Day: September 11, 2018

OKCoin’s founder Star Xu wasn’t arrested, but was assisting police in Shanghai over a bitcoin futures dispute, reports clarify.

The cryptocurrency industry has undoubtedly been through a lot over the better part of the past decade. Whether it may be the regulatory scrutiny or the multiple 90% price corrections, it would be appropriate to say that longtime proponents have really seen it all. And although the collective value of all crypto assets recently underwent a drastic decline, there are some veterans that are still keeping their heads high, even in the face of a variety of trials and tribulations.

There Will Be So Much Evolution In This Space

Over the past few weeks, in spite of cryptocurrencies establishing new YTD lows, Joseph Lubin, one of the many co-founders of Ethereum, has been making the rounds in traditional news outlets, doing his best to convince the public that crypto is here and is here to stay. Most recently, Lubin appeared on CNN Money on Tuesday to discuss the current state of this early-stage market and the future of Ethereum and crypto assets in general.

"There will be so much evolution in this space. Everything that is an asset right now could have representation as a crypto asset at some point in the future." Rewatch my @CNN segment from this morning: https://t.co/8c2GALbSvI

— Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) September 11, 2018

The founder of ConsenSys, one of the foremost blockchain-focused startups, opened up his segment discussing the reason behind the recent bull run and subsequent decline. Lubin noted that 2017’s mind-bending bull run was the result of some seeing endless value in blockchain technologies, coupled with speculators being “irrationally enthusiastic about it.”

So while he may have seen the surge as a bubble, the innovator suggested that such bouts of bullish price action will only bring positive attention to this industry, not notoriety. The Ethereum co-founder elaborated, stating:

“The booms actually bring a lot of attention to our space, lots of technologists, entrepreneurs, and consumers, so those are great. And we are actually seeing a huge amount of activity right now because of the boom that happened [in 2017]. So we are gearing up in many different niches of our ecosystem to see probably pretty tremendous growth.”

Lubin brings up an interesting point, as even though many idealists saw the most recent parabolic growth cycle as damaging for the long-term prospects of crypto, the influx of interest that this space saw will indisputably benefit the development of cryptocurrencies over the long haul.

Speaking on the topic of blockchain education, Lubin, surprisingly enough, pointed out that consumers don’t need to understand the inner workings of this new technology, as that is the job of software developers. Instead, the Ethereum proponent reasoned that it would make sense for users to make a foray into utilizing blockchains via DApps like Crypto Baseball, CryptoKitties, FunFair and the like, which have been driving adoption and the technological maturation of the Ethereum blockchain in specific.

Pushing the conversation forward, the CNN host then brought up a recent comment from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, in which the well-known cryptocurrency personality stated:

“The blockchain space is getting to the point where there’s a ceiling in sight. If you talk to the average educated person at this point, they probably have heard of blockchain at least once. There isn’t an opportunity for yet another 1,000-times growth in anything in the space anymore.”

Rebutting the comment, which seems to be more bearish than bullish, the ConsenSys executive brought up the idea that while Vitalik may be a genius, that the opinion from the Russian-Canadian coder isn’t the end all and be all, stating:

“This is a technology that is going to impact how economic, social and political systems are built over the next few decades. So we are really just at the start of this. There will be so much evolution, [as] the technology is still fairly immature and there is so much evolution in this space [already]. Everything that is an asset right now is probably going to have representation as a crypto asset at some point in the future, so there’s so much growth ahead.”

So while many in the crypto industry may be experiencing setbacks on a daily basis, thought leaders in this space still see a monumental potential for growth.

Featured Image From Shutterstock

The post Ethereum Co-Founder: Crypto is Seeing Huge Amount of Activity, Tremendous Growth appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Highlights

• ETH price is under a lot of pressure as it broke the $185 low against the US Dollar.
• There are two bearish trend lines in place with resistance at $190 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair could continue to move down and it may even break the $175 and $170 levels.

Ethereum price is moving south against the US Dollar and bitcoin. ETH/USD broke the $185 low and it will most likely extend losses below $175.

Ethereum Price Decline

There was a minor upward move towards the $195 level in ETH price against the US Dollar. The ETH/USD pair even traded close to the $200 level and formed a high at $199.55. Later, there was a sharp downside move and the price broke the $190 support. More importantly, the price broke the $185 low and traded to a new low at $176.25. It seems like the price failed to move past $200 and it currently well below the 100 hourly simple moving average.

