Day: July 16, 2018

On Monday, NewsBTC reported that a prominent investment management firm has recently assembled a team to investigate the industry and may offer crypto services in the future. However, the situation has developed further, with BlackRock’s CEO stating that its client base does not currently hold an interest in investing in cryptocurrencies.

BlackRock CEO Clarifies Rumors About Crypto Involvement

On July 16th, the Financial News London reported that investment management giant BlackRock is making its first foray into the crypto industry, with the news source citing insiders. According to the article, the management firm with over $6.2 Trillion U.S. in assets under its control, could soon get involved in the trading of Bitcoin futures.

The aforementioned crypto team is reported to be comprised of a variety of individuals from BlackRock’s expansive employee pool, as it currently the employer of over 13,000 individuals.

The release of the FN London article saw the cryptocurrency market react in kind, with the collective value of all cryptos quickly rising by a couple of percentage points. At the time, a representative from BlackRock did not submit a comment to the news source, neither confirming or denying the existence of the so-called crypto team.

In a surprising turn of events, Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, has stated that its clients have not indicated a “huge demand for cryptocurrencies,” despite rumors floating around the cryptosphere. These statements come via an interview conveyed with Reuters in the fallout of the FN London article.  Fink noted that BlackRock has actually created a group to study cryptocurrencies, possibly indicating future involvement.

At a later point on Monday morning, Fink later doubled down on his statement in another interview, this time with Bloomberg. Speaking with the news source, The CEO noted that they have been interested in blockchain technologies, but no so much with cryptocurrencies.

When asked if BlackRock’s clients want crypto exposure, Fink seemingly rather flabbergasted by the question, stated:

“No. I don’t think that any client has sought out crypto exposure… I’ve not heard from one client who says, ‘I need to be in this.”

This statement means that not even the smallest fractions of the funds under BlackRock’s control are invested in the cryptocurrency space, making the crypto team announcement not as exciting as it was prior to the interview.

Many were not surprised to see Fink’s response to the query as he has historically been skeptical of cryptocurrencies. In November, Fink called Bitcoin a solely “speculative” investment, that is only supported by the pseudonymous nature of cryptocurrencies.

Institutions And Retail Investors Have A Hand On The ‘Trigger’

Although Fink has not seen any cryptocurrency curiosity with his vast array of clients, it is likely that these investors have their hands on the trigger. Many believe that if the recently submitted Bitcoin ETF proposal gets the go-ahead from the SEC within the next month or two, the market could see an influx of investment and interest from all corners of the globe.

This surge of investment may allow Bitcoin to reach and even surpass the all-time highs that were established in December, with the cryptocurrency market capitalization reaching ~$850 billion.

As BitMEX’s CEO stated:

“I think something that can go up to 20k in one year can have a correction down to about 6k. I think it definitely found a bottom … but we are one positive regulatory decision away, maybe an ETF approved by the SEC, to climbing through 20k to even 50k by the end of the year.”

Market Continues To Move Upwards Despite BlackRock Clarification

Despite Fink putting a newfound lid on the Blackrock situation, the market continued to move upwards, leading some to believe that the firm’s involvement may not be tied to current cryptocurrency price action. As of the time of press, Bitcoin is up 5% in the past 24 hours, finding stability around the $6700 price range, with altcoins also posting similar gains.

Cryptocurrencies have since plateaued, as Bitcoin met resistance at the heavily contested $6800 zone, which Bitcoin hit over three times in the past five weeks.

It is currently unclear how cryptocurrencies will react moving into the next day, but many are awaiting the next bull-run that has become the primary topic of discussion in many cryptocurrency circles.\

Featured Image from Shutterstock

The post BlackRock CEO Clarifies Rumors About Crypto Involvement appeared first on NewsBTC.

According to an in-depth analysis report, should the United Kingdom further pursue a bullish approach to blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, it has “significant potential to become a global blockchain hub by 2025”.

World-class qualities ready for the New Digital Era

The 960-page analysis report was produced in a collaborative effort between DAG Global, Deep Knowledge Analytics and the Big Innovation Centre. The paper concludes that the United Kingdom is in a rather unique position to become a significant force during the rise of the Digital Economy 2.0.

