Day: July 21, 2018

Key Points

• Bitcoin price gained momentum and settled above $7,200 against the US Dollar.
• There is a major bullish trend line forming with support at $7,000 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair is likely to make the next move either above $7,600 or below $7,240 in the near term.

Bitcoin price is placed nicely in an uptrend above $7,000 against the US Dollar. BTC/USD is eyeing the next break either above $7,600 or below $7,240.

Bitcoin Price Range Pattern

This past week, there was a major upside move above the $6,800 resistance in bitcoin price against the US Dollar. The BTC/USD pair jumped above the $7,000 and $7,200 resistance levels to gain traction. It even spiked above the $7,500 resistance and traded as high as $7,672. Later, the price started trading in a range below the $7,650 resistance area and is currently preparing for the next move.

The price recently tested the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $6,079 low to $7,672 high. However, declines were limited and the price remained well supported above the $7,250 level. It seems like there is a key range forming with resistance near $7,600 and support at $7,240. Should there be a break below the $7,240 support, the price could decline towards the next support at $7,000. Moreover, there is a major bullish trend line forming with support at $7,000 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair. Around the trend line, the 50% Fib retracement level of the last wave from the $6,079 low to $7,672 high is also a strong support.

Looking at the chart, the price is most likely to break the $7,600 resistance for more gains towards $8,000 and $8,500. In the second case, dips remain well supported near the $7,240 and $7,000 levels.

Looking at the technical indicators:

4-hours MACD – The MACD for BTC/USD is reducing its bearish slope with bullish signs.

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

Major Support Level – $7,000

Major Resistance Level – $7,600

The post Bitcoin Price Weekly Analysis: BTC/USD’s Next Target $8,500 appeared first on NewsBTC.

A UK police department has sold 295 BTC which they say were legally seized from a drug dealer. The court ordered him to forfeit his crypto stored in a hardware wallet. The police reportedly get to keep 18.8% of the sale proceeds.

Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space

British Police Seized BTC from Drug Dealer

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the principal public prosecuting agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales, unveiled this week the details of a case involving 295 BTC. The CPS wrote:

A drug dealer and money launderer who was using cryptocurrency to conceal his funds has had over £1.2 million [~US$1.6 million] worth of bitcoins seized, restrained and then converted into British pounds in the first case of its kind.

Sergejs Teresko, a 31-year-old Latvian, was arrested on suspicion of money laundering and drug offenses in April last year. A “cannabis factory,” a number of fake identification cards, luxury goods such as jewelry and Rolex watches, gold bars, expensive cars and large sums of cash were found at his home in Surrey, a county in southeast England.

He pleaded guilty on October 6 “to one count of being knowingly concerned in the production of a controlled drug, one count of possessing criminal property, one count of possession of articles for use in frauds and six counts possession of an identity document with improper intention,” the CPS detailed.

Teresko “was later convicted of money laundering and drug offenses at Kingston Crown Court where he was sentenced to nine years, three months in prison,” the agency noted:

In total, Teresko was found to have made £2,058,613 [~$2,703,578] from his crimes with an available amount of £1,447,935 [~$1,901,574] to pay back. He was given three months to pay the order or would have to spend a further 10 years in prison.

Kingston Crown Court ruled on Thursday that Teresko must forfeit the £1,447,935 “of his ill-gotten gains, including bitcoin,” the Financial Times reported.

Keepkey Wallet Found

According to Surrey Live, a Keepkey hardware wallet was found at Teresko’s home. Surrey Police then secured a warrant to access the device. DI Rob Bryant of South East Regional Organised Crime Unit was quoted by the news outlet:

We didn’t think we were going to actually find anything in these wallets. We thought we would open them and there’d be nothing there.

The cops, however, found two wallets on the device. The first did not contain anything but the second had 295 BTC. When they found out the coins’ worth, “the colour started to drain from a number of faces,” the publication quoted Bryant saying.

The Independent elaborated:

Surrey Police has now become the first UK force to successfully seize bitcoin, convert it into sterling and be granted permission by a court to keep the cash for government and police coffers.

Police Can Keep 18.8%

Using “powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act,” Surrey Police seized Teresko’s coins, the CPS revealed.

Citing BTC’s “extreme volatility and the risk of it being moved on or stolen,” the cops applied to the court to seize the coins and convert them into sterling, Surrey Live described. They convinced the judge that “bitcoin was a real thing that could be seized,” the news outlet wrote.

The CPS explained that it “applied to have the restrained bitcoins converted into pounds. The 295 bitcoins were then sold by Surrey Police through an approved bitcoin exchange.”

