Day: July 18, 2018

FOMO Moments

Crypto land is cooking this morning; top altcoins are Stellar, Cardano, EOS, Zcash, 0x, Icon and Ardor.

Finally it is party time in crypto land, a big bull run has starting and markets are awash with green this morning. Over $20 billion has entered the markets in the past 24 hours pushing total capitalization over $290 billion for the first time in a month.

Bitcoin led the charge with an epic pump of $600 in less than an hour yesterday. That huge green candle combined with a surge in volume by $2 billion has kept BTC above $7,000. It is currently trading at $7,380, up 9.5% on the day and its highest level since June 10. Ethereum also benefited from the rally climbing 5% on the day to $500, its highest level for almost a month.

The altcoins are also racing, many posting double figure gains today. In the top ten Stellar Lumens is surging ahead with a 22.4% climb on the day to $0.285. Over the week XLM has made an impressive 50% from $0.188 this time last Wednesday. Cardano is the second biggest gainer in the top ten with 15.3% on the day to trade at $0.175. The weekly picture sees gains of 35% for ADA from $0.129 this time last week. EOS rounds out the top ten’s double digit altcoins with 11% to $8.82.

Further down the list is Nem with an 11% rise to $0.193 and Zcash charging 14% to $212. 0x has made 12% to trade at $1.25 and Icon is also steaming ahead with a 12.8% jump to $1.66. Four of these top performers in the top twenty coins are those that Coinbase hinted at listing in the future.

Other altcoins with double digit gains at the time of writing include Zilliqa up 11.6%, Bitshares climbing 12.5%, and Steem and Dogecoin jumping 15%. The top performing altcoin of the moment is Ardor which has rocketed 60% to $0.261 on the back of a Binance listing.

#Binance Lists #Ardor ( $ARDR )https://t.co/NT0f7pfwC5 pic.twitter.com/NKweZADh9i

— Binance (@binance) July 18, 2018

Over the past 24 hours total market capitalization has jumped just over 8%. This equates to an increase of around $23 billion on the figure which currently stands at just under $294 billion. Trade volume for all cryptos has increased 33% from $15 to $20 billion per day. This is the highest volume seen for almost six weeks has markets climb back to June 10 levels. A break over $300 billion could continue to the next previous plateau at $340 billion and a Bitcoin price of around $8,000.

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

The post Which Altcoins Are Winning in the $20 Billion Crypto Bull Run appeared first on NewsBTC.

Mastercard files new blockchain-based patent for a payment system aimed at speeding up transactions, protecting consumers

CoinDesk

Bitcoin Mining Firms Make Chinese Unicorns List for First Time CoinDesk Three bitcoin mining companies have joined a list of "unicorns" – private companies valued at over $1 billion – for the first time. The Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute published its Q2 Unicorn Index for the Greater China region on Wednesday ... and more »

In a recent Tweet the founder of Litecoin made a statement about cryptocurrency acquisitions, quickly triggering discussion within the cryptocurrency community.

Buy Bitcoin Before Altcoins?

The cryptocurrency market is surprisingly tribal, with users often getting attached to their favorite cryptocurrency as if it was their hometown sports team. The issues with ‘crypto tribalism’ have become a topic of discussion with many crypto experts, personalities and even onlookers in the industry.

Edward Snowden, one of the U.S government’s most wanted whistleblowers, warned of tribalism in the cryptocurrency community in a talk at the Blockstack conference.

But in a recent tweet on Tuesday morning, Charlie Lee, the well-known founder of Litecoin, threw tribalism out the window, calling for readers of his message to buy at least one Bitcoin before any altcoin. He wrote:

“There isn’t even enough BTC to go around for EVERY millionaire to own one. So before you buy any other coin (LTC included), try to own at least 1 BTC first. Once you have 1 BTC, buy all the s***coins you want!”

There will be at most 21 million bitcoins in existence. There isn't even enough BTC to go around for EVERY millionaire to own one. So before you buy any other coin (LTC included), try to own at least 1 BTC first.

