Day: August 2, 2018

Bithumb, South Korea’s biggest crypto exchange as of May, is officially resuming deposits and withdrawals on August 4, after a month of freezing the platform.

Potential Impact of Restoration of Bithumb’s Operations

In June, Bithumb experienced a $40 million hacking attack which led to the loss of investors’ funds, falling victim to a major security breach for the third time in a 12-month period. The successful hacking attempt on Bithumb by an unidentified group of hackers led the local crypto exchange market and investors to panic, as the breach occurred merely weeks after the fall of another large digital asset trading platform Coinrail.

At the time, possibly to reassure its investors that their funds remain safe, Bithumb guaranteed to pay out every investor whose account was hacked with corporate funds, in an attempt to minimize the impact of the breach on the local cryptocurrency exchange market.

Subsequent to the hacking attack. The Bithumb team controversially disabled all deposits and withdrawals on its platform without a certain time frame. Investors and users of Bithumb suspected the halt of deposits and withdrawals to last from a couple of days upto a week, and patiently waited for the Bithumb team to restore withdrawals.

However, Bithumb failed to resume deposits and withdrawals for over a month since its security breach in early June, driving up the premium on its platform due to a lack of liquidity. The inability of Bithumb to restore operations led the users on its exchange to trade certain tokens such as 0x (ZRX) and Ethos (BQX) with a 500 percent premium, triggering red alerts across the global community.

Because new capital could not flow into the exchange and existing funds could not be allocated to alternative exchanges, Bithumb and its investors were effectively stuck for an entire month, demonstrating absurd behaviours like extreme premiums.

Due to the sheer size of the user base of Bithumb, the recovery of the company’s operations is expected to have a massive impact on the local crypto exchange market, and new capital to flow into Bithumb as well as other exchanges.

Still, the resumption of its operations will not be sufficient to convince its existing investors and potential users in the traditional finance sector to use the digital asset trading platform of Bithumb, and several online communities have already started to protest against Bithumb, encouraging others to utilize UPbit and Gopax, currently the two biggest crypto exchanges in South Korea.

UPbit and Gopax have overtaken Bithumb and evolved into the country’s two largest exchanges with strong confidence from local investors because of the backing from Kakao and Shinhan Bank, the country’s largest internet conglomerate and commercial bank.

Positive Movement

The restoration of Bithumb’s operations is positive, and there exists a possibility that the involvement of local financial authorities from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) delayed the resumption of the exchange’s deposits and withdrawals.

Before the end of 2018, South Korea’s first cryptocurrency and blockchain legislation is expected to be passed by the Congress, which will formally recognize digital asset trading platforms as regulated financial institutions and legitimize the blockchain industry.

With the exponential growth of UPbit, Gopax, Korbit, and other exchanges backed by multi-billion dollar conglomerates in South Korea, and the enthusiastic approach by regional governments to support the cryptocurrency sector, the upcoming few months will likely have a large impact on the mid to long-term growth of the cryptocurrency industry in South Korea.

A group of creditors of the now defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox are already making plans for bitcoin repayments in the civil rehabilitation pr

Square pulled in $37 million in revenue from Bitcoin, but spent $36.6 million to offer it on their Cash App, leading to a tight profit of $420,000.  Although profitable, Square isn’t expecting cryptocurrency to drive major profits anytime soon.

Square initially added Bitcoin trading to the Cash App in January just before the cryptocurrency markets nosedived, driving many investors away from the volatile markets.  The addition of Bitcoin allowed Square customers to easily buy and sell the cryptocurrency, but the layout of their trading system has negatively impacted their profits.  In order to allow customers to instantly trade the digital currency, Square holds a certain amount of it in reserve, which can lose, or gain, value while sitting in reserve.  So far, this has caused the company to lose money.

Square’s Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar, explained the company’s long-term crypto goals to reporters after releasing their second-quarter earnings Wednesday.

Friar explained that the company isn’t expecting major profitability from Bitcoin any time soon, saying, “It’s not a major monetization engine.  The goal is to continue to drive utility in the Cash App.”

Friar acknowledged the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies, saying:

“We have some spread in there to allow for the fact that bitcoin is volatile…We only apply a small margin to the market cost of bitcoin when we sell bitcoin to customers, and we have no control over the cost of bitcoin in the market.”