According to the Financial Times, the police “set up its own bitcoin wallet and then used an offshore exchange to transfer and convert” the seized BTC. The proceeds were then “transferred to a police bank account,” the publication added:

Surrey Police gets to keep 18.8 percent of the proceeds of Teresko’s crimes — about £273,000 — which the force can use to top up its operating budget.

What do you think of this case? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock and Surrey Police.

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.

The post UK Police Top up Budget With Proceeds From Sale of Seized BTC appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Key Highlights

• ETH price struggled to hold gains above $510 and declined sharply against the US Dollar.
• Recently, there was a break above a bearish trend line with resistance at $457 on the 4-hours chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair has to close above $477 and the 100 simple moving average to move back in a bullish zone.

Ethereum price is moving with bearish signs versus the US Dollar and Bitcoin. ETH/USD must clear the $470 and $477 resistances to climb higher.

Ethereum Price Resistances

This past week, there was a solid upside move above the $500 level in ETH price against the US Dollar. The ETH/USD pair traded above the $510 level, but it failed to hold gains. As a result, there was a bearish reaction and the price declined below the $500 and $485 support levels. The price even declined below the $460 support and the 100 simple moving average (4-hours).

It traded close to the $435 level and a low was formed near $439. Later, the price started an upside move and broke the $450.00 resistance. There was also a break above the 23.6% fib retracement level of the last drop from the $517 swing high to $439 low. Moreover, there was a break above a bearish trend line with resistance at $457 on the 4-hours chart of ETH/USD. However, the price struggled to move above the $465 level and the 100 SMA. Above the 100 SMA, the next resistance is near $477 and the 50% fib retracement level of the last drop from the $517 swing high to $439 low.

The above chart indicates that the price needs to gain momentum above $475 and $477 levels to move back in a bullish zone. If it fails to break the $477 resistance, it could decline sharply back towards the $435 and $422 support levels.

4-hours MACD – The MACD is mostly flat in the bearish zone.

4-hours RSI – The RSI is currently neutral around the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $435

Major Resistance Level – $477

The post Ethereum Price Weekly Analysis: ETH/USD Could Revisit $422 appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Points

• Bitcoin cash price corrected lower and tested the $740 support area against the US Dollar.
• There is a major bullish trend line in place with support at $750 on the 4-hours chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair must break the $800 and $820 resistance levels to gain bullish momentum in the near term.

Bitcoin cash price is placed in a bullish zone above $740 against the US Dollar. BCH/USD must settle above $820 to accelerate gains towards $880 and $900.

Bitcoin Cash Price Support

This past week, there was a decent upside move above the $850 level in bitcoin cash price against the US Dollar. The BCH/USD pair traded towards the $900 level and a high was formed near $890. Later, the price corrected sharply lower and traded below the $850 support. There was even a break below the $800 level. However, losses were protected by an important support at $740 and the 100 simple moving average (4-hours).

More importantly, a major bullish trend line prevented slides with current support at $750 on the 4-hours chart of the BCH/USD pair. The pair recovered and moved above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $890 high to $739 low. However, the upside move faced sellers near a key connecting bearish trend line with current resistance near $800. Above this, the next resistance is near $820 and the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $890 high to $739 low. A proper close above the $820 resistance could push the price back in a bullish zone towards $900.

Looking at the chart, the price remains in an uptrend as long as it is above the $740 support. Below this, it could move back towards $700.

Looking at the technical indicators:

4-hours MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is about to move into the bullish zone.

4-hours RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is near the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $740

Major Resistance Level – $820

The post Bitcoin Cash Price Weekly Analysis: BCH/USD Bullish Above $820 appeared first on NewsBTC.

A crypto teller machine exchanging a number of cryptocurrencies with fiat, including bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH), will be operational next week in a Sofia mall. The BATM is a two-way device that will accept euro, dollar and Bulgarian lev deposits. It will also buy cryptos and print paper wallets.  

Also read: Eastern Europe: Regulation Postponed, Tax Abandoned, Banks Enlightened

Two-Way Bitcoin ATM in Sofia

The new BATM will be available to residents and visitors of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, from Monday. The teller machine supports two-way transactions for several cryptocurrencies including bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ethereum (ETH), litecoin (LTC), and monero (XMR). The cryptos can be bought with EUR, USD, and BGN, the local fiat currency. The device is installed in The Mall, one of the popular shopping centers in Sofia located on the way from the airport to the city’s center.

