Day: July 13, 2018

A team from China’s Tsinghua University is patenting a way to store and share digital versions of culturally important objects using a blockchain.

South America

Welcome to our weekly roundup of all important blockchain and cryptocurrency news from around the world. Follow the latest developments in the cryptocurrency space continent by continent, country by country.

Brazil

Ronaldinho launches own crypto: Brazilian football icon Ronaldinho is joining the cryptocurrency bandwagon by launching his own cryptocurrency project, according to latest reports from Brazil.

Rather than just promising a cryptocurrency, Ronaldinho is aiming to launch a football ecosystem including football academies, holding professional and amateur matches around the world, building and operating a sports betting platform and marketplace and developing VR stadiums around the world.

The project is definitely an ambitious initiative by the smiling Brazilian who was the star of the World Cup in 2002. The coin he is launching is being touted as Ronaldinho Soccer Coin (RSC). The project will reportedly be based on the Ethereum blockchain and will be executed via a partnership with World Soccer Coin, a Malta-based blockchain startup. Ronaldinho has also Tweeted about the particular project.

Chile

Crypto mining consumes more electricity than Chile amid UN Calls for reducing carbon footprint: According to latest reports from Digiconomist, the total energy being used by cryptocurrency mining has now surpassed the total consumption of the whole of Chile. The total amount of power being used in the last 12 months has been around 13.66 TWh to 71.62 TWh.

The amount of energy used by cryptocurrencies has seen a steady increase in recent years despite mining companies announcing more efficient mining equipment. The UN has already called for reducing the carbon footprint of cryptocurrency mining around the world but historically, mining companies have only operated in areas with cheap electricity.

Argentina

Universities offering blockchain courses: Argentinian universities, along with those in Spain and Venezuela, are now offering courses in cryptocurrencies and blockchain.

While cryptocurrency training and courses are nothing new in other parts of the world especially Asia, Argentina is seeing a rapid advance towards cryptocurrency adoption. The new courses in Spanish offer training in Bitcoin, Ethereum and blockchain programming.

Venezuela

Crypto helping people survive in Venezuela: The Venezuelan public suffering from crushing debt is now using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to aid survival.

Hyperinflation is rampant in this part of the world despite the country having one of the largest reserves of oil in the world. The trading volume in the country also keeps hitting record highs despite a government ban on trading. All of this means cryptocurrencies are still going strong in the country and are helping the people avoid hyperinflation and put food on the table.

The Bitcoin Magazine did a series of reports on how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are helping people survive. The example included anonymous accounts from people who used cryptocurrency trading and holding to cancel out the effects of hyperinflation in the country.

One Alias Hector said:

“We were almost running out of food some days ago; it was common for that to happen every six or seven days after getting paid. With the 3 Nano (around USD 8) we were able to buy food for the whole week and that’s only something to be very happy about, something that doesn’t happen very often.”

Petro to help fund 2 million homeless people: The Venezuelan government has said it plans to initiate a fund for the homeless population using the state cryptocurrency called Petro.

The country’s minister for housing Ildemaro Villarroel has said that the project will be initiated in the second quarter and will be financed by the state cryptocurrency and more than 33 companies have already started logistics, financial and technical testing.

Villarroel said:

“Together with the governors, we are reviewing the plans that we will begin in the second quarter, in this second quarter GMVV will have an injection of financial resources, which this year will be protected and established with [the] Petro.”

The Petro cryptocurrency was launched amid great fanfare by the current president Nicholas Maduro but has since then struggled to become a widely accepted cryptocurrency despite efforts by the government.

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The post South America: Crypto and Blockchain News Roundup, 5th to 12th July 2018 appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Although it is still early in the day, there may be some positive cryptocurrency momentum to enjoy this Friday. Most of the top currencies have inched into the green once again, for the time being. Although no real big gains have materialized yet, it is evident the Bitcoin Cash price has succeeded in surpassing $700 again.

