Day: August 5, 2018

At press time, the father of cryptocurrency is trading for $7,001. This is nearly $100 higher than where it stood yesterday afternoon, and it’s a positive sign now that the currency is back above the $7,000 mark.

Some remain bullish about the currency and believe it will steady itself in the long run. Steven Russo – executive vice president of Kripti – states:

“Bitcoin is unquestionably still in its infancy and requires additional time for it to mature. It is going to happen, and there is still money to be made for those that have the heart, stomach and patience. It is not unreasonable to think that returns could be 3x to 5x over the next five years.”

In addition, a new study by Forbes uses the Wheatley and Haye’s economic models to ultimately predict where bitcoin will stand in the next year-and-a-half. The year 2020 to be exact, which we’re not that far away from. The Haye’s model is a little more optimistic and predicts that bitcoin could strike the $55,000 mark in 2020, bringing it higher than ever.

However, the Wheatley model makes the opposite prediction, stating that bitcoin could fall to as low as $2,500 within the next two years.

Analyst Greg Giordano explains:

“Wheatley’s model is known to value bitcoin at a much lower number. The paper is known to state bitcoin’s total market cap at around $20 billion when the actual number is over $130 billion. Therefore, Wheatley’s estimation is one that points to bitcoin’s intrinsic as much lower than all other estimates I have seen. MIT did a comprehensive review on Wheatley’s. However, I believe there is still value to be found in Wheatley’s estimation.”

Bitcoin has also hit a low point with European institutions. It has been reported that Swiss ban UBS feels bitcoin is not ready to become a global payment system, and that the currency would need to hit the $213,000 mark before it could replace the entire U.S. money supply.

Representatives are quoted as saying:

“Our findings suggest that bitcoin, in its current form, is too unstable and limited to become a viable means of payment for global transactions or a mainstream asset class.”

NYSE trader Alan Valdes agrees, explaining:

“How do you protect your bitcoin? These wallets seem very iffy at best. If someone hacks into them, it’s like losing cash. You are out, so I think bitcoin [has]a long way to go for the average person to get involved. Maybe in some emerging markets, you’ll see it take hold. It might work, but I think for trade, we had it at $20,000. Will it get there again? Anything is possible, but I’m not so sure.”

Bitcoin Charts by TradingView

Indian cryptocurrency exchanges face a lot of problems due to the current INR trading ban. ZebPay has come up with a solution in this regard, although it remains unclear how the ban will affect the company as a whole. Offering TrueUSD trading is a very interesting turn of events that may revitalize crypto trading in the country.

TrueUSD Lands on ZebPay

It is good to see Indian exchanges not give up and still try to make a positive impact. Despite the country’s central bank banning all trading of rupees against both Bitcoin and altcoins, it has become more than apparent that cryptocurrency is not losing popularity. Instead, the demand for Bitcoin and altcoins is still rising.

While that is a positive sign, the ban has caused all exchanges to make some relatively unpopular decisions. More specifically, most platforms have removed all INR trading, and only crypto-to-crypto trades are allowed at this point. This is very unfortunate, as it makes it more difficult for newcomers to access Bitcoin and altcoins.

Other options for consumers include peer-to-peer trading, which is not subject to the Indian Reserve Bank’s ban on INR trading. Since no one acts as a custodian over user funds, there is nothing to prevent users from completing transactions in person. It is a popular alternative, especially when considering that it doesn’t involve middlemen.

Another option is presenting itself to users who want exposure to cryptocurrencies. ZebPay, one of the country’s leading cryptocurrency trading platforms, is working on integrating TrueUSD. It is the first time a major stablecoin has made its way to an Indian exchange on this level. The ZebPay wallet will support TrueUSD deposits and withdrawals, which will give users another way to obtain Bitcoin and altcoins without relying on the rupee directly.

Although the choice of TrueUSD may raise a lot of questions among users, it also makes a lot of sense for the company. The company could also have chosen Tether’s USDT, even though Tether’s stablecoin remains subject to controversy among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. It seems TrueUSD is simply the better option overall, although opinions remain divided on this front.

If other Indian cryptocurrency exchanges integrate stablecoin support as well, the domestic trading ecosystem as a whole will be revitalized. For the time being, the INR trading ban remains in effect, although India’s Supreme Court has yet to render its final decision on this matter. Regardless of the outcome, it seems the cryptocurrency ecosystem will not deteriorate in any significant manner.