The crypto ATM is operated by a local exchange, DG Cash, which shared the news of the launch on social media. “The exchange rates of the cryptocurrencies applied at the ATM are almost identical to the ‘We Buy’ and ‘We Sell’ rates on our website, and the commission we collect is approximately 3% of the market price as it is included in the exchange rate,” the trading platform detailed in a Facebook post.

According to the announcement, the limit for a single transaction is set at 10,000 BGN (~€5,100 EUR, $6,000 USD). Users can buy any of the supported cryptos by depositing euros, dollars, or Bulgarian levs. When selling, however, they’ll receive only BGN. The interface of the device supports Bulgarian, English and Spanish among other languages. In case someone wants to purchase digital coins but does not have an electronic wallet, the device can generate a paper wallet.

The BATM at The Mall is not the only one in the Bulgarian capital. The first crypto teller machine in Sofia was installed in 2014, in the Interpred office building. It is a buy only device selling bitcoin (BTC) at 4% over the average price at Bitpay, Kraken, and Bitstamp, and it has a daily limit of 5,000 BGN. Another two-way ATM was installed in the downtown Coffee Bar The White, in 2015.

Bulgaria’s Crypto Woes

Bulgarian crypto exchanges have been through some turbulent times recently due to a bank clampdown that culminated in December last year. The teams operating the local trading platforms have been trying to adapt to a situation in which many banks refuse to open accounts to companies dealing in cryptocurrency. DG Cash, the operator of the new BATM, maintains only crypto-cash trading services. Both on its website and its Facebook page, the exchange claims it has two offices – in Sofia, and in Sliema, Malta, where it also plans to install a crypto ATM.

In the past several months, all major Bulgarian exchanges have experienced difficulties and interruptions in their operations. Crypto.bg was affected by Fibank’s decision to quit providing services to crypto traders. The popular exchange was closed down for weeks and since it reopened it’s been mostly working with payment processors like Epay and Cashterminal. Another leading platform that managed to maintain operations throughout the crisis, Xchange.bg, has been forced to change its bank accounts several times. Other platforms have reported similar issues.

The clampdown happened in the absence of comprehensive regulations for the country’s growing crypto sector. However, the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission recently decided to start monitoring the fintech industry and the situation may change soon. A newly adopted strategy proposes the introduction of requirements for licensing and registration of companies operating in the sector.

Do you think Bitcoin ATMs help to increase the popularity and accessibility of cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Pundi X.

Now live, Satoshi Pulse. A comprehensive, real-time listing of the cryptocurrency market. View prices, charts, transaction volumes, and more for the top 500 cryptocurrencies trading today.

The post New BATM Supporting BTC, BCH Launches in Sofia appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Planned share purchase brings potential to extend Yahoo! Japan’s crypto footprint 

So, the father of crypto has dropped a bit. At press time, bitcoin is down by roughly $100 and is now at $7,400. This is not a big deal, however, and granted bitcoin can stay above the $7,000 line, enthusiasts and traders likely have nothing to worry about.

Indeed, the currency has come a long way over the past few weeks. Early this month, the coin dropped to the $5,800 mark, causing widespread panic and fear amongst most enthusiasts, and several found themselves wondering about the future of the coin. Could it regain its position on the financial ladder, or would it sink into oblivion?

The currency ultimately proved itself capable of surpassing all blockades and working its way back up, jumping nearly $2,000 in price over the course of just a few weeks. Bitcoin rose back up to $6,300, followed by $6,800, and then $7,200. $7,400 and $7,500 came only a few days later.

Bitcoin has obviously shown itself to be resourceful and strong in the past. It has overcome larger obstacles and has moved beyond what anyone could have potentially imagined, as it did last December when it struck $20,000. However, we cannot forget that bitcoin remains a vulnerable entity. Volatility runs rampant through this arena, and many coins run the risk of dropping without warning.

Ethereum, for example, has risen to $501 in recent days, but was trading for $453 as early as yesterday afternoon. It’s unfortunate, as many continue to praise Ethereum as the truest form of digital currency, placing it above even bitcoin in terms of its technicality.

Bitcoin remains the number one cryptocurrency primarily because of its market cap and widespread adoption in comparison to other coins, but several analysts claim its blockchain leaves a lot to be desired, and its high fees and slow transaction speeds can get in the way of the currency’s nature.