The report finds that the UK has an “unprecedented potential to become a global leader” in the blockchain field thanks to its status as a global financial hub, a leader in world-class business practice, commerce and law, and furthermore, as a nation that has strong governmental and industrial support for blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

With these qualities and others mentioned in the report, all that is required is a proper assembly with an efficient and synergistic approach. For example, if the UK government can provide enough resource and support to blockchain-based startups, as well as fully commit to blockchain as being the future of financial transactions, data storage and other use-cases, it could utilize its disruptive capabilities so much so that it would secure its world-leading position but also prevent “stagnation”.

That is also well underway; between from 2017 to 2018, over GBP 500 million worth of investment was poured into UK blockchain companies and this figure is expected to rise.

Fourth Industrial Revolution

One volume of the gigantic paper focuses on the “Practical applications and use cases” of blockchain technology, giving a nod to technologies touted as hallmarks of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” such, as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Use cases and applications also include the tracking of welfare spending, the UK Energy sector, charity and healthcare, going so far as to suggest that blockchain can find itself imperative in solving the NHS crisis.

In the paper, it is considered that key next-generation IT technologies such as AI are to converge with blockchain technology. Fascinatingly, it also anticipates blockchain technology itself being disrupted by next-generation IT solutions and become a staple within any industrial or governmental application.

Digital Economy 2.0

It is considered by the paper that 2018 is the “inflection point”, the beginning of blockchain’s catalyzing transition from the present digital economy to what is known as an “Augmented Economy” – the Digital Economy 2.0.

At this point, the blockchain, AI and other aforementioned next-generation technology solutions will penetrate the majority of social activities and norms with finance, law, regulation, commerce and even governance included. The “true peak” of this transition to an “Augmented Crypto Economy”, according to the paper, could occur around 2022-2025.

Sean Kiernan, chief executive of DAG Global said, “The gap between the two worlds of traditional finance and crypto economy remains, but in the coming years we can expect this to lessen and eventually disappear.”

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Key Highlights

• Ripple price is surging higher and it recently broke the $0.4500 resistance against the US dollar.
• There is a key connecting bullish trend line formed with support at $0.4750 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair is placed nicely above the $0.4700 support area for more upsides in the near term.

Ripple price gained bullish momentum against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. XRP/USD broke the $0.4500 resistance and it could continue to move higher towards $0.5000.

Ripple Price Upward Move

Yesterday, we discussed about a crucial resistance near $0.4500 in Ripple price against the US Dollar. The XRP/USD pair surged higher recently and managed to break the mentioned $0.4500 barrier. After the break, there was a sharp upward move and the price traded above the $0.4600 and $0.4700 levels. The upside move was strong as the price even broke the $0.4800 resistance.

A high was formed at $0.4833 before the price started consolidating gains. On the downside, an initial support is near the $0.4800 level. There is also a key connecting bullish trend line formed with support at $0.4750 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair. Below the trend line, the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last leg from the $0.4432 low to $0.4833 high might act as a support near $0.4739. Below this, the price could extend the decline towards the $0.4650 support. An intermediate support is near $0.4680 and the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last leg from the $0.4432 low to $0.4833 high.

Looking at the chart, the price is placed nicely in an uptrend above $0.4700. Going forward, it could break the $0.4833 high and make an attempt to surge towards the $0.5000 resistance.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is placed with positive signs in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is currently well above the 70 level.

Major Support Level – $0.4700

Major Resistance Level – $0.4850

The post Ripple Price Analysis: XRP/USD Primed for More Gains appeared first on NewsBTC.

A blockchain-focused solar power startup based in Colorado has received a grant of nearly $1 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.

If a government, corporation, or individual bought up almost all the Bitcoins in the world, what would happen? In theory, based on the law of supply and demand, the act of buying up almost all available Bitcoin would result in several things.

First, it would drastically decrease supply, while demand from investors, traders, and users would at least stay constant and probably increase significantly from speculation caused by the price spike that occurs when someone is single-handedly buying up all the Bitcoins. When there is less supply but the same or increased demand, then price rises.

