Day: June 24, 2018

Cryptovest

Bitcoin is Falling, but Mining is at Record Levels Cryptovest Bitcoin (BTC) is defying the trend of “miners follow the money” - as the price continues to unravel, and burrows even below $6,000, mining is as active as ever. BTC prices have been down 75%, and in the meantime, hashing power came online, to increase ... Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch: Are Bears Back in the Game?newsBTC Bitcoin Rallies above $6000 as BTC Market Dominance Reaches Two-Month HighEthereum World News (blog) Markets Update: Triple Bottom Confirmed, but Where Will It Lead?Bitcoin News (press release) all 64 news articles »

According to a cryptocurrency research group, the bitcoin price could increase to over $35,000 with the emergence of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which isn’t that far away.

Road to $35,000: Institutional investors or ETFs

Prominent investors including Ari Paul, the co-founder of BlockTower, a cryptocurrency hedge fund founded by former Goldman Sachs executive, have said that the next mid-term rally will likely be triggered by institutional investors potentially before the end of 2018.

Paul said that the last barrier preventing institutional investors from entering the cryptocurrency market is the lack of trusted custodianship and a suite of institutional cryptocurrency products. Upon the completion of Coinbase’s custodian solutions and the approval of digital asset companies to operate as custodians, institutional investors may enter the cryptocurrency market.

Paul said:

“Institutional money started trickling into cryptocurrency in mid 2017, but it’s been slower than many expected. That doesn’t mean it’s not coming. There are a lot of pieces that need to come together, one big piece being third party custody. Custody isn’t binary. It’s not like Coinbase custody will launch and suddenly every pension will throw $100 million into BTC. It takes time for custody solutions to gain trustworthiness. But, I think we’ll have solid third party custody by September of this year.”

The entrance of institutional investors into the cryptocurrency market isn’t the only way major digital assets like bitcoin can increase massively in value. The emergence of publicly tradable instruments like ETFs could also fuel the next rally, and researchers at IronWood believe that ETFs will be the fuel of the next mid-term rally.

Undoubtedly, the market is in amidst of a bad correction, in fact the third worst correction since 2014. The bitcoin price has fallen 65 percent from their all-time highs and retail investors have started to become more pessimistic in the short-term trend of the market.

But, as it did in 2010, 2014, and 2016, the market is seeing an accumulation period, during which companies start to build products and infrastructures that are necessary to fuel the next rally.

Michael Strutton, the CEO at IronWood, explained in a column that if an ETF is approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), anyone with a 401k, IRA, or an investment account with brokers like Fidelity and Ameriprise Financial can easily invest in the bitcoin market. Strutton noted that the result of a bitcoin ETF could be the price of BTC rising to at least $26,000 and below $44,000. He said:

“If ETFs add 24 million US investors and the upward momentum adds 14 million from the rest of the world, then that adds $84 billion and $336 billion, respectively, to the market cap. Over the past six months, Bitcoin’s market cap has swung from $326 to $110 billion. Adding $420 billion to the market cap could put Bitcoin price range from $26,000 to $44,000.”

State of ETFs

The Winklevoss twins, who currently oversee a major cryptocurrency exchange based in the US called Gemini, are working on their own exchange-traded fund (ETF) called Coin. SolidX, who had their ETF turned down by the SEC last year, has partnered with VanEck to increase its chances of being approved by the SEC.

Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, said that a collaboration with VanEck, an ETF manager that oversees 70 ETFs and $45 billion, could pay off and drastically increase the probability of a bitcoin ETF being approved by the US government.

The post Research: ETFs Could Lead Bitcoin Price to $35,000 and It Isn’t Far Away appeared first on NewsBTC.

Bloomberg

Bitcoin Hovers Near $6000 After 2018 Low Hit in a Lousy Quarter Bloomberg Bitcoin has tumbled more than 50 percent this year as regulators spanning the globe step up scrutiny of what some have criticized as a vehicle for fraud. A series of hacks, including a $500 million theft at a Japanese exchange in January and incidents ...

CoinDesk

Another Bitcoin Miner Maker Is Seeking to Go Public in Hong Kong CoinDesk Ebang Communication, one of the largest bitcoin mining chip makers in China, is seeking to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). The company filed an application for an initial public offering with the HKEX on Monday, document shows. and more »

Ebang, one of the largest bitcoin mining chip makers from China, has filed for an initial public offering with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Grammy-nominated singer Akon’s recently revealed plans to build his own Crypto City not only adds to his role as a driver for social change but reflects that Africa is keen to adopt fintech for social betterment.

