurrency exchanges, experiencing a hack and subsequent loss of funds could be catastrophic. Losing millions of dollars forces companies to either take a net loss or issue IOU tokens to their customers. Various exchanges, including Bitfinex, have taken the IOU route in the past. Those decisions are initially met with a lot of skepticism, although Bitfinex successfully repaid all customers in the end.

Earlier this year, Japanese exchange Coincheck suffered one of the biggest losses in cryptocurrency history. Over $500 million worth of NEM cryptocurrency was stolen from the company, irating Japanese regulators in the process. For the end users of that particular trading platform, the missing balances were repaid by Coincheck itself. To this day, it remains unclear if any of the stolen funds have been recovered, although it is highly unlikely that is the case.

As such, the issues faced by the Bithumb exchange earlier this month sparked a heated debate. The company fell victim to a $31 million hack, and an official investigation is still underway. Even so, Bithumb has already begun the process of recovering the stolen funds, and it has – allegedly – recovered $14 million already. This has been achieved thanks to close collaboration with other cryptocurrency exchanges headquartered around the world.

This recovery process has not impacted the reimbursement of users by any means. Bithumb made it clear it would repay affected users out of its own pocket. However, it is good to see at least one exchange score some success in recovering stolen money. There is still nearly $17 million worth of funds which have yet to be recovered, and it’s unclear where that money may have gone.

Considering that the Bithumb hack affected nearly a dozen cryptocurrencies, recovering the funds could be quite challenging. Some of the bigger currencies are easier to track than others, and they may also be slightly easier to recover. Hacks like these also highlight the potential of blockchain analysis firms when it comes to recovering stolen money, though Bithumb officials did not confirm they’ve been working with such a service provider.

While Bithumb is seemingly recovering some of the stolen funds, deposits and withdrawals of cryptocurrency remain suspended. There is no indication that this service will be resumed in the coming days, as that will heavily depend on how the ongoing investigation unfolds. All of these developments also hinder the company’s position in the market, as its overall trading volume has been reduced by nearly 70% in the days since the hack.

The cryptocurrency industry has grown tremendously over the past few years. An influx of new users has occurred, although it seems there has also been a lot more attention from criminals. As such, exchanges need to be wary of any developments which could pose a threat to their businesses. The recent USDT fake deposit issue, for example, is causing quite a stir.

OKEx and the USDT Issue

Ever since Tether decided to issue USDT tokens pegged to the US dollar, the project has seen its fair share of controversy. With more of these tokens circulating over time, concerns over the company’s financial reserves have spiraled out of control. Additionally, the lack of any public audit of the company’s reserves only fuels more discussion in this regard.

To make things even worse, it appears there is an issue involving fake USDT deposits affecting various cryptocurrency exchanges. Although the details of this alleged vulnerability remain unclear, the problem may not be as widespread as initially assumed. SlowMist, a blockchain security firm, claims to have found a loophole in the way USDT deposits work as of right now.

The company revealed that exchanges processing USDT deposits may not always verify the validity of such transactions. A failed verification process could result in crediting an exchange account with a USDT balance nonetheless. If users can trade those balances for other cryptocurrencies, a lot of “fake” money could be accumulated in the process.

Although it is uncertain why such an issue was only discovered now, it seems most exchanges have built in countermeasures to prevent this from happening. OKEx, for example, has made it clear that it was not affected by this potential USDT deposit issue and that all user funds are accounted for. It is unclear if other trading platforms handle the USDT deposit process differently, although more details are expected to be revealed in the coming days.

Whenever issues like these are discovered, there is a growing sense of unease among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. That’s not just because it further confirms the somewhat troubled nature of USDT, but also because so many exchanges have fallen victims to hacks and stolen funds already. The last thing this industry needs is another major controversy. It is doubtful any big developments will occur courtesy of USDT .

SlowMist’s findings come at a peculiar time for Tether as well. The company is facing more pressure for a new non-binding audit of its own financial reserves. Additionally, new stablecoins have come to market to bring more competition to this asset. A fake deposit issue would tarnish the company’s reputation even further, although it remains to be seen if there is an actual issue to speak of as of right now.

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) were the talk of the town last year, drawing the eyes and ears of worldwide investors. However, DeadCoins has reported that over 800 cryptocurrencies now lay lifeless, with many of these projects enlisting business practices reminiscent of scams. 

‘DeadCoins’ Says Over 800 Cryptocurrencies Now Lay Lifeless

DeadCoins, a collection of cryptocurrency ‘eulogies’, now has a list of over 800 cryptocurrencies that lack a promising outlook.

Although this may be poking fun at these 800 projects, the issue still remains. That is, the growing issue with questionable projects attempting to draw the attention of unsuspecting investors.

