Day: September 10, 2018

Key Highlights

• Ripple price declined further recently and broke the $0.2650 support against the US dollar.
• Yesterday’s highlighted major bearish trend line is active with resistance at $0.2800 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair (data source from Kraken).
• The pair may correct a few points, but it is likely to face sellers near the $0.2800 and $0.2820 levels.

Ripple price remains in a bearish zone against the US Dollar and Bitcoin. XRP/USD is likely to extend declines below $0.2600 if sellers remain in action.

Ripple Price Decline

Yesterday, we discussed that Ripple price could break the $0.2650 support area against the US Dollar. The XRP/USD pair did move lower and broke the $0.2700 and $0.2650 support levels. A new weekly low was formed at $0.2599 and later the price corrected higher. It moved above the 23.6% fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $0.2899 high to $0.2599 low.

However, the upside move remains capped near the $0.2750 level. It is the 50% fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $0.2899 high to $0.2599 low. More importantly, yesterday’s highlighted major bearish trend line is active with resistance at $0.2800 on the hourly chart of the XRP/USD pair. The trend line resistance is also near the 100 hourly simple moving average at $0.2820. Therefore, if the price corrects above $0.2750, it is likely to face sellers near the $0.2800 and $0.2820 levels. On the downside, a break below the $0.2600 zone could open the doors for a push towards the $0.2500 support.

Looking at the chart, ripple price remains in a negative zone below $0.2820. Sellers are likely to remain in action as long as there is no close above $0.2850 and the 100 hourly SMA.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for XRP/USD is slightly placed in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for XRP/USD is currently below the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $0.2600

Major Resistance Level – $0.2800

The post Ripple Price Analysis: XRP/USD Remains Sell on Rallies Near $0.2800 appeared first on NewsBTC.

Blockchain startup, Chain, announced Monday that they had been purchased in cash by a subsidiary of the Stellar Development Foundation, resulting in the formation of a new entity, called Interstellar. The announcement came months after rumors had first surfaced regarding the partnership.

According to Chain’s Crunchbase page, the San Francisco-based blockchain startup has raised over $40 million in private capital since its founding in 2014, and has worked with such companies as Nasdaq, Visa, and Citigroup. The startup describes themselves as building “cryptographic ledger systems that make financial services smarter, more secure, and more connected.”

The acquisition deal between Stellar and Chain was officially finalized on September 5th and was first announced by the startup on September 10th. The new venture – called Interstellar – will be headed by former RRE Ventures partner and Chain CEO, Adam Ludwin, who will serve as the project’s CEO, and Jed McCaleb, the XRP and Stellar protocol creator, who will serve as the project’s CTO.

Ludwin spoke about the acquisition of Chain by Stellar, saying:

“All of the clients that we have now have effectively shifted from using a traditional database model to using a tokens model, issuing assets on a local environment. By partnering with Stellar you can fire an asset to another institution.”

Ludwin also noted that the new entity will retain all of Chain’s current employees, and that the majority of the employees will retain similar positions. Previous shareholders in Chain were bought out by Stellar, and although the exact purchase amount was not disclosed, Ludwin said that it was for “significantly more than $40 million.”

He also noted that Chain accepted the offer after much consideration, adding that “Chain did not need to sell the company. This needed to be a great strategic move and a great return and it was both.”

Chain Merger Marks Latest Use-Case for Stellar 

In addition to the recently announced acquisition of Chain, Stellar’s blockchain network and cryptocurrency (XLM) have seen multiple other examples of being adopted by large corporations, including IBM.

Notably, IBM recently launched their Stellar-backed blockchain World Wire Payments System, which will offer real-time, cross-border, payment settlement using Stellar’s blockchain network. The World Wire system will operate very similarly to Ripple’s blockchain settlement systems, that utilize digital currency to transfer large amounts of money cross-borders with little to no fees.

IBM describes their new product on their site, saying:

“IBM Blockchain World Wire, the new financial rail that can simultaneously clear and settle cross-border payments in near real-time. Integrating with your existing payment systems, you can replace costly opacity with affordable transparency – and that can bring greater financial opportunity to all.”

IBM also notes that the platform runs on Stellar’s blockchain:

“Using blockchain technology and the Stellar protocol, IBM Blockchain World Wire makes it possible for financial institutions to clear and settle cross-border payments in seconds.”

Although World Wire runs on Stellar’s protocol, it is important to understand that institutions looking to use World Wire are not required to use Stellar’s cryptocurrency, XLM. IBM’s site explains that customers can use any type of cryptocurrency that meets their needs, including stable coins. They explain that “Two financial institutions transacting together agree to use a stable coin, central bank digital currency or other digital asset as the bridge asset between any two fiat currencies.”

Stellar Lumens (XLM) is trading at $0.19 at the time of writing, down 2.2% on a 24-hour trading period.

Featured image from Shutterstock

The post Stellar Acquires Chain to Create Interstellar, Another Major Initiative For XLM appeared first on NewsBTC.