Once you have 1 BTC, buy all the shitcoins you want! pic.twitter.com/bc3xKKGB0m

— Charlie Lee [LTC] (@SatoshiLite) July 17, 2018

While Bitcoin maximalists, or those who believe Bitcoin should be the only cryptocurrency to succeed, were pleased by this statement, others wondered what value this statement has.

Bitcoin has historically been held as the best cryptocurrency investment, and rightfully so, as Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency that gained widespread traction.

In a statement earlier this year, Peter Thiel, the former CEO of Paypal and angel investor in Airbnb, LinkedIn, and Yelp, equated Bitcoin to the “online equivalent of gold,” further stating that he is skeptical of most altcoin projects. He stated:

“I would be long bitcoin, and neutral to skeptical of just about everything else at this point with a few possible exceptions. There will be one online equivalent to gold, and the one you’d bet on would be the biggest.”

It is currently unclear whether Thiel’s or Charlie’s statements and opinions about Bitcoin will prove to be true, but onlookers on the industry often portray Bitcoin as the prime example of a successful cryptocurrency and the most consistent crypto-related investment.

Litecoin’s Founder Jokingly Responds To Critics 

Many cynics have held Charlie as a controversial figure in the cryptocurrency community. As the cryptocurrency market ran up to all-time highs in December, Charlie announced that was going to sell 100 percent of his Litecoin stake.

He cited reasons of a “conflict of interest,” as he didn’t want to artificially move the price of Litecoin with his statements. He elaborated, writing the following in a Reddit post:

“Whenever I tweet about Litecoin price or even just good or bads news, I get accused of doing it for personal benefit. Some people even think I short LTC! So in a sense, it is conflict of interest for me to hold LTC and tweet about it because I have so much influence.”

Despite only having the best intentions, users lambasted the Litecoin founder for ‘not having skin in the game’ when it comes to his own brainchild.

As a direct result of the most recent tweet and prior sale of his holdings, the Litecoin founder started to receive loads of backlash from seemingly outraged users. But, Charlie began to turn the tables, jokingly responding to some poorly-crafted tweets from his critics.

When a user pointed out that Bitcoin is divisible, misreading the aforementioned tweet entirely, Charlie replied by writing:

“What does 1 satoshi have to do with owning 1 BTC. I’m not saying BTC is not divisible nor am I say one should own a satoshi.”

What does 1 satoshi have to do with owning 1 BTC. I'm not saying BTC is not divisible nor am I say one should own a satoshi.

— Charlie Lee [LTC] (@SatoshiLite) July 17, 2018

In another message, when Charlie was questioned by a confused user about why he could call his own coin a s***coin, he responded with the following tweet:

English and logic is hard for you. It's ok.

— Charlie Lee [LTC] (@SatoshiLite) July 17, 2018

It has become apparent with these statements that the Litecoin founder is resolute in his opinion that people should buy one Bitcoin before any altcoins.

 

Image from Shutterstock

The post Charlie Lee’s ‘Own a Bitcoin Before Buying Altcoins’ Comment Sparks Crypto Tribalism appeared first on NewsBTC.

For the first time, three bitcoin mining companies have made it onto a list of Chinese startups worth over $1 billion.

US aerospace multinational giant Boeing has announced it is to form a partnership with an artificial intelligence (AI) company to develop pilotless vehicles using blockchain technology, writes Cointelegraph.

Boeing will join up with Texas-based SparkCognition for the project. It has been reported that Boeing has already invested USD 32 million into the company to create the new platform.

The concept is a blockchain-based aerial mobility programme which will allow for unmanned airborne vehicles. Boeing’s press release describes the partnership as one that “will also provide a standardized programming interface to support package delivery, industrial inspection and other commercial applications”.

The project will ultimately focus on the creation of a tracking system for the unmanned vehicles and the allocation of flight corridors. SparkCognition CEO Amir Husain sees the aerospace industry reaching over USD 3 trillion with such developments suggesting, “…the urban aerial mobility opportunity will lead to the creation of the largest new market in our (lifetimes)”.

The announcement is timely as the aviation world currently has its eyes on the world-renowned Farnborough Air Show in the UK which displays the latest developments in the sector. Boeing has been joined by professional services firm Accenture at the show this week in demonstrating a blockchain prototype tailored to aerospace and defense.