Bitcoin Cash Price Recovers Losses

As is usually the case when the weekend is almost upon cryptocurrency traders, the market sentiment tends to change. After a rather native first half of the week, it appears the situation is gradually improving for Bitcoin and most of the altcoins on the market. In the case of the Bitcoin Cash price, the past 24 hours have resulted in surpassing the value of $700 once again.

Although a 2.75% increase over the past 24 hours is nothing to be extremely excited about, it is a positive development after a rather abysmal week. The Bitcoin Cash price has suffered from a continuing decline, similarly to all other cryptocurrencies on the market today. Even so, the current market momentum seems to favor BCH, which may help keep the Bitcoin Cash price above $700 for the remainder of today.

This latest uptrend is also the result of an ongoing increase in the BCH/BTC ratio. A small 1.85% chance in this ratio compounds the net USD gains caused by Bitcoin itself. A lot of small things are coming together for the Bitcoin Cash price right now, although it seems unlikely this momentum can be maintained if the Bitcoin price drops in value again.

With the overall cryptocurrency trading volume still relatively low, it is interesting to see how the demand for BCH remains virtually unchanged. The altcoin generated $343.756m worth of trading volume over the past 24 hours, which is a lot more than some people would have expected at this stage. Even so, there is sufficient liquidity across all markets to keep the cryptocurrency momentum going for quite some time to come.

As has been the case on multiple previous occasions, OKEx is leading the charge in terms of BCH trading volume. Its USDT and BTC pairs are both in the top three, separated by EXX’s BTC pair. Huobi adds another USDT market in fourth position, and HitBTC’s BTC market completes the top five. Although there is no fiat currency pair in the entire tops even for BCH, that hasn’t hindered the Bitcoin Cash price uptrend so far.

Whenever there is some positive cryptocurrency market momentum, it remains to be seen how long it will remain in place. As has become evident throughout 2018, a positive BitcoiNC ash price trend can quickly turn into another big dip. All currencies are reliant on Bitcoin’s momentum, perhaps even more than otherwise. So far, things look promising, but the day has only just begun.

Key Points

• Bitcoin price declined below the $6,100 level before recovering substantially against the US Dollar.
• There is a major bearish trend line in place with resistance at $6,360 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair must break the trend line resistance and $6,350 to move further higher in the near term.

Bitcoin price is struggling to hold gains against the US Dollar. BTC/USD may perhaps continue to face hurdles near $6,360 and $6,420.

Bitcoin Price Analysis

Bitcoin price failed to stay above the $6,280 low against the US Dollar. The BTC/USD pair declined further and broke the $6,120 support level. It traded as low as $6,076 before starting an upside correction. There was a decent comeback since the price moved above the $6,220 level. It also broke the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $6,400 high to $6,076 low.

However, the upside move was capped by the $6,360 resistance. More importantly, there is a major bearish trend line in place with resistance at $6,360 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair also failed to settle above the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $6,400 high to $6,076 low. It is currently trading near the $6,250 level and is consolidating above $6,200. It seems like the price may perhaps make another attempt to break the $6,360 resistance. If it succeeds, there could be more gains above the $6,420 resistance in the near term.

Looking at the chart, bitcoin price is facing a tough task to break the $6,350-60 resistance zone. If it fails to move above this, there are high chances of a fresh downside move back towards the $6,100 level in the near term.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BTC/USD is slowly moving in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI is placed nicely above the 50 level with a positive angle.

Major Support Level – $6,100

Major Resistance Level – $6,360

The post Bitcoin Price Watch: BTC/USD Upsides Remain Capped appeared first on NewsBTC.

A Huobi Executive has described Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s comments on decentralized exchanges as ‘visceral.’ He also claimed that crypto exchanges have failed following recent hacks, including the Bancor protocol for $23 million, in an interview with NewsBTC.

Huobi Exec: “a Visceral Statement”

General Counsel and CCO of Huobi UK, Josh Goodbody, said that although Huobi is working on a decentralized solution, it goes too far to say that there should be no more centralized exchanges. This follows comments by Vitalik Buterin who told an audience at a TechCrunch session that he hopes ‘centralized exchanges go burn in hell.’