This is not the first of Akon’s innovative projects which have been designed to drive societal changes. Launched in 2014, Akon Lighting Africa was formed to attempt to address Africa’s energy crisis with an initiative to develop an innovative solar-powered solution to provide African villages with access to a clean and affordable source of electricity.

Due to the Akon Lighting Africa project, a wide range of quality solar solutions, including street lamps, domestic and individual kits, have been installed in 14 African countries, and “…a number of households, villages, community houses, schools and health centers located in rural areas have been connected to electricity for the first time ever”.

The surge in popularity of cryptocurrencies has contributed to the opening of at least 15 new trading venues in South Africa within the past year alone. Peer-to-peer marketplaces also recorded a surge in trading volumes as Bitcoin’s price reached historic highs at the end of last year, writes News BTC. Of cryptocurrency, Akon says it “allows the people to utilize it in ways where they can advance themselves and not allow the government to do those things that are keeping them down”.

The backbone to Akon’s latest monumental plan will be the singer’s own cryptocurrency Akoin, described on its site as “a unique global project that offers an abundance of digital and in-real-life platforms and experiences that create opportunity and inclusion for youth entrepreneurs”. The construction of the city said to be a 100% crypto environment. It is planned to be built on 2,000 acres of land gifted to Akon from the President of Senegal, within five minutes of the country’s new international airport near Dakar.

There are many reasons why Africans are beginning to turn to cryptocurrencies rather than traditional currencies. Many nationals fall foul of inflation and hyperinflation, resulting in weak and unstable financial systems. Recently, countries such as Zimbabwe, South Sudan, and oil-rich Nigeria have all suffered, many of these countries with inflation rates well into the hundreds of percentages. In these situations, it is hardly surprising that populations look to a more stable form of monetary solutions in their daily lives.

 

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The post Lighting Africa and Proposed Crypto City Shows Africa is Pushing Back Frontiers appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

The Thiel Foundation has announced 20 entrepreneurs will be receiving the 2018 Thiel Fellowship, which is a two-year fellowship that pays USD 100,000, four winners of which are blockchain developers. One of the most notable Thiel fellows from the past is Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, which has become the second biggest cryptocurrency in the world with a market cap of USD 45 billion and has transformed blockchain-based decentralized apps via smart contract technology.

The Thiel Fellowship was created by Peter Thiel in 2011, co-founder of PayPal. It is for students under the age of 23 who want to drop out of school and start a business, work on a social movement, or perform scientific research. It is highly competitive, with less than 1% of applicants winning. It certainly speaks volumes about the potential for blockchain technology that 4 out of 20 winners this year are blockchain-centric entrepreneurs.

The four Thiel fellows that are blockchain developers include Aparna Krishnan, CEO of Mechanism Labs, which focuses on critical cryptoeconomic problems. Axel Ericsson is co-founder of Vest, a platform that helps users earn interest on cryptocurrency. Daniel Ternyak is chief technical officer of MyCrypto, which aims to facilitate the transition to a decentralized society. Finally, Robert Habermeier is co-founder of Polkadot, which is building a decentralized internet.

Director of the Thiel Foundation, Allyson Dias, says, “Leaving behind the safety of the classroom and choosing to build a business instead isn’t easy or glamorous. But our Fellows have found what we suspect to be true more broadly: young people learn best by doing things in the real world”.

With USD 100,000 in their war chest, prior experience in blockchain technology and the massive potential for worldwide expansion of blockchain technology, the 2018 Thiel Fellows have everything it takes to start successful blockchain-based businesses.

 

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The post Thiel Fellowship Awarded to 4 Blockchain Developers appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Key Highlights

• ETH price declined further and broke the $440 level before recovering against the US Dollar.
• There is a significant bearish trend line formed with resistance at $460 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair is struggling to break the trend line and resistance at $460-470, which is a bearish sign.

Ethereum price is facing tough challenges against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD remains in a downtrend as long as it is below $470.

Ethereum Price Upside Hurdle

There was a failure to hold the $455 and $450 support levels in ETH price against the US Dollar. The ETH/USD pair extended its declined below the $440 level and traded close to the $420 level. Later, it started an upside move, traded above the $440 level, but it is still way below the 100 hourly simple moving average. During the recent recovery, the price moved above the 50% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $483 high to $420 low.