What it would take

Such an operation would require extreme secrecy and a globally-coordinated effort. One way to do this would be to open accounts on every single cryptocurrency exchange in the world, which would require bank accounts in almost every country, as well as opening accounts on all peer-to-peer trading sites like Localbitcoins. Additionally, accounts should be made with over the counter (OTC) trading desks like Circle. Beyond this, an effort should be made to contact and make deals with all the biggest known holders of Bitcoin and anyone else with Bitcoin. This is such a large task overall that an entire company with many cryptocurrency experts would probably have to be formed to pull this off successfully.

Bitcoin purchases would also have to be made across all the exchanges in the world simultaneously for all Bitcoins that are at a reasonable price within a range of average price. The price of Bitcoin would rise drastically during the initial purchasing, followed by a continued rally as speculators across the world try to make profits from the rapidly rising market.

Buying up Bitcoin could also be done over time; probably easier but more costly and time-consuming.

As of this writing on 16 July 2018, there are BTC 17.15 million in circulation, with another BTC 3.85 million that will be mined over the coming years. It is estimated that perhaps a few million Bitcoins have been lost, which would mean supply is significantly less than the total number in circulation, but this cannot be confirmed since a lost Bitcoin looks no different than a normal Bitcoin on the blockchain. The market price is near USD 6,670 which yields a market cap of USD 114.5 billion.

Based on the market cap, theoretically, someone with around USD 100 billion could buy almost all the Bitcoins if purchased at the current exchange rate. Obviously, this isn’t how it works in reality. Bitcoin would cost progressively more as they were being purchased and it would be practically impossible to purchase all the circulating Bitcoins. Even with the best effort, millions of Bitcoins would probably still be held by other people.

Who could pull it off?

The richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, has USD 150 billion. He could single-handedly buy up almost all of the Bitcoin available for purchase if he wanted to, but only if he could get them all at the same price they were today. It gets even easier for a corporation to achieve this: Apple has USD 375 billion of assets, more than three times the Bitcoin market cap and there are many other corporations with such wealth.

A nation’s government could easily do the same. The United States had a budget of USD 3.98 trillion in 2017, only a small fraction of that would be needed to buy up almost all the Bitcoin available. This is made even easier by the fact that the United States sells bonds that are considered the gold standard of the bond market, so the United States could issue USD 200 billion of bonds that would be bought up instantaneously for this operation, effectively not having to pay a dollar of its own money.

It cannot be accurately estimated how much profit would be generated from buying up almost all the Bitcoin in the world, since it depends on how much would be left in the hands of others. One rough way of estimating is to assume that there would still be USD 100 billion invested in Bitcoin from all other people in the world, based on the current market cap. If BTC 1 million were left, this would translate to a price of USD 100,000 per Bitcoin. If only 100,000 Bitcoins were left, then Bitcoin’s price would be USD 1 million.

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Key Highlights

• ETH price climbed above a few important resistance such as $450 and $460 against the US Dollar.
• There is a new connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $464 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair is following an ascending channel, but it could correct lower towards the $470 level.

Ethereum price is back in an uptrend against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD may perhaps correct a few points, but it is likely to accelerate further higher.

Ethereum Price Bullish Moves

Yesterday, there was a close above the $455 resistance in ETH price against the US Dollar. The ETH/USD pair gained nicely and later corrected a few points towards the $445 level. There was a test of the 38.2% Fib retracement level of the last leg from the $430 low to $456 high. Buyers appeared and pushed the price above the last swing high. More importantly, there was a break above a few important resistance such as $450 and $460.

A high was formed at $480.50 and the price is currently following a nice uptrend. It seems like there is a short-term ascending channel forming with support at $475 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. Below the channel support, the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $443 low to $480 high is near $471. Moreover, there is a new connecting bullish trend line forming with support at $464 on the same chart. Therefore, there are many supports forming on the downside starting with $475 and up to $460.

Looking at the chart, the price could correct a few points, but downsides are likely to be limited by the $464 level. On the upside, a break above the $480 high may perhaps open the doors for a push towards $500-510.

Hourly MACD – The MACD is slightly placed in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI is correcting lower from the overbought levels.

Major Support Level – $464

Major Resistance Level – $480

The post Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH/USD Buyers in Control appeared first on NewsBTC.

Tron Price Key Highlights

• Tron price recently broke to the upside of its falling wedge pattern to signal a pickup in bullish momentum.
• Price is starting to trade inside a smaller rising channel and is currently testing the top.
• There are more hints of bullish pressure but Tron price might need a pullback to gather more energy.