Not all hope is lost for the cryptocurrency markets on this rather odd Sunday. Most currencies suddenly note small to medium-sized gains, despite the overall cryptocurrency market cap remaining nearly identical. The NANO price, for example, is fighting for control of the $1.6 level.

NANO Price Offers Some Excitement

Not much has happened throughout most of today where cryptocurrency markets are concerned. With Bitcoin entering sideways trading mode, altcoins usually tend to do the exact same. One exception comes in the form of the NANO price, which effectively notes a relatively strong gain in the past 24 hours. Sustaining any real momentum will always prove difficult given the current market conditions.

Over the past 24 hours, the NANO price has seen a rather surprising 6.65% value increase. This is much to the delight of cryptocurrency speculators, as most other markets remain annoyingly flat. This NANO price gain has also pushed the altcoin’s value back to $1.6. It is a small sign of recovery after a very rough period for NANO.

There is also a nice shift in the NANO/BTC ratio to take note of. Thanks to a 6.65% gain in favor of the altcoin the current positive USD trend can be maintained, for the time being. Depending on how Bitcoin’s value evolves in the coming hours, that ratio may begin to deteriorate rather quickly.

One thing to be rather concerned about is how NANO generates virtually no real trading volume. Less than $4m in trades over a 24-hour period does not instill any confidence for a long-term bull run. Cryptocurrencies work in mysterious ways, but it is clear this NANO price trend may not remain in place for too long.

Binance is the main platform for trading this altcoin. It’s BTC, ETH, and BNB pairs are all in the top five, representing a combined 88.5% of all NANO trades. Bitinka and Mercatox offer two additional BTC pairs for users to enjoy. There is no fiat currency support this current NANO price trend, as the first exchange on the list is Koinex in 21st position.

Whether or not the NANO price can recover some of its former glory later this year, is still very difficult to predict. The altcoin has seen a very rough period over the past few months, and it seems this uptick may not alleviate a lot of pressure either. Even so, it provides some excitement which other markets fail to generate.

A lot of people have very high expectations for blockchain technology. That is only natural, as distributed ledgers can offer a very different take on traditional aspects of people’s daily lives. One also has to acknowledge that not all projects or ideas require a blockchain, even though that message has not gotten through to most people.

The Appeal of Blockchain

Decentralization can be achieved in many ways. Bitcoin has paved the way by introducing the world to public blockchain technology, which has no central point of failure and is not controlled by just one entity. All of the information recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain is immutable, which means it cannot be changed after it has been officially recorded.

Since all of this information is also visible in real time for everyone to see, a new level of transparency is achieved. That remains one of the biggest selling points of blockchain, as transparency is necessary for any industry or business. It is something only public blockchains tend to offer at this stage, although private chains could also offer a degree of transparency in the future.

Should Your Project Use Blockchain?

That is perhaps the biggest question more teams need to ask themselves out loud. Ever since ICOs became very popular, it has become evident a lot of these ideas do not need a blockchain and might not even use one when everything is said and done. This is also part of the reason why 90% of ICOs and blockchain projects will fail. In general, teams haven’t thought their ideas through in a professional manner.

One of the main reasons why so many projects claim to use a blockchain is that they want to issue their own native token. This is another big problem that needs to be addressed, as those tokens are usually the only aspect of such projects that has anything to do with blockchain. Other aspects of most core business ideas can be addressed without a ledger. As such, one has to wonder whether or not a new project needs a blockchain for reasons other than to jump on the hype train.

Avoiding the Blockchain Bubble

With thousands of projects focusing on blockchain technology – with various degrees of success – it is evident there will be a reckoning of sorts. ICOs are incredibly popular for two reasons: they claim to use blockchain in innovative ways, and speculators expect token prices to rise significantly. Both of these outcomes may never be achieved, and doing research prior to investing is more than warranted, especially in 2018 and beyond.

Germany’s second-largest stock exchange, Boerse Stuttgart has taken the step to host Crypto Trading and Coin Offerings.

This follows an earlier announcement that’s its new app, Bison, would be released by Fintech company Sowa Labs, a subsidiary of Boerse Stuggart Digital Ventures, later this year. Boerse Stuggart is Germany’s second-largest stock exchange after Boerse Frankfurt.

The aim now is to extend crypto activities to primary and secondary markets and create a platform from which tokens can be issued. The previously announced Bison trading app will be released in both German and English which will support multiple pairs including BTC, ETH, LTC, and XRP. The app is claimed to be the first that has the support of a major traditional stock exchange.