However, the upside move was protected by the $460 level. Moreover, there is a significant bearish trend line formed with resistance at $460 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The same trend line acted as a resistance on many occasions such as $483 and $470. More importantly, there was no close above the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $483 high to $420 low. The price is clearly struggling to break the trend line and hurdles near $460. On the downside, supports are seen near $440 and $420. Below this last, the price may test the $400 handle.

Looking at the chart, the price must surpass the trend line and then $460 to start a substantial recovery. The next barrier above $460 is near $483, followed by $500.

Hourly MACD – The MACD is about to move back in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI is flirting with the neutral (50) level.

Major Support Level – $420

Major Resistance Level – $460

The post Ethereum Price Analysis: Can ETH/USD Recover Further appeared first on NewsBTC.

As Freeport, Grand Bahama Island continues its quest to become the Silicon Valley of the Caribbean by hosting the 2018 Bahamas Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference its central bank has announced plans to pilot a digital currency.

Bahamian Dollar to go Digital

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest made the announcement during the conference as he spoke about his wishes for Grand Bahama to become a digital hub, saying:  “The production of a modern fully digital payment service is the way forward for this era of governance.”

The Bahaman archipelago, located east of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean, uses two fiat currencies. The Bahamian Dollar and the USD are used simultaneously but since the Bahamian dollar is pegged to the value of the USD at a 1:1 ratio, in reality, the Bahamas does not have its own currency. Creating a digital currency may allow for a truly native dollar to reflect the islands 9 billion USD gross domestic product.

Developing Digital Brings Banking Services To All

Deputy Prime Minister Turnquest hopes the development of a digital currency can solve two major banking problems in the Bahamas. As the Bahamas is comprised of many small islands with low populations many of its people have limited access to banking services. This forces citizens from outlying islands to make arduous boat trips to the main islands, sometimes carrying large amounts of cash, in order to do their banking.

Mr. Turnquest sees the creation of a digital currency as a way to bring a range of banking services to all the peoples of the Bahamas and also a solution to another serious problem in the popular tourist destination, corruption. Turnquist’s plan to bring blockchain technology to the island in order to put an end to corruption in the government was key to his appointment to office one year ago. The Deputy Prime Minister said:

“Using technology and single points of contact we are able to eliminate a lot of the human element that facilitates corruption, and so when we talk about applying for government services, if we have a single portal for entry and all of the processing being done behind the scenes, either through electronic data interchange or through human facilitation we can eliminate that point where we Bahamians call it, you have to tip somebody in order to get service.”

The Bahamas joins a long and growing list of countries considering or actively developing cryptocurrencies including Ecuador, China, Senegal and Singapore. Some commentators on Reddit take umbrage at the use of the term cryptocurrency to describe a central bank controlled digital currency as it removes the core characteristics of coins like Bitcoin that were developed as an alternative to state-backed monies.

The post Bahamas is Launching a State Backed Cryptocurrency, is it Legitimate? appeared first on NewsBTC.

FOMO Moments

A bounce has happened, altcoins recovering quickest include Monero, Ontology, Ethereum Classic and Decred.

As expected some sort of bottom has been reached and a rebound has occurred, whether this has any momentum to reverse the long term bearish trend is anyone’s guess but at the moment it is looking unlikely.

After reaching a 2018 low of $235 billion yesterday markets have recovered a little. Bitcoin hit the yearly bottom of $5,826 a few hours ago before a bounce back of 3% to $6,180 where it currently trades. Ethereum did not match its sub-$370 April low but fell to $426, it has recovered marginally to $455 but is still down 1% on the day. Altcoins are still generally in the red this morning, however there are some showing signs of recovery. These tokens however are the ones that have been hit hardest over the past week.

The best performing altcoin in the top 25 this morning is Monero according to Coinmarketcap. XMR is showing a 12% bounce on the day from a low of $109 during Sunday’s big dip. This is the lowest level Monero has been for almost eight months. It is currently trading at $126 showing the best recovery at the time of writing. Currently Monero has recovered all losses over the past week and is trading at the same level it was this time last Monday. The monthly picture is bleak though with XMR losing almost 30% over the past 30 days from $173 this time last month. Against Bitcoin Monero is 8.8% higher at the moment to just under 2050000 satoshis. This time last week its satoshi level was closer to 1910000 marking a 7.3% climb on BTC.