Friar emphasized to reporters that Square is “not trying to push on the monetization of bitcoin today.”

Square’s Bitcoin Success Not Limited to Profits

Although Square is pulling tight profit margins on its crypto ventures, the company profited off of Bitcoin in other ways. Following their decision to begin adding trading services to their platform, Square saw tremendous stock performance coinciding with their additions to the Cash App.  Many stock analysts were concerned the Square’s stock price would begin following the price movements of Bitcoin, but the stock has thrived even as the cryptocurrency’s price declined.

With a 52-week range of $24-73 and its current price of $71, Square’s success has clearly not stemmed from their profitability, but rather the adoption and use of their Cash App. Their goal with adding support for Bitcoin was to drive users to the app as well as to increase the utility of the app, and both goals have been successfully achieved.

As NewsBTC recently reported, Coinbase app downloads have plummeted since the cryptocurrency markets dropped, but the same cannot be said for Square’s cash app.  Since January, the user base of the Cash App has expanded, and many investors see it as a better way to acquire Bitcoin than services like Coinbase, as Square allows for feeless trading while Coinbase can charge fees upwards of 4%.

Square, which is run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, was the ninth financial firm to receive a BitLicense from New York state, which is required for any company who wants to sell, buy, or maintain custody of cryptocurrencies for users in New York. Receipt of this license means that the company was found to be fully compliant with anti-fraud, anti-money laundering, and cyber security policies.

At the time of writing, Square’s Cash App is number one in the finance section on Apple’s App Store, ahead of competing apps like Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle.

Featured image from Shutterstock

The post Square Recorded a Tiny Profit on Bitcoin, But it Has the Potential to Improve Massively appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Highlights

• ETH price declined sharply and spiked below the $400 support area against the US Dollar.
• There is a major declining channel in place with resistance at $410 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair is placed in a downtrend below $410 and $420 and it could decline further in the near term.

Ethereum price is sliding aggressively against the US Dollar and bitcoin. ETH/USD is under pressure and it could decline further below $395.

Ethereum Price Slide

There was a tiny correction above the $420 level in ETH price against the US Dollar. However, the ETH/USD pair failed to move above the $422 and $424 levels and declined once again. It moved down and broke yesterday’s low near the $410 level. Sellers gained control and pushed the price below the $400 level. A new low was formed at $398.31 and the price is currently consolidating.

On the upside, an initial resistance is near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last downside move from the $424 high to $398 low. Above the $404 level, the next hurdle is near the $408 level. Moreover, there is a major declining channel in place with resistance at $410 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The channel resistance is near the 50% Fib retracement level of the last downside move from the $424 high to $398 low. Therefore, there are clearly many hurdles on the upside near the $408-410 zone. Above this, the price is likely to correct above the $415 and $420 levels.

Looking at the chart, the price is under a lot of bearish pressure below $410. If it fails to stay above $398-400, it could slide further. The next supports are at $395 and $384, followed by the all-important $375.

Hourly MACD – The MACD is gaining traction in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI – The RSI is currently well below the 40 level and is signaling more losses.

Major Support Level – $398

Major Resistance Level – $410

The post Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH/USD Under Pressure Near $400 appeared first on NewsBTC.

LTC continues to quietly work as a fast and cheap medium of exchange. However, volatility suggests LTC is far from being a stable store of value or unit of account. Continued LTC adoption announcements for both trading and utility will likely have a lagging bullish effect throughout the remainder of the year.

The controversial political activist and independent journalist Tommy Robinson was sent £20,000 ($26K USD) worth of bitcoin, according to local reports, by supporters to help cover legal costs. Mr. Robinson was arrested two months ago for allegedly violating a contempt of court order. He was sent to a local jail, and recently the court found fault with him being detained and decided to release him. Supporters, and even some philosophical foes, believe Mr. Robinson was targeted by the government for his views. Once again, cryptocurrency’s main use case appears to be an end-run around officialdom, supporting marginalized people.