The intention for Boerse Stuttgart is to keep everything under one roof where hosted ICO coins can be traded alongside leading cryptocurrencies such as BTC and ETH. Chief Executive Officer of Boerse Stuttgart, Alexander Höptner, explained:

“At the trading venue tokens issued via our ICO platform can be traded on the secondary market. This is an important success factor for ICOs. At the same time, we are responding to demand from both retail and institutional investors for a regulated and reliable environment for trading cryptocurrencies.”

Höptner said that this will give the exchange the opportunity to offer “central services along the value chain for digital assets, all under one roof.”

Boerse Stuttgart’s Subsidiary Sowa Labs conducted a survey of 1,019 German crypto traders earlier this year asking for their opinion on virtual currencies. Of the respondents, 81% were male, 19% were female, and 54% were 35 years old or younger. Of these, 16.9% owned a single cryptocurrency, whilst 18.2% confessed to owning several. More than 80% of respondents opened their first trading account from 2017 onward.

Dr. Ulli Spankowski, Sowa Lab’s managing director, commented that in Germany up until now the fast trading of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether had been “anything but easy.”

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Crypto mining firm, UK-based Argo Mining — first cryptocurrency company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is now active.

Argo, which provides “accessible” crypto mining via a subscription service has raised £25 million (about $32.5 million) through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the LSE, exceeding its fundraising target by £5 million (about $6.5 million).

Company documents have stated that the newcomer began its life on the LSE with roughly 156 million shares priced at 16p, bringing Argo’s evaluation to £47 million pounds (about $61.2 million). Its website offers three packages covering three levels of mining power provisions, which has all been sold out. The company supports BTG, ETH, ZEC, and ETC.

London-headquartered firm Argo works on a subscription-based model, with its cryptocurrency mining operations based in Quebec, Canada, active since last year. This has become a popular location for mining farms due to optimal climate and energy cost conditions. Argo has plans to expand operations to Iceland and China, both of which benefit from cheap electricity costs and a cold climate.

Executive Chairman Jonathan Bixby stated that:

“Argo’s admission to the London main market is a major step in the company’s development and will put us in a strong position to execute our long-term growth strategy” adding, “We are delighted with the strong response from investors which will enable us to grow our business in multiple jurisdictions.”

Bixby suggests that he would like to see the company become the “the Amazon Web Services of crypto.” Argo had released its crypto mining subscription service in June after gaining the necessary approval to list on the stock exchange in May.

The Chairman referred to the fact that industrial-scale elites have 90% of the crypto mining sector covered due to its technical requirements, adding “It is incredibly expensive to buy, up front, the hardware you need at $5,000 a machine.”

Bitcoin News reported yesterday that Canaan Creative applied for an IPO earlier this year in Hong Kong with the hope of raining in a significant starter fund. At present, Canaan needs to keep one eye on its competitor Bitmain which at present has a huge 70% of the global Bitcoin mining device market.

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When it comes to cryptocurrency trading, there are dozens if not hundreds of exchanges to choose from. It all depends on what one is looking for exactly when trading cryptocurrencies, and whether or not fiat currency support is desired. When it comes to USD trading and Bitcoin, there are plenty of exchanges to choose from as of right now. These exchanges are not ranked in a specific order. 

#6 Bitfinex

Despite having somewhat of a troubled reputation, Bitfinex is still one of the biggest exchanges in the world today. It is one of the global leaders for Bitcoin trading, but the company also supports USD trading for most of the major alternative cryptocurrencies one can think of. The company also survived a major hack, which is a further testament to its position in the industry.

#5 Coinbase Pro/Coinbase

The recently rebranded Coinbase Pro – formerly known as GDAX – is mainly targeted at individual investors. It is also a great service for wealthier people who want to get their feet wet with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Since the rebrand, Coinbase Pro has not made the biggest of impacts, but it is still too early to draw any real conclusions in this regard. Normal users can always trade on Coinbase, which remains one of the key USD gateways to the cryptocurrency industry.

#4 Bitstamp

One of the older cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, Bitstamp used to be one of the bigger competitors prior to Bitfinex and company taking over. Bitstamp is still a very reliable exchange, mainly because it supports USD trading for a handful of the top cryptocurrencies.

#3 Kraken

Although often overlooked a bit among cryptocurrency traders, Kraken is still a pretty solid exchange. Ever since its major trading engine overhaul, the service has improved significantly. It hasn’t had much of an impact on the liquidity of the company’s USD markets, which span Bitcoin and a few select altcoins. Even so, it’s still a viable option for novice traders.