When crypto markets hit rock bottom, as what appears to be the case yesterday, there will be the inevitable bounce back. Monero is currently benefiting from this as is Ontology which has made just over 10.5% back on the day to trade at $5.10. ONT hit a low of $4.30 yesterday and was one of the hardest hit altcoins along with EOS, Litecoin and Cardano. At the time of writing many of the altcoins are still in the red and these include Stellar Lumens, Iota, Neo, VeChain, Qtum, and Icon. The bounce has been a very weak one indicating more downward movement could be ahead.

Total market capitalization has crept back above $250 billion but is only back to yesterday’s level before it all began to collapse. On the up side markets have clawed back $15 billion from their 2018 low of $235 billion but on the down side they are still very bearish. Trade volume has increased from $11 billion to $16 billion in the past 24 hours.

More on Monero can be found here: https://getmonero.org/

FOMO Moments is a section that takes a daily look at the top 25 altcoins during the Asian trading session and analyses the best performing one, looking for trends and possible fundamentals.

The post Cryptocurrency Market Update: Monero Bounces From Eight Month Low appeared first on NewsBTC.

Cardano Price Key Highlights

• Cardano price continues to trend lower as it moves inside a descending channel on the 4-hour time frame.
• Price is also trading below a short-term descending trend line to reflect a steeper slide.
• If this trend line continues to hold, Cardano price could fall below the larger channel support.

Cardano is trending lower and might be due for a downside break of the nearby support zone.

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. In other words, the selloff is more likely to resume than to reverse.

Also, the gap between the moving averages is widening to signal stronger bearish momentum. The top of the descending channel is right in between the moving averages’ dynamic inflection points so either could also keep gains in check from 0.1600 to 0.1800.

RSI is pulling up from oversold conditions, though, so buyers could be ready to push Cardano back up. Similarly stochastic is pointing up to signal that buyers are regaining the upper hand. Once both oscillators hit overbought levels and turn back down, sellers could return.

The short-term descending trend line connecting the latest highs so far this month is also in line with the mid-channel area of interest to add to its strength as resistance. A break below the channel bottom at 0.1200 could lead to a steeper drop.

Market Factors

There haven’t been much catalysts particular to Cardano these days, leaving the digital asset sensitive to overall industry sentiment. The previous week wasn’t such a a positive one as bounces couldn’t be sustained on news of security incidents.

Still, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson believes that the introduction of crypto to Wall Street could bring tens of trillions of dollars, even after Japan’s financial regulators ordered several cryptocurrency exchanges to improve on their practices against money laundering late last week.

The post Cardano (ADA) Price Watch: Several Upside Barriers appeared first on NewsBTC.

newsBTC

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch: Are Bears Back in the Game? newsBTC However, RSI is heading north so bitcoin price could follow suit. Similarly stochastic is moving up to indicate that buyers are trying to regain control while sellers take a break. Once both oscillators hit overbought levels, though, bears could return ... and more »

Key Points

• Bitcoin cash price declined further and traded towards the $650 level against the US Dollar.
• There is a major bearish trend line in place with resistance at $765 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair is currently trading near a major resistance at $750-770, which is acting as a barrier for buyers.

Bitcoin cash price extended declines below $700 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD is currently correcting higher, but it is facing hurdles near $760.

Bitcoin Cash Price Resistance

There was an increase in selling pressure below $800 on bitcoin cash price against the US Dollar. The BCH/USD pair extended declines below the $750 and $700 levels. It traded towards the $650 level and formed a low at $664. Later, the price started an upside correction and moved above the $700 level. However, the price is still way below the $800 handle and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

The price moved above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $905 high to $664 low. However, there are many hurdles for buyers near the $750-770 zone. More importantly, there is a major bearish trend line in place with resistance at $765 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair. Additionally, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $905 high to $664 low is near the $785 level. Therefore, the price has to surpass the $750, $770 and $785 resistance levels to overcome sellers near $800.

Looking at the chart, the price is struggling to move further higher above $770. As long as the price is below the $800 handle, there is a risk of more losses below $700 in the near term.

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 now well above the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $700

Major Resistance Level – $770

The post Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis: BCH/USD Testing Crucial Resistance appeared first on NewsBTC.