Also read: Coinbase Flexes Muscle, Creates Political Action Committee

Tommy Robinson Was Sent $26,000 in Bitcoin

English political activist and independent journalist, Tommy Robinson, received $26,000 worth of bitcoin (3.44 BTC), according to the online tabloid, Daily Star. “A high-profile campaign calling for Tommy Robinson to be freed from jail has received support on a global scale in the form of celebrities, politicians and Bitcoin donations worth thousands of pounds,” they reported this week upon Mr. Robinson’s release from jail.

Mr. Robinson was being held, according to government authorities, for violating a previous contempt of court order related to his work as an activist and journalist. Apparently, two months ago in the course of documenting a story of similar import (usually involving Muslims in England accused of violent sex crimes), Mr. Robinson violated previous terms and was arrested on site and jailed.

This week, another court found fault with his arrest and detainment, and released Mr. Robinson. “An international campaign demanding his release,” Daily Star continued, “called ‘Free Tommy Robinson’, quickly gained momentum among his fans and right-wing political figures since he was jailed on May 25. Robinson since has been sent almost £20,000 worth of Bitcoin – a cryptocurrency with no central bank used for online transactions. A payment of £5,500 was transferred to his Bitcoin wallet on the day he was jailed.”

The Currency of Dissent is Decentralized

Regardless of Mr. Robinson’s politics, some have argued, the United Kingdom’s crackdown on press freedoms and speech has become worrisome. Still others believe Tommy Robinson is backed by deep pockets internationally, and is being played up as a martyr. He “has received a groundswell of support since he was jailed. He received most of the payments in the week after he was imprisoned as fury over the perceived injustice of his conviction drew attention from across the world,” the Daily Star noted.

Cryptocurrency’s entrance into such a fight is illustrative once again of its utility. Bitcoin, though not anonymous and actually quite traceable (if certain parameters are known), can be harder to track at first glance. There are also no middle payment services to cut off wired funds in the traditional sense. Those who would rather not broadcast their support because they fear the wrath of government can help any given cause with just a few clicks. The receiver can then either hold onto the digital assets, spend them, or some combination.

When payment gatekeepers such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Paypal all blocked Wikileaks, a group out of favor with most governments around the world, for example,  bitcoin and other cryptos were employed. And, as the value of digital currencies donated to Wikileaks increased in value, it was actually a much more financially viable alternative. The same happened recently during the Spanish Catalonia uprisings, where banks pulled out and retreated to support the federal government and monarchy. Using crypto allowed dissidents to continue their work. No word on what Mr. Robinson’s plans are post release.

What do you think about Tommy Robinson receiving BTC donations? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Images via Pixabay.

Be sure to check out the podcast, Blockchain 2025; latest episode here. 

The post $26K Worth of Bitcoin Sent to Controversial Activist Tommy Robinson appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Bitcoin Cash Price Key Highlights

• Bitcoin Cash celebrated its anniversary but bulls seemed to be nowhere in sight.
• Price broke below a short-term trend line and triangle consolidation to set off a new wave lower.
• Price could be aiming for the next floor at the longer-term horizontal support from here.

Bitcoin Cash price barely drew support during its first anniversary as it sets its sights on a lower support zone.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is still above the longer-term 200 SMA for Bitcoin Cash to signal that the path of least resistance is to the upside. However, price has tumbled below both moving averages to reflect a pickup in selling pressure. The 50 SMA is also making a bearish crossover.

Price looks ready for further declines until the very bottom around $660 but RSI has made it to the oversold region to reflect exhaustion among sellers. Similarly stochastic is in oversold territory to signal that sellers are taking a break to let buyers take over.

If support holds, another move back to the range top around $880 to $900 may be in order. Resistance might also be located at the middle of the range around $760. However, sustained selling pressure could spur a break below the nearby floor and spur a steeper slide.

BCHUSD Chart from TradingView

Cryptocurrencies have all had a rough ride in the past week on the HitBTC outage and negative commentary from Nobel Prize-winning economist Krugman. For some analysts, this merely marks a correction from the strong gains posted in the earlier weeks.

However, some say that the gains were too good to last and that Bitcoin Cash and its peers are doomed to fall back to June lows or even lower. Either way it would take a really strong positive catalyst or a set of good developments to revive gains for digital assets in the coming days.

The post Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Price Watch: Aiming for Next Major Support appeared first on NewsBTC.