Tron made a bullish breakout from its falling wedge and is establishing a short-term uptrend channel.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is still below the longer-term 200 SMA for now but the gap between the moving averages has narrowed significantly enough to hint at a looming bullish crossover. This could bring more buyers to the game and sustain the climb, especially since Tron price is already moving above these dynamic inflection points.

However, RSI is already in the overbought region and slowly moving south so Tron price could follow suit. Similarly stochastic looks ready to head back down to signal a return in selling pressure.

In that case, Tron price could still make a pullback to the new channel bottom around 0.035 and the moving averages before resuming its climb. A larger correction could lead to a retest of the broken wedge resistance before more buyers join in.

TRXUSD Chart from TradingView

Cryptocurrencies got a collective boost from reports that BlackRock is seeking to invest in the space. CEO Larry Fink confirmed in an interview with Reuters that they formed a team to look into investments in the industry but clarified that they’re not seeing strong investor demand just yet.

Still, institutional interest appears enough to have lifted bulls’ spirits after three well-known economists blasted cryptocurrencies last week. This could sustain the positive sentiment to start the quarter and hopefully lift Tron price and the rest of its peers for a rebound.

The post Tron (TRX) Price Watch: Bullish Momentum Kicking Back In appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Points

• Bitcoin cash price gained traction and moved above the $760 and $780 resistances against the US Dollar.
• There is a short-term bullish trend line forming with support near $788 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair is in a major uptrend and it is likely to accelerate higher above $800 in the near term.

Bitcoin cash price jumped sharply towards $800 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD is gaining bullish momentum, which could lead it towards $850.

Bitcoin Cash Price Trend

There was a sharp upside move in bitcoin cash price from the $715 swing low against the US Dollar. The BCH/USD pair corrected a few points yesterday and tested the $710-715 support zone. Moreover, the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last leg from the $660 swing low to $730 high was tested. The price completed a downside correction near $715 and started a solid upward move.

It jumped above the $750, $760 and $780 resistance levels to register solid gains. There was even a break above the $800 level and the price formed a high at $809. At the moment, the price is consolidating gains near $800. An initial support sits near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $715 low to $809 high. Furthermore, there is a short-term bullish trend line forming with support near $788 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD. Therefore, if the price corrects lower, it is likely to find support near the $780-790 zone.

Looking at the chart, the price is back in a major uptrend above $760. It seems like buyers may gain traction for more upsides above the recent high at $809. The next hurdle for buyers is around the $850 level.

Looking at the technical indicators:

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

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is currently in the overbought zone.

Major Support Level – $780

Major Resistance Level – $810

The post Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis: BCH/USD Surging Higher appeared first on NewsBTC.

What began as a parody quickly became a coin. Soon it might – might – become its own blockchain. What is happening?

Financial service mobile app Robinhood has added support for Dogecoin on its crypto trading platform, following its recent extension to Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash

ContentBox has launched on Huobi Global at 8 PM PST, according to the Huobi website. The platform is an open-source blockchain infrastructure for creatives, a token-based ecosystem comprised of a shared user and content pool along with a unified payment solution. As a decentralized content ecosystem, ContentBox gives users and companies alike the ability to integrate into it, opening up content channels, monetization, and multi-platform mobilization. Boasting 20 million users, ContentBox is poised to scale its BOX Passport, BOX Payout, and BOX Unpack adoption exponentially.

Huobi is already accepting BOX deposits on its platform. ContentBox will begin accepting deposits as well. At 11:00pm EST Monday July 16, Huobi will begin accepting BOX/BTC and BOX/ETH trades. Users are advised to inspect the contract address below:

https://etherscan.io/token/0x63f584fa56e60e4d0fe8802b27c7e6e3b33e007f

ContentBox has released 3 billion BOX, circulating 750 million BOX. Ether equivalency is 1:19,000 at the token generation event.

Read ContentBox’s whitepaper, visit their website, or view their hash activity for more information.

This year, China recorded an almost sixfold surge in the number of companies registered with “blockchain” in their names

A recent study shows that South Africans are generally positive about cryptocurrencies, with 38 percent of respondents wishing they had invested in it