The U.S. tech startup, has developed a technology that allows scaling or partitioning the blockchain’s functionality between software and hardware components to tackle the transaction speed and latency limitations #SPONSORED

Key Highlights

• ETH price is slowly recovering and is likely forming a support near $185 against the US Dollar.
• Yesterday’s highlighted key bearish trend line was breached with resistance at $193 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair is likely to slowly move higher towards the $208 and $210 resistance levels in the near term.

Ethereum price is trading with range moves against the US Dollar and bitcoin. ETH/USD could test the $210-215 resistance zone where sellers are likely to emerge.

Ethereum Price Support

Yesterday, there was a minor upside move from the $185 low in ETH price against the US Dollar. The ETH/USD pair traded above the $195 and $200 resistance levels to enter a consolidation phase. The price also managed to move past the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $219 high to $185 low. However, the upside move was capped by the $06-207 zone.

Moreover, it seems like the price failed to gain momentum above the $206.71 technical level. It represents the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $219 high to $185 low. There was a sharp bearish reaction and the price retested the $185 support zone. Buyers appeared, protected more losses, and finally pushed the price higher above $190. More importantly, yesterday’s highlighted key bearish trend line was breached with resistance at $193 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. Therefore, it seems like the price could continue to move higher towards the $208 and $210 resistance levels in the near term.

Looking at the chart, ETH price is holding the $185 swing low and it may correct higher. Having said that, buyers need to be very careful as any major upsides are very unlikely above the $210 and $215 levels.

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

Hourly RSI – The RSI has moved above the 50 level, but it showing a few bearish signs.

Major Support Level – $185

Major Resistance Level – $210

The post Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH/USD Sets Eyes On $210-215 appeared first on NewsBTC.

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

• Bitcoin price is currently consolidating in a short-term symmetrical triangle visible on the 1-hour chart.
• The breakout could set the longer-term direction for bitcoin as it nears a key support area.
• Technical indicators are suggesting that a downside move is more likely to happen than an upside break.

Bitcoin is consolidating inside a symmetrical triangle, which might be a bearish continuation pattern from the earlier drop.

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is below the longer-term 200 SMA to indicate that the path of least resistance is to the downside. In other words, the selloff is more likely to resume than to reverse. The 100 SMA also lines up with the top of the triangle to add to its strength as resistance also.

The gap between the moving averages has been widening to reflect stronger bearish pressure. A break below the $6,250 level could be enough to signal a bearish break and further losses, possibly by the same height as the mast of the flag that spans $7,400 to around $6,200.

RSI is already turning lower after spending a brief period in overbought levels, indicating that bears are eager to return. Stochastic is also pointing back down and may draw more selling pressure.

BTCUSD Chart from TradingView

Market Factors

Bitcoin was off to a terrible start for the week on reports that the SEC decided to suspend trading in a couple of crypto-based securities. This weighed on odds that the regulator could approve the bitcoin ETF applications anytime soon as they could site similar reasons on their ruling.

However, it’s worth noting that there were some positive updates so far this week, including the NYDFS backing of the Winklevoss twins’ fiat-based stablecoin. There have also been developments in Canada as a bitcoin fund achieved mutual fund trust status, allowing unit holders to put units in a self-directed registered account such as an RRSP or TFSA.

The post Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch: Tight Battle Between Bulls and Bears appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Points

• Bitcoin cash price is holding the $460 support very well against the US Dollar.
• Yesterday’s highlighted key bearish trend line is still active with resistance near $475 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair could move higher in the short term towards the $495 and $500 resistance levels.

Bitcoin cash price is trading above the recent low against the US Dollar. BCH/USD is likely to recover a few points towards $500 in the near term.

Bitcoin Cash Price Support

Yesterday, there was a minor recovery initiated from the $460 support in bitcoin cash price against the US Dollar. The BCH/USD pair moved above the $475 and $480 levels. However, the upside move was capped by the $490 resistance zone. Moreover, the price also failed to break the 50% Fib retracement level of the last slide from the $525 high to $460 swing low.

Later, the price declined back towards the $460 support zone where buyers reemerged. There was a fresh upward move from the $459 low and the price climbed above $470. The price also succeeded in clearing the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent drop decline from the $492 high to $459 low. However, the price is currently struggling to clear the $475 resistance. Additionally, yesterday’s highlighted key bearish trend line is still active with resistance near $475 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair. It seems like the price may clear the $475 and $480 resistance levels to climb further in the near term.

Looking at the chart, BCH price could move a few points higher, but it is likely to face a strong selling interest near the $490 and $500 resistance levels. On the downside, a break below $460 may push the price towards $450.

Looking at the technical indicators:

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

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is above the 50 level.

Major Support Level – $460

Major Resistance Level – $500

The post Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis: BCH/USD Could Recover To $500 appeared first on NewsBTC.

Nasdaq is said to be beta testing new cryptocurrency analysis tools geared toward institutional investors.

A recent report conducted by the U.S. Foundation for Defence of Democracies has shown that digital currencies are not well-suited to financing terrorism