In another joint venture, Accenture and French multinational aerospace and defence systems provider Thales have developed a blockchain supply chain system tracking system for the aerospace industry. John Schmidt, global managing director for Accenture’s Aerospace and Defense practice commented:

“Blockchain technology offers a new, elegant and secure way for the industry to track and trace myriad components while deterring counterfeiting and improving maintenance capabilities.”

As part of the prototype system, the two companies have come up with an ingenious method of tracking in addition to the basic “track and trace” system, whereby a “digital twin” is created post-delivery offering an extra confirmation of delivery and a useful additional source of reference for further supply chain projects under development.

 

Follow BitcoinNews.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bitcoinnewscom

Telegram Alerts from BitcoinNews.com at https://t.me/bconews

Image Courtesy: Pixabay

The post Boeing Breaks New Ground as Aerospace Turns to Blockchain appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Transaction or “trade mining” is the latest form of rewards that some minor exchanges have been furnishing on their customers – a form of rebate where a customer earns (mines) the native token of the exchange purely by placing trades.

Yesterday was a very interesting day for all cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin and altcoins gained a lot of value in quick succession. As is always the case, maintaining this form of momentum will be pretty challenging. For the Ethereum price, maintaining the $500 value level is very challenging, as there is a genuine battle going on between bulls and bears.

Ethereum Price Struggles for Stability

Short-term changes in the cryptocurrency world always pose a new set of problems. Albeit all cryptocurrency markets enjoy a positive spell right now, it seems highly unlikely that trend can be sustained for very long  No strong gain will go unpunished, especially in this particular industry. For Ethereum price speculators, the bearish pressure is already intensifying as of right now.

Over the past 24 hours, there has been a solid 4.74% Ethereum price gain. It is not the biggest change in history, especially because the Bitcoin price has risen by nearly 10% in the same timespan. It is a bit unclear why Ethereum isn’t gaining similar momentum, although there is a rather big decline in the ETH/BTC ratio. Why that is taking place, remains to be determined.

As such, the Ethereum price seemingly can’t find any stability at the $500 level. This struggle has been going on for some time now, as the Ethereum price hit over $500 earlier today. That quickly resulted in a $10 decline, further confirming a lot of market makers are looking to artificially suppress this price, for the time being. If this momentum remains in place, it is very likely the Ethereum price will not surpass $500 for more than a few minutes at a time.

One thing all cryptocurrency markets are benefiting from is how the overall trading volume has increased once again. Nearly $20bn worth of volume has been generated across all markets, which is very interesting. For Ethereum the 24-hour trading volume sits at $2.442bn, which is a more than respectable amount at this stage. It is not sufficient to sustain a major Ethereum price push, though, but that situation may come to change in the coming hours and days.

The bigger problem is how Ether is losing value against Bitcoin. All of the USD gains caused by the Bitcoin price uptrend are virtually negated by the declining ETH/BC ratio. That is a very problematic development, as the 4.74% SD gain is offset by a 4.48% decline in BTC value. Why people are selling Ether in favor of Bitcoin is a mystery, although it remains to be seen what the future holds.

For Ethereum price speculators, the current situation provides many mixed feelings. It appears there is no real upward momentum to speak of thanks to the declining ETH/BC ratio. Even so, the major gains noted by Bitcoin skew up ratios for many different altcoins. That situation will eventually sort itself out once speculators come to their senses once again.

One of the important factors that determine if a blockchain project makes a worthwhile investment is its token economy. When a project is set to hold a token sale, its white paper should specify how it will create a healthy balance between supply and demand of tokens. One that boosts their price.

Blockchain investment expert Nick Evdokimov recently talked about a key factor in how a token economy can actually produce these gains for a project’s investors. He makes it clear that having a business model that is truly token-based is essential to the creation of natural demand. There should be a real need for the project’s tokens embedded in its operations. More so, a successful token-based business model can also determine how much the project can foster this balance between supply and demand.

To asses this, Nick advises investors to look at the project’s policy in regards to reducing the number of tokens in circulation. The reason why this plays a role is that circulation reduction introduces scarcity. The less tokens are available on the market, the more value one token has. Therefore, when natural demand for a token grows, the token’s price will increase even more if supply is reduced.