Take the example of World of Battles, an ICO project that shouldn’t ring any bells. Although a novel idea, World of Battles quickly fell under suspicion from seasoned cryptocurrency community members, who pointed out the malpractices which the project utilized. Most obviously, the blatant use of another project’s logo, modifying it in the slightest to trick the naive.

This project is one of the over 800 ‘dead coins’, falling into the category of ICO scams. Other reasons for ‘death’ range from abandoned projects to an SEC investigation, and everything in between. 

CryptoMeth and EzCoin, names of projects that should make any cautious investor cower, also met their demise. This left some to wonder, how these projects stayed afloat at all.  Some chalked it up to the gullibility of some investors, who were promised riches and investment success.  

Although the aforementioned list already seems overwhelming, it is widely speculated that the DeadCoins list is far from complete. Some have even gone to say that even the 1,500 cryptocurrencies, mostly comprised of ICOs, on CoinMarketCap should not be free from suspicion.  

Market Analysis: 80% of ICOs Are Frauds

An author at Bloomberg, Aaron Brown, gave his analysis of the current state of ICOs, writing:

“There has obviously been significant fraud and hype in the ICO market. I have seen 80 percent of ICOs were frauds, and 10 percent lacked substance and failed shortly after raising money. Most of the remaining 10 percent will probably fail as well.”

It is argued that 2017 and 2018 are the “years of the ICO,” as retail investors have continually emptied their pockets for the ‘hottest’ projects. Despite the presence of promising crypto projects, many ICOs have been exposed as fraudulent, promoting unrealistic goals and returns.

According to data from Satis Group, an ICO advisory and analysis firm, over 80% of ICOs with a $50 million market cap and above are scams. The 80% figure lines up with what the Bloomberg analyst has seen as well, bringing even more credence to the extremely alarming statistic. 

An additional 11% of projects have failed or gone silent, not the most promising statistic for the ICO market. 

That’s the issue, the legitimate ICOs, ones who promote real-world use cases are overshadowed by the multitude of ICO cons that have no real product or use case.  

ICO scams are one of the main reasons why regulators want to regulate the industry, as fraudulent projects have drawn in millions, if not billions of dollars of investments. As the CEO of Blockchain said in an appearance on Bloomberg, regulators are mainly focused on consumer protection. 

The ICO market is on thin ice, with the ICO scam ‘endemic’ edging out all but a few bona fide projects.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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Even though there is no obvious connection between cryptocurrency, blockchain, and VR, things are evolving in an interesting direction. High Fidelity is building a VR ecosystem on top of the EOS blockchain. As such, the company has raised $35 million in funding to build distributed social VR worlds.

EOS Blockchain Meets Virtual Reality

The emergence of virtual reality is something many consumers and corporations have been looking forward to. Despite some initial success, it appears global interest in this technology has tapered off a bit. VR is expected to become a very social technology, yet there is not enough content available to make good on that promise.

High Fidelity claims it can solve most of those concerns by merging VR and blockchain technology. More specifically, the company will be using the EOS blockchain – which was only launched recently – to make this happen in the years to come. With a strong focus on building distributed virtual reality worlds for social interaction, the use of unconventional technology appears more than warranted.

The choice of the EOS blockchain was not made randomly either. High Fidelity sees merit in this “new generation of blockchain protocols”. Additionally, the company has also received significant backing from the Galaxy Digital EOS Ecosystem Fund. All of the money raised during this round will be used for R&D purposes as well as to hire additional staffers to work on VR technology.

High Fidelity CEO Philip Rosedale commented:

By collapsing distance, creating new spaces in which we can join together, and bringing people at a distance into real human contact, VR will transform the world. We will go to school, attend events, entertain each other, and build entirely new worlds together, all from within VR. To reach this scale and to deliver safely on such a promise, VR must be decentralized, including deeply using blockchain technology. Galaxy Digital will guide us capably in adopting that technology and creating the right partnerships with the larger blockchain ecosystem, for example the EOS blockchain where we are currently beta testing integration.

For all of the hype surrounding blockchain technology, there has not been a “killer app” to speak of just yet. Some new use cases have been discovered in the process, but there is no concept in place which will get the entire world excited about this technology. Whether or not virtual reality projects will bring more positive attention to this technology remains to be determined. It is evident using blockchain in conjunction with other emerging technologies can result in major innovations.

If virtual reality can be brought to the masses, the industry will undoubtedly see spectacular growth in the coming years. Given the vast undertaking of powering immersive 3D social worlds, using distributed technology such as blockchain seems to make a lot of sense. Tapping EOS for this purpose is quite interesting, although it remains to be seen if it is the best option on the table.