#2 Gemini

Institutional investors are a key demographic for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Gemini is one of the platforms catering to these users specifically. It is a pretty well-known exchange, even though its overall trading volume often tells a different story. Its daily auctions of Bitcoin and Ethereum have not gone by unnoticed.

#1 BitMex

By far the exchange associated with most of the USD trading volume for Bitcoin these days is BitMex. Although CoinMarketCap seems to exclude its volume quite regularly, one cannot deny that this company has made a very meaningful impact. Do keep in mind that this only applies to Bitcoin derivatives trading, as that is BitMex’s main bread and butter. It is a good alternative for users who do not want to own any Bitcoin directly.

Nobel Prize winning economist thinks that the crypto markets could easily “collapse,” Kim Kardashian gets in Bitcoin with some light gambling–check out this week’s Hodler’s Digest

When it comes to cryptocurrency trading, a lot of users prefer an automated approach. Although there are a few trading platforms which offer built-in algorithmic trading, trading bots are also very popular. It is interesting to see how the landscape has evolved in this regard. The following bots are ranked based on their customization options.

#5 Gekko

Although Gekko has been around for a while – and it was mentioned in our last year’s Bitcoin trading bot article – it is a project which continues to evolve. Given its free and open-source nature, there is nothing one can genuinely dislike about the tool. It supports over a dozen cryptocurrency exchanges and offers users some very basic strategies to experiment with. It is a bit too simplistic for advanced traders, but for newcomers, it is still worth checking out. Key lacking features include arbitrage options and high-frequency trading, but that is not entirely surprising.

#4 Leonardo

While it may not be the Da Vinci of Bitcoin trading bots, there are sufficient reasons to look closer at Leonardo. Despite its somewhat limited support for exchanges, and its relatively steep cost of 0.5 Bitcoin, Leonardo gives most users what they are looking for. It has two built-in trading strategies, which means it is not necessarily suited for advanced traders looking for customization options. Even so, it has one of the most comprehensive user interfaces, which is something novice traders will appreciate.

#3 Gunbot

Although the name may not necessarily ring a bell for everyone, Gunbot is one of the older trading bots out there. It’s a stand-out solution due to its various proprietary strategies. Experts who are familiar with Bollinger Bands will certainly find what they seek in this bot. Gunbot also supports a wide range of exchanges, including some of the leading USD trading platforms. Even so, Gunbot may require slightly more babysitting than others, as it’s relatively lenient when it comes to major price swings.

#2 Haasbot

Every time someone touches upon Bitcoin trading bots, the name Haasbot will enter the discussion at one point or another. The team’s algorithmic trading tool has been around for nearly five years now and has seen a steep increase in popularity. This is mainly because it not only supports Bitcoin, but also hundreds of altcoins across over a dozen exchanges. From a customization point-of-view, it gives users a lot more options to explore in this regard. It is not a free bot, mind you, as it costs at least 0.12 BTC per month to take advantage of its features.

#1 CryptoTrader

This particular tool is a very interesting addition to Bitcoin’s trading bot ecosystem. It is an online platform which lets users design their own trading bots and strategies. From a customization point of view, CryptoTrader knows no equal in the current market conditions. It also supports most of the big exchanges, and its various price tiers make it relatively affordable for novice users.

Bitpico, a controversial mischief-maker within the world of bitcoin, has allegedly rage-quit BTC altogether. The pseudonymous entity, who has previously caught attention for stress-testing the Bitcoin Cash network and trying to keep Segwit2x alive, has now reportedly washed his hands of Bitcoin core altogether. There remains the possibility, however, that it’s merely the latest publicity stunt from a notorious troll.

Also read: A Character Called Bitpico Thinks He Can Stress-Test the BCH Network

Bitpico Allegedly Rage Quits on Bitcoin Core

Bitpico was last in the news six weeks ago, when we reported that his crew were stress-testing the Bitcoin Cash network – and not out of love for it. Bitpico has made no secret of his dislike for BCH, but now it appears he’s fallen out of love with BTC too. In a tweet that strongly reeked of a hack or publicity stunt, Bitpico wrote on August 4: “We are no longer bullish on #bitcoin $btc & dumped all @ 8300 USD. We’ve put our farm up for sale also. Why? We no longer want to participate in the worlds most manipulated commodity. Bitcoin is now just a shit show. Good luck!”

The claim caught the attention of the crypto community, but was met with short shrift:

Others have speculated that Bitpico was a Bitcoin Cash shill all along, and that his team’s failure to successfully topple the BCH network was an attempt to demonstrate its strength, citing his sudden dismissal of BTC as proof.