There are two main tools to reduce the number of tokens in circulation. These are called token burn and token holding. Blockchain projects can employ both to varying degrees to ensure that their investors accrue long-term value on the tokens they hold.

A token burn is simple. It happens when the project buys back a number of its own tokens that are in circulation. Then it destroys them or makes them unspendable. This lowers the total number of tokens that are on the market and makes the remaining tokens more valuable, especially when there is high demand. Token burns can be done as often as necessary.

For example, if a blockchain project offers users a payment service, it could do so by charging a percentage on each transaction in the form of a commission. These earned commissions can then be used for a token burn. By doing so, the project would reduce the supply of tokens and increase how much each remaining token is worth. This does not affect the commission itself since the token will simply be worth more and less tokens will be needed to pay for an equivalent percentage of each transaction.

On the other hand, token holding happens when a project’s own token economy produces a temporary unavailability of tokens. It works when the structure of the service is such that its turnover is held in tokens for extended periods of time. This can be seen in different cases such as token economies that involve staking as well as those that offer escrow services.

A great example of this tool is mentioned by Nick. Blockchain AgTech company Pavo allows farmers to sell futures on their products. These are bought by users of the platform who wish to obtain a farmer’s crops at a discount through early purchase. Since buyers pay in advance, a portion of their payment is given to the farmer while another portion of the payment is destined for escrow until the time of harvest.

These escrows are held in the form of Pavo’s own pavocoins. In this case, while pavocoins are constantly in demand, all of Pavo’s turnover is constantly put on hold for periods of up to four months. This reduces circulation and increases pavocoin’s price. More so, Pavo also destines 100 percent of its revenue to token burns. Every time a farmer’s future is bought, the platform charges a commission that is then used to burn pavocoins, much like in the first example.

Together, the use of these tools to reduce the number of tokens in circulation protect token holders. Any serious project will use them to influence the supply of a token and aid natural demand. Blockchain investors should always evaluate how they fit into each project.

 

Disclaimer: This information is the opinion of the provider and is for informational purposes only.  It is not intended as and does not constitute investment advice or legal or tax advice or an offer to sell any securities to any person or a solicitation of any person of any offer to purchase any securities. This information should not be construed as any endorsement, recommendation or sponsorship of any company or security.  There are inherent risks in relying on, using or retrieving this information.  Seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, to evaluate any opinion, advice, product, service or other information provided.

 

The post Blockchain Expert Explains Tools to Reduce Token Circulation appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Points

• Bitcoin price surged and broke the $6,800 and $7,200 resistance levels against the US Dollar.
• There is a short-term ascending channel forming with support at $7,400 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The BTC/USD pair is currently consolidating gains near $7,500 and it is poised to extend upsides.

Bitcoin price climbed above the $7,500 level against the US Dollar. BTC/USD may correct a few points, but it remains in an uptrend above $7,120.

Bitcoin Price Analysis

Bitcoin price traded further higher and broke a significant resistance near $6,800 against the US Dollar. The BTC/USD pair gained bullish momentum and cleared the $7,000 resistance. It gained more than 8% and traded above the $7,500 level. A high was formed recently at $7,570 before the price started consolidating gains. BTC is currently trading in a range around the $7,500 level with many positive signs.

On the downside, an initial support is near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last leg from the $6,670 low to $7,570 high. More importantly, there is a short-term ascending channel forming with support at $7,400 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. Should there be a downside break below the channel support, the price could trade towards the $7,200 support. Below this, the next support is the 50% Fib retracement level of the last leg from the $6,670 low to $7,570 high at $7,120.

Looking at the chart, the price is placed nicely in an uptrend above $7,200. There are high chances of more gains above the $7,570 level in the near term. The next resistance is close to $7,850, which is also a pivot zone. In the short term, there may well be a few corrective moves, but buyers remain in control as long as the price is above $7,120.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BTC/USD is slowly reducing its bullish slope.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI is currently flat in the overbought zone.

Major Support Level – $7,358

Major Resistance Level – $7,570

The post Bitcoin Price Watch: BTC/USD Poised for More Gains appeared first on NewsBTC.