Recently, the price corrected higher from the $176 swing low. It traded above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $199 high to $176 low. However, the upside move was capped by the $185-188 zone. Besides, there was no test of the 50% Fib retracement level of the last decline from the $199 high to $176 low. On the upside, there are two bearish trend lines in place with resistance at $190 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. Therefore, if the price corrects higher, it could face heavy offers near the $185 and $190 levels.

Looking at the chart, ETH price is in a clear bearish trend below $190. If sellers gain momentum, there could be more losses below $175 and $170.

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

Hourly RSI – The RSI is now well below the 40 level with bearish signs.

Major Support Level – $175

Major Resistance Level – $190

The post Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH/USD Could Extend Declines Below $175 appeared first on NewsBTC.

In Namibia, the African wild dog population has been decimated to near extinction. But one wildlife lover is trying to stop all that. And bitcoin cash (BCH) is her gateway.

Also read: Kucoin Expands Into Australia After $3m Bitcoin Australia Deal

Leroux Gets First BCH Transfer In Namibian Wild

Nadja Leroux, a Namibian wildlife conservationist looking out for the African wild dog, received her first bitcoin cash donation of Rand 145 (about US$10) while deep in the wild, protecting the animal she loves most.

A week ago, the conservationist set up a bitcoin cash fund, with a target of more than R24,800 (US$1,600) to acquire the technology she needs for the work. By September 9, Leroux had raised the equivalent of R504 ($33) worth of bitcoin cash (BCH).

The Namibian believes BCH represents speed and convenience for Africans seeking to do business. “Why BCH?” Leroux asks herself in a post on Twitter designed to make the world understand her objectives. “It’s a family,” she replies. “It’s public. It’s 24 hours a day. It’s the new generation!”

One of the items Leroux intends to buy from proceeds of her fund raiser is an iPad. She says the device allows for “immediate data entry and analysis” and that it is “secure, mobile.It is so important I have the right technology to continue my work in the field.” Leroux, who has so far this year spent 121 days in the field “camping trying to find the African wild dog”, explains on her Twitter handle, Track the Facts, Communities and Conservation. She describes her work station as “in the middle of nowhere, but right where the action is.”

Endangered Species

The African wild dog population is running critical. The dog is often killed by farmers for killing livestock. Now, it has gone extinct in 23 countries. In the Otjozondjupa region of Namibia, the dogs co-exist with pastoral communities, setting them up for a livestock-centered human-wildlife conflict. As community development manager of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, Leroux engages farmers in monitoring patterns of predation and using natural means such as livestock guard dogs so farmers do not resort to killing the wild dogs to protect domestic animals.

“Why the African wild dog? It’s the most endangered large carnivore in Southern Africa,” she says.

Cryptocurrency Ban, Pioneering Venture

Namibia officially banned the use of cryptocurrencies for commercial purposes in 2017. The Bank of Namibia did not specify penalties for violating the prohibition, but warned that “a local shop is not allowed to price or accept virtual currencies in exchange for goods and services.”

It said only the Namibian dollar and the South Africa Rand remained legal tender in the country, but remained open to possibilities offered by the blockchain technology. Even though crypto related activities remain very limited in Namibia, the Bank’s main concern was centered around exchange control violations and issues around the creation of money, which it said was its sole mandate.

Leroux was excited about sharing her story, but wasn’t quite sure how regulators in Namibia would react to her plan. At the time of going to press, she had not responded to our requests for comment. (We will update this post once we receive Leroux’s reply).

She still has a long way to go to achieve her goal. About $1,580 or R24,300 remains outstanding. But Leroux’s use of BCH is a case of cryptocurrency facilitating community-oriented pioneering ventures in Africa.

Could bitcoin cash help transform micro-economies in Africa? Let us know what you think in the comments section below

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Satoshi Pulse, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com.

The post With Bitcoin Cash, A Namibian Conservationist Hopes To Save Endangered African Wild Dog appeared first on Bitcoin News.

The U.S. SEC has penalized a crypto hedge fund for the first time, issuing a cease and desist order and fine to California-based Crypto Asset Management

Monero Price Key Highlights

• Monero price recently busted through a descending trend line on the daily time frame to signal a major reversal.
• However, price hit a roadblock near $150 and is pulling back to the broken resistance.
• The Fib retracement tool applied on the latest breakout move also shows nearby support levels where bulls might return.

Monero price is pulling back after its strong upside trend line breakout, waiting for more bulls to join in.

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 downtrend might still be more likely to resume than to reverse. In addition, the 100 SMA recently held as dynamic resistance on the latest rally and may continue to keep gains in check.