Bitpico Deletes All Tweets

In addition to defiantly declaring BTC to be the world’s “most manipulated commodity”, and claiming to have sold his coins at the recent top, Bitpico went on to delete all his remaining tweets. He also updated his Twitter bio, reaffirming his opinion that “Bitcoin is fully manipulated shit show. Just say no.” If Bitpico was seeking to catch attention by throwing his toys out the pram, he certainly succeeded. Few people are prepared to take his claims seriously however.

Bitpico has a history of making threats and then never following through with them. As previously reported by news.Bitcoin.com: “[In November] Bitpico explained that his team was carrying out the Segwit2x fork whether people liked it or not and claimed to have 30 percent of the hashrate…Following Bitpico’s threats this past November, nothing ever happened, and his 30 percent of hashrate never came to fruition.” He also previously threatened to DDoS the Lightning Network, but once again, nothing happened.

It’s possible that Bitpico’s non-existent hashrate, sloppy coding, and ineffectual DDoS army is accompanied by shoddy infosec, resulting in his Twitter account being hacked. It seems likelier, though, that he’ll return in a few days, promoting a new agenda with equally lackluster results.

Do you think Bitpico has really sold all his BTC? Let us know in the comments section below.

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In a recent interview JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon implies cryptocurrency isn’t “real,” but blockchain is –– adding that the company will “use it for a whole lot of things”

South Korean police have asked Interpol for help with an investigation into the fraudulent token sale of Shinil Gold Coins that were claimed to be backed by the “treasure” on the sunken Dmitrii Donskoi. Local media reported that the sale raised an estimated $53.5 million from about 124,000 investors.

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

Treasure Ship Without Treasure

South Korean company Shinil Group announced on July 18 that it had discovered the shipwreck of Russian battleship Dmitrii Donskoi that was scuttled in 1905. The company also claimed at the time that about 200 tons of gold were found on board.

The firm subsequently backtracked on its treasure claims after the country’s financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), started investigating it for stock and initial coin offering (ICO) fraud, as news.Bitcoin.com previously reported.

However, before withdrawing its claims, the ICO presale had already taken place through a Singaporean company with the same name, Shinil Group, the Korea Herald described. Shinil Gold Coin tokens are supposed to be backed by the treasure on the Dmitrii Donskoi. Nikkei reported that a full-page advertisement was run in a South Korean newspaper last month, detailing:

The newspaper ad said Shinil, one or the other, would soon show video of the Donskoi wreck and, in the first half of 2019, distribute dividends worth 10% of the value of the treasure that it estimated at 150 trillion won ($133 billion) to holders of the Shinil Gold Coin cryptocurrency.

Citing that the tokens were sold “to some 124,000 investors” during the presale, the Korea Herald elaborated, “Shinil was estimated to have raised funds worth almost 60 billion won [~$53.5 million] as of July 26 on the claim.”

The Singaporean Shinil Group claims that “the value of a coin was expected to rise to 10,000 won [~$9] compared to a presale price of 30-50 won [~$0.03-0.05], once it completed an initial coin offering on cryptocurrency exchanges,” the publication added.

Meanwhile, “experts have said imperial Russia would have no reason to load vast treasure on a ship that was going into battle and have also noted that there was a safer land route to Vladivostok, the treasure’s supposed final destination,” AFP reported.

Connection to Singaporean Company

As the FSS launched its investigation of the firm for financial fraud, Korean police also launched a criminal investigation.

Choi Yong-seok, president of the Korean Shinil Group, insisted that “Shinil Group in Singapore had nothing to do with Shinil Group in South Korea.” However, the Korea Herald pointed out that “the two companies’ founders are siblings, and the Singapore firm has been selling virtual coins, reportedly with a promise of handsome returns in case treasure is salvaged from the ship.”

Police say “the founder of the Singaporean Shinil Group, surnamed Ryu, was also wanted in connection with fraud allegations dating back to 2014” and they had already requested Interpol’s assistance with him, AFP noted. “Police has been hunting for Ryu since 2014, when he fled the country during a separate investigation…We are asking police in any relevant country to help locate and repatriate him at the earliest possible date.”

Officials of the Korean Shinil Group, including Choi, “have had travel bans imposed on them,” the news outlet detailed:

Police in Seoul requested an international arrest warrant for the founder of a Singapore-based firm Thursday after launching an investigation into the company and a South Korean startup over false claims of discovering a long-lost Russian ‘treasure ship’.

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

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