However, we cannot overlook bitcoin completely in the process. While there may be other coins that have mastered certain areas, bitcoin is still sturdy. According one Forbes contributor, bitcoin is still heavily undervalued at its current price. We are directed to examine the currency’s supply and demand factors, which would likely place it at around $8,605 at the minimum. This means that bitcoin, while technically on the rise, still has a way to go, and is over $1,000 below its “normal” position.

Naturally, this is based off one person’s findings, and enthusiasts are advised to take any new predictions with a grain of salt, but we can see that bitcoin still has plenty of room to grow, and granted we have the patience, the currency can deliver everything it was designed to bring.

Bitcoin Charts by TradingView

Banks have shown a keen interest in Bitcoin technology over the years. Various patents have been filed by these financial institutions to explore new potential business use cases. JPMorgan was recently awarded a patent which could allow the bank to issue blockchain-based virtual depository receipts.

JPMorgan Chase and Blockchain

With so many banks exploring opportunities in the world of blockchain, a lot of new use cases and products could be unlocked in the near future. Whether or not any of those potential use cases will be commercialized is a different matter altogether. There is still a lot of hype associated with blockchain technology and very little to show for most efforts as of right now.

The new patent awarded to JPMorgan Chase, however, may change all of that. That’s because it allows the bank to begin issuing blockchain-based virtual depository receipts. Although it appears this will primarily pertain to banking services, there is a very real chance that this will have cryptocurrency-oriented implications as well.

Similar to some other major banks, JPMorgan Chase has made its intentions clear regarding cryptocurrency. Although its CEO may not be a big fan of this particular form of money, the bank is mulling launching a cryptocurrency trading desk. No official timeline has been announced yet, as it will mainly depend on how the regulatory situation evolves.

Some experts are eager to point out that the JPMorgan patent is very similar to the concept of issuing ICO tokens. While it is true that a blockchain-based virtual depository recipient sounds a bit like an ICO issuance, there could be some rather big differences between the two. Being able to create security tokens could still be of great value to the bank and its partners. Right now, there is no indication that the company would even pursue any such option.

For JPMorgan, it seems this approach is primarily intended to facilitate Initial Public Offerings. That is not exactly the same as an Initial Coin Offering, but it is evident that this technology will make its way to the financial sector at some point. The primary use cases will be linked to traditional finance, with debt equity being one option the bank is looking to explore.

As is always the case when patents like these are issued, there is nothing to be overly concerned or excited about just yet. Until JPMorgan puts this technology to use commercially, one can only speculate as to what this means for the bank exactly. It is evident that banks want to explore Bitcoin’s technology but not necessarily bear the risk of being associated with Bitcoin itself.

The chances of Amazon ever accepting cryptocurrency payments directly are slim to none. It is evident the world’s leading e-commerce giant wants nothing to do with Bitcoin or any of the altcoins, regardless of how popular they may become. BitRefill has come up with an intermediary solution in this regard through its new Amazon voucher and gift card services.

Another Step Forward for BitRefill

It is evident a lot of companies can benefit from making cryptocurrency more useful and accessible. One of the biggest problems associated with this industry is that there is seemingly no convenient way to spend Bitcoin or altcoins without jumping through various hoops. It is an unfortunate state of affairs, but there is very little one can do about it at this stage.

This is one of the reasons why gift card services have become so popular over the years. Consumers enjoy spending Bitcoin and altcoins on gift cards which they can then redeem for products and services. Gyft has become one of the bigger players in this area, mainly because of its vast selection of supported gift cards.

It now seems BitRefill is looking to get in on the action. The company has introduced a new way for users to spend Bitcoin in exchange for Amazon gift cards and vouchers. This feature is limited to U.S. gift certificates at this stage, and it is unclear whether an international expansion is a future possibility.

It is also worth noting that BitRefill’s new service does not just support Bitcoin. The company has enabled support for Litecoin, Ethereum, Dash, and Dogecoin as well. Some people may wonder why Bitcoin Cash is not on that list, although it is clear that this feature is still in the very early stages. A lot more functionality is expected to be added in the very near future.

The available gift cards are somewhat limited in value. BitRefill users can purchase cards loaded with up to $100 each, which is more than sufficient for most everyday purchases these days. This is not the only service BitRefill offers at this stage, although it is by far the company’s biggest addition to date. Making Amazon more accessible to cryptocurrency users is always a smart business move.

It is evident that this is still a case of cryptocurrency users needing to jump through hoops to get their hands on ways to spend Bitcoin and select altcoins in a convenient manner. BitRefill offers a very interesting solution in this regard, especially with the addition of Amazon gift cards. It is a positive development for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole, although it remains to be seen whether there will be any real interest in this option.