Goodbody told NewsBTC: “That’s quite a visceral statement. There’s a case for both centralized and decentralized exchanges and they have their own pros and cons. To say that everything should be decentralized is quite a broad statement. We’re always on the edge of our seats to see what he says next and his soundbites are always quite good.”

He added that Huobi is aiming to become fully decentralized on a propriety protocol. It has started a competition to find a global leader to build it with the community. He said this is the first time a crypto exchange has opened up its ‘nuts and bolts’ to the public and that it will be ‘almost Huobi version three.’

Institutional Investors Unlikely to Use ‘Failed’ Exchanges

The UK CCO said that the number one priority for exchanges is security. After recent major hacks of both centralized exchanges, including Bithumb, and arguably ‘partially‘ decentralized exchange Bancor, he said this issue is a ‘very sensitive topic.’ He also pointed out that Huobi hasn’t had a security breach in five years of operation.

Goodbody told NewsBTC: “Have exchanges failed? Yes, they have. They haven’t put enough investment into creating a robust security infrastructure and that is unfortunately to the detriment of the community. Inevitably, exchanges will have to improve their systems and their infrastructure to meet the systems and security requirements for institutional traders.”

Goodbody said that the crypto industry cannot mature if investors do not have confidence in the infrastructure they are using. On the other hand, he said that recent news implying a Bitcoin ETF is on the way is a ‘natural progression in the cryptocurrency industry.’

He said: “Bringing in asset classes and financial vehicles into the crypto space will give investors the exposure they’re comfortable with. Not everyone wants to hold private keys. As long as it’s launched by a reputable market participant, we think it’s a positive development for the industry.”

He also commented on Binance setting up their SAFU fund after reports claimed that it had been hacked for $45 million even though these were unfounded. Goodbody said that Huobi has been putting a percentage of their trading revenue aside into a fund since its inception.

The UK CCO said: “Huobi’s been doing that for five years. We have a Huobi default fund which is funded by a percentage of our trading revenue. We’ve done that since inception of our Huobi products because we believe in safeguarding the community and our customer base. Anyone following suit from that is probably onto something good.”

Featured Image From Shutterstock

The post Huobi Executive on Vitalik Buterin’s Crypto Exchanges Can “Burn in Hell” Comment appeared first on NewsBTC.

CEO of Robinhood Markets, Vlad Tenev, explains why he thinks fee-based cryptocurrency trading will soon become a relic of the past.

Key Highlights

• ADA price declined towards the $0.1220 level before starting an upside correction against the US Dollar (tethered).
• There is a crucial bearish trend line formed with resistance at $0.1340 on the hourly chart of the ADA/USD pair (data feed via Bittrex).
• The pair is recovering and it seems like it is approaching towards the $0.1320 and $0.1340 resistances.

Cardano price is slowly recovering against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ADA/USD must break the $0.1340 resistance to recover further in the near term.

Cardano Price Analysis

After a break below the $0.1340 support, cardano price declined further against the US Dollar. The ADA/USD pair broke the $0.1250 support and traded close to the $0.1220 level. A low was formed at $0.1220 before the price started an upside correction. It gained momentum and moved above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $0.1449 high to $0.1220 low.

However, there are many barriers waiting on the upside near $0.1340 to prevent gains. An initial resistance is near the $0.1320 level. Above this, the most important resistance is near $0.1340 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is also a crucial bearish trend line formed with resistance at $0.1340 on the hourly chart of the ADA/USD pair. More importantly, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last drop from the $0.1449 high to $0.1220 low is positioned near the $0.1335 to stop the current upside move. Therefore, it seems like a break above the $0.1340 level won’t be easy.

The chart indicates that the price may continue to move higher towards $0.1340. However, a break above $0.1340 depends on how bitcoin and Ethereum trade in the near term. On the downside, supports are seen near the $0.1240 and $0.1220 levels.

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ADA/USD is now placed nicely in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI for ADA/USD is currently moving higher and is placed well above the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $0.1240

Major Resistance Level – $0.1340

The post Cardano Price Analysis: ADA/USD Approaching Resistance appeared first on NewsBTC.