Applying the Fib retracement tool on the latest swing low and high shows that the 61.8% level appears to be holding as support, coinciding with a short-term area of interest just above $100. If this holds as support, Monero price could resume the climb to the swing high and even complete a complex inverted head and shoulders pattern.

This would place the neckline around $150, and a break beyond this could spur an uptrend that’s at least the same height as the reversal formation. RSI is still heading south, though, so there may still be some selling pressure left. This could take Monero price for a larger correction to the broken trend line closer to $80 and the swing low.

Stochastic is also moving south but is closing in oversold levels to signal bearish exhaustion. Turning higher could draw buyers to return and lead to a bounce.

XMRUSD Chart from TradingView

Monero price made an upside trend line break right around the release of strongly bullish forecasts from Satis Group. Traders rushed to establish long positions at relatively cheap prices before the anticipated surge in value takes place.

The post Monero (XMR) Price Watch: Correction After Major Bullish Breakout appeared first on NewsBTC.

Key Points

• Bitcoin cash price declined further and broke the $460 and $450 support levels against the US Dollar.
• This week’s followed major bearish trend line is still in place with resistance near $460 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair remains in a downtrend and it seems like it could continue to move down towards $400.

Bitcoin cash price is under pressure as it broke the $450 support against the US Dollar. BCH/USD is likely to extend losses towards $410 and $400 in the near term.

Bitcoin Cash Price Resistance

Recently, there was a minor upside correction above $480 in bitcoin cash price against the US Dollar. The BCH/USD pair traded towards the $490 level where sellers emerged. As a result, there was a bearish reaction and the price declined below the $470 and $460 support levels. The decline was such that the price even broke the $450 support level and is currently trading well below the 100 hourly simple moving average.

A fresh monthly low was formed at $425 before the price started a tiny range pattern. It tested the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $476 high to $425 low. The price failed near the $440-445 zone and it is currently moving south. On the upside, there are many resistances near the $450 and $460 levels. More importantly, this week’s followed major bearish trend line is still in place with resistance near $460 on the hourly chart of the BCH/USD pair. Additionally, the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $476 high to $425 low is at $451.

Looking at the chart, BCH price remains at a risk of more losses below the recent low of $425. The next target for sellers may well be $400.

Looking at the technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for BCH/USD is currently in the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BCH/USD is well below the 40 level.

Major Support Level – $425

Major Resistance Level – $460

The post Bitcoin Cash Price Analysis: BCH/USD Extending Losses Below $450 appeared first on NewsBTC.

A startup seeking to rival mining giant Bitmain is gaining a reputation as a firm that could disrupt the balance in crypto’s most lucrative sector.

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

• Bitcoin price is still consolidating inside its falling wedge pattern seen on the daily time frame.
• Price tumbled sharply upon hitting resistance and is setting its sights back on the bottom.
• There’s also strong support around the $6,000 mark, which explains why bitcoin price is consolidating here.

Bitcoin price is currently pausing on its slide but may have one more push lower to go as it has yet to test the wedge bottom.

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. Sustained selling pressure could take bitcoin price to the bottom of the wedge closer to $5,700.

RSI looks ready to turn higher, though, suggesting that bulls might take over from here and spur another bounce to the top. The 100 SMA might also hold as nearby dynamic resistance around $6,800 to $7,000. Sustained bullish pressure could lead to a move past the wedge top at $7,000 but the 200 SMA might also hold as dynamic resistance.

Stochastic has already made it to the oversold region to signal that sellers are feeling exhausted. Turning back up could bring bullish momentum to the mix. A breakout in any direction could lead to a rally or selloff that’s the same height as the wedge formation.

BTCUSD Chart from TradingView

Market Factors

Bitcoin price may still be on shaky ground but it’s also worth noting that in times like these, this particular digital asset tends to exert its dominance versus its rivals. This alone could be enough to keep price supported even as altcoins suffer more declines, serving as a sort of safe-haven in this particular industry.

Besides, some traders are still holding out for the SEC ruling on bitcoin ETF applications, hoping that this could be the catalyst needed to spur a large rebound before the end of this year.

The post Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch: Still Some Selling Pressure Left? appeared first on NewsBTC.

A group of U.S.-based crypto and blockchain companies, including Coinbase, have formed a lobby to represent their interests on Capitol Hill in Washington

After a multi-month bearish unwinding from the record high in December, XMR nearly made the first higher high of the entire year recently. This signifies the